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Game design is my life. Even before I was a game designer, I have been a fan of independent games, and I've been playing a lot of them as of late. I created a list highlighting the most impressive games in terms of design, production, art, or any combination of the above. I figured I'd share it with you guys as well.
I suggest you take the time to play each of these games, as they're all available for free in some form, and they are generally very quick to jump in and play. Some do require download and install, though. Each of these games exhibits excellence in various areas, which I've attempted to highlight within the spoilers below them. A handful of the games also have some very nice gameplay videos you should check out as well.
Have fun!
OSMOS - Play!
+ Show Spoiler +Tranquil and calm in its delivery and play, Osmos is the ultimate ambient experience. Check out the video below! http://vimeo.com/2754925
SAMOROST 2 - Play!
+ Show Spoiler +
A very unique graphic adventure game which provides some really interesting puzzle design, creativity, and audio. The art is amazing and the puzzles are very mentally rewarding. Samorost 2 is bursting at the seams with humor and personality - it's a must-play. Even your grandmother could appreciate this game.
AUDITORIUM - Play!
+ Show Spoiler +
Auditorium is very clean and artsy in both its design and delivery. Direct the flow of music using various directional tools and complete the ambient tune. It really is a beautiful production.
POWDER GAME - Play!
+ Show Spoiler +
This is the ULTIMATE sandbox. Literally. It's a veritable playground for the mind. It will blow you away. Seriously, stop reading this right now and go play!
WORLD OF GOO - Play!
+ Show Spoiler +
BOOMSHINE - Play!
+ Show Spoiler +
Perhaps the simplest game on this list, but also very fun! The game is quite basic - Simply choose a dot, blow it up, and try to cause a massive chain reaction. A very quick, but fun, play.
AQUARIA - Play!
+ Show Spoiler +This is an adventure game in which you swim and sing your way through a water wonderland. It features some very innovative controls and gameplay, along with some pretty impressive production values. It radiates a very pleasant experience overall. Check out the video below! http://vimeo.com/2461697
INSANIQUARIUM - Play!
+ Show Spoiler +
This is a very unique game in which you care for an aquarium full of fish. Each fish produces currency which you use to feed your fish, grow your population, and win the level. It's a relatively unimpressive concept, however, there's some really great design within the various fish and creatures which inhabit the tank.
MIGHTIER - Play!
+ Show Spoiler +The pen is mightier than the sword. Mightier is a game which brings a whole new meaning to user interaction. You actually solve puzzles on paper, load them into the game, and play! Check out the video below! http://vimeo.com/2376591
STEAM BRIGADE - Play!
+ Show Spoiler +
I loved this game. Your goal: Destroy the opponent's factory before he destroys yours. The game features very thought-provoking 2D RTS style gameplay. There are indeed games similar to this, but none of which have the amount of polish and innovation as Steam Brigade. Apart from games of similar style, the player is granted an avatar which provides a direct connection to the beautiful game world. So many mechanics inside of this game are so unique and interesting, that if I began to list them all this would end up being a page long. On top of the already awesome gameplay, the art team behind this game managed to create an absolutely AMAZING art-style behind the very charming steampunk theme. This game is just all-around great!
THE GRAVEYARD - Play!
+ Show Spoiler +
The Graveyard is more of an (slightly) interactive short film, rather than a game. However, unlike a short film, The Graveyard manages to successfully grab emotion from the player through interactivity. This game takes only around 10 minutes to play and displays some of the better experimental game design I've seen. Beware: This isn't so much a game as it is an experiment in game design and human emotion. If you're not entirely familiar with what it's trying to accomplish, try playing it by yourself in a quiet room, and allow your mind to go wild. After you're done, try imagining how much 'worse' the experience would be from the perspective of someone watching the game be played, rather than playing the game.
MOTHERLODE - Play!
+ Show Spoiler +
Motherlode is an all time favorite of mine. X-Gen Studios is a great game developer, and this is by far their greatest creation. The art is acceptable, the story sucks, and the music is okay, but what really makes this game appealing is the innovative gameplay. Motherlode is a fantastic example of quality game design trumping all other aspects of production.
KNYTT STORIES - Play!
+ Show Spoiler +
An excellent shell for creativity, Knytt Stories provides the foundation of some very cool gameplay elements, and then allows for the creation of some really interesting levels. There's a simple tutorial and sample level (which is really great!) that quickly describe each aspect of gameplay in a very streamlined fashion. After completing these, you can get more levels through official packs, other players, or you can create one of your own!
CAVE STORY - Play!
+ Show Spoiler +
From what I've played, I can tell you that Cave Story is a brilliant game. It's an action-adventure game in which you'd expect to find on your NES, or SNES console, but this isn't just any old action-adventure title. It's deep, innovative, creative, and charming. The game was entirely designed and created over a period of FIVE years by a single person. The game has since been translated into English, and is actually being enhanced and re-released on Wii-Ware sometime this year. A well deserved reward for this man's awesome work. (Note - Be sure to download and install the English translation patch if you so wish.)
THE ENDLESS FOREST - Play!
+ Show Spoiler +
Brought to you by the same team who created The Graveyard, The Endless Forest is yet another experiment in game design. A social interaction experiment on a grand scale. It's a massively multiplayer game in which chatting doesn't exist. All interactions must be expressed through your deer avatar's actions. There are no goals or standards, just explore and see where the game takes you. On top of all this, you can set The Endless Forest as your screen saver! How cool is that!?
COIL - Play!
+ Show Spoiler +
I'm not really sure what to think of coil. It's a very interpretive artsy game. The gameplay consists of various stages, stages of conception. Each of these stages has some very open-ended narrative between them... Making you question what is actually going on... Human conception? Alien conception? FORCED conception? There's the possibility of some very taboo interpretations here, and that's what makes it interesting. I will honestly say that the gameplay is a little annoying, but utilizes interesting control, and is well worth it for the mind-engulfing narrative. The entire game lasts only around 5-10 minutes and consists of several different minigames.
AN UNTITLED STORY - Play!
+ Show Spoiler +
You are an egg. That is the tagline for this 2D adventure, and it's quite accurate. Roll your way through some very well-designed obstacles in order to upgrade your egg and explore the expansive world. An immensely neat platforming game.
THE MARRIAGE - Play!
+ Show Spoiler +
The Marriage is quite complicated and quite simple at the same time. It's also quite difficult to figure out, but very much well-worth the time it takes to do so. On the surface, the game is quite ugly and hollow, but in reality it's EXTREMELY deep in content. I suggest you read, and follow the advice of, the creator of this game. He'll let you know when you should stop reading and give the game a shot before reading on. Try to play the game and see what it means to you before reading deep into the creator's explanation. This is an extremely deep game which can be interpreted in various ways depending on who you are.
I WANNA BE THE GUY - Play!
+ Show Spoiler +
An extremely difficult game which embraces the past, and allows for great gaming reminiscence. I Wanna Be The Guy is absolutely hilarious. You must make your way through the NEAR-IMPOSSIBLE platforming levels that are thrown at you by using both excellent control and good problem solving skills. I'd estimate that 90%+ of people who play this game don't even make it past the first screen. It's a really decent production, and provides an excellent amount of entertainment value, even if you don't make it very far!
For each of these games, there's tons more that are just as worthy of being on this list. These are just simply my favorites out of those I have discovered, as of this moment. Feel free to post here or PM me if you think you've found a gem in the rough.
Thanks for looking.
----
My Favorites:
1. World of Goo
2. Aquaria
3. Cave Story
4. Steam Brigade
5. I Wanna Be the Guy/Samorost 2/Powder Game
(Oh, and at least watch the trailer for Mightier, it's neat.)
They're all amazing though, and some are VERY quick plays, so check them all out if you get the chance...
For the 'less artsy' of you guys, or those of you who aren't horribly interested in experimental/interesting game deisgn, go ahead and skip the following:
1. Osmos
2. The Graveyard
3. The Endless Forest
4. Coil
5. The Marriage
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thedeadhaji
39489 Posts
bump~ gonna play a few of them now.
Thanks~
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Thanks for this thread. Will check some of these out -
GF suggested that I try insaniquarium two weeks ago, definitely a pretty fun game, at least in the beginning (and for the nice soundtrack)
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I can vouch for Cave Story. Definitely an awesome game. Within a Deep Forest is also very good, but not listed here. I'm looking forward to trying some of these out  Any ones you would specifically recommend?
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Aquaria
it is incredibly beautiful, the game flows like a poem,there is no way you can not like it, Aquaria ftw
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motbob
United States12546 Posts
within a deep forest <3
and for those of you who are both still 12 years old at heart AND masochistic... check out I Wanna Be The Guy
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On February 14 2009 12:04 nortorius wrote:I can vouch for Cave Story. Definitely an awesome game. Within a Deep Forest is also very good, but not listed here. I'm looking forward to trying some of these out Any ones you would specifically recommend?
They're all really incredible, but if I had to make a top 5....
1. World of Goo
2. Aquaria
3. Cave Story
4. Steam Brigade
5. I Wanna Be the Guy/Samorost 2/Powder Game
(Oh, and at least watch the trailer for Mightier, it's neat.)
They're all amazing though, and some are VERY quick plays, so check them all out if you get the chance...
For the 'less artsy' of you guys, or those of you who aren't horribly interested in experimental/interesting game deisgn, skip Osmos, The Graveyard, The Endless Forest, Coil, and The Marriage.
I'll add this to the OP.
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I remember playing Insaniquarium back when I was younger. Such a great game, though I never got the full version. Popcap makes such amazing, simple games.
One game I'd like to add is Peggle. That game is so gold. There are free versions out there, and you can get the full version. It is worth it if you can get other friends to enjoy it as well.
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excellent post, i'll try some of these out after oz vs cj :o
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yeah popcap is great actually ^^
i remember there was that insaniquarium or something like that? god that was the greatest when i was younger.
anyway thanks, i'll try a few of these. any top recommendations (besies OP)?
edit: oh just saw insaniquarium is on the list haha
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The marriage IIRC is created by the same guy who made Passage. That game almost made me cry...
edit: yup this one made me slightly emo too T.T
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United States47024 Posts
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Deepest game ever made. By FAR.
But you need to like ASCII.
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Insane Aquarium Is great. I beat it like 5 years ago, really good macro practice imo lol.
The only problem is the game starts out really slow which is a challenge of willpower I guess lol.
PS - Op would be better if there was a screenshot or youtube link to every game.
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United States47024 Posts
On February 14 2009 13:58 Boblion wrote:Deepest game ever made. By FAR. But you need to like ASCII.
Or get a tileset, which isn't hard.
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On February 14 2009 17:18 TheYango wrote:Show nested quote +On February 14 2009 13:58 Boblion wrote:Deepest game ever made. By FAR. But you need to like ASCII. Or get a tileset, which isn't hard.
Doesn't really change a lot. It is still super ugly ;D
+ the game lags on my old comp and it would be even worse. 3 fps yAY !
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The dude who made 'I wanna be the guy' used to create games for Megazeux, an incredibly flexible text-mode GCS, if you are interested in low tech games check it out!
www.digitalmzx.net
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Aw World of Goo only has a free demo 
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Gish is my favorite ind. game. Also Everyday Shooter and Flow for PS3 are solid.
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Sweet list, only checked out the powder game because I recognized the concept. Played a game like that (with only oil, water, stone and plant iirc) a couple of years ago. Darn this one's advanced! And it runs sooo smooth I am amazed.. FF3 helps a lot with that too (edit: I am a dummy, it runs in java X-| still fun though)
Anyway, great that you took the time to promote these games.
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I love the "Defoe Series" by Yahtzee. It's a point and click old-school-type adventure game.
You can find them for free here:
http://www.fullyramblomatic.com/games.htm
My favorites is 5 and Trilby's Notes
Thanks for the compilation Mikilatov! I've heard of quite a few of these, but the ones I haven't heard of look great!
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Osmos is amazing: can't wait for the full game. Recommended!
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i bought world of goo, and wow its epic =P. i cant believe they made pretty much every level unique. By far one of my most favorite games played ^^.
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On February 15 2009 12:14 Alventenie wrote:
i bought world of goo, and wow its epic =P. i cant believe they made pretty much every level unique. By far one of my most favorite games played ^^.
Yeah it's well worth the 20 bucks. The amount of innovation and awesomeness is incredible. It stays epic throughout the whole game, too.
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Good Independent Games I have Played:
Cave Story
Iji- 2d platformer/ shooter where you are some girl against a bunch of aliens that decide to bomb your planet than take over it. Of course, it's not as simple as that. Rather primitive looking graphics but very satisfying effects (especially with the later guns). Very well-designed, I'd put more but I have trouble explaining this game for some reason. Some cool stuff happens if you decide to do a pacifist run rather than kill everything you see. Great for free, try it out.
Within a Deep Forest
- A game where you are a bouncey ball and solve puzzles using different "ball" types which you get for rewards for solving puzzles. It's a very mellow game
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Russian Federation4235 Posts
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Sweden33719 Posts
Awesome thread, thanks a lot
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I wanna be the guy is so fucking hard ._.
Thanks a lot for sharing this list. I've been addicted to indie and flash games for a while, and some of these I haven't ever heard of. THANKS
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wow these are really amazing. thanks a lot! others should post really quality games here if they find them
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Germany2762 Posts
mightier is such an amazing game
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Cave Story!!! It's the best game on the PSP by a mile, regardless of multiconsole-ness. Widescreen is great.
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How the fuk N didnt get into this list?
Recently, or last year, they released N+ for 360.
1 more game I really enjoyed that also won IGF competition is Wik & the Fable of Souls.
It has two modes, arcade and challenge. The challenge for me was awesome, as it involves sort of endless possibilities for actually solving each level.
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On February 18 2009 01:18 miniStar wrote:
How the fuk N didnt get into this list?
Recently, or last year, they released N+ for 360.
1 more game I really enjoyed that also won IGF competition is Wik & the Fable of Souls.
It has two modes, arcade and challenge. The challenge for me was awesome, as it involves sort of endless possibilities for actually solving each level.
I actually CHOSE to not include "N" in the list. It was very unimpressive to me in terms of overall design and production, and I'm actually quite surprised it was such a hit both inside and outside the games industry. Hell, it even made the cover of Game Developer. =( It's not terrible, but I feel that there are far better independent games out there. Games like Cave Story, I Wanna Be The Guy, and Aquaria are FAR better games than 'N' in terms of design (arguable) and production (notarguable), and they haven't received a tenth of the acclaim. Either way, it's not meant to be a comprehensive list of every good independent game of all time, just some of my favorites from my perspective as a game designer.
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"I wanna be the guy" is insane: took me 2 hours to get to the 4th screen of the demo:
Great, now I am way past addiction. Tonights plans are toast...
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Yeah, hahaha, I didn't make it very far. A friend of mine beat the whole game... Took him a long ass time, and he amassed somewhere around 2,600 deaths or something crazy.
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download zsnes and all snes roms and u have hundreds of good games.
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1584 Posts
IWBTG is the most frustrating game ever. It really is.
Dear god that Ghosts'n'Goblings level is hell.
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Awesome list. I have personally played a few of them and the ones that made the list were awesome. I wanna be the guy is my favorite, I've currently beat it on normal, then on hard in my econ class (this girl watched me the whole way through I know she wanted to suck my dick after I was the guy). I am currently working on recording a FPVOD on very hard, but I'm stuck on the castlevania level. After I get it done I'll post in the thread for those who haven't played, although it will probably be with some MSL preview shit in the background ^^.
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Cool!
If you know any good TBS games, let me know please >>
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United States1967 Posts
On February 14 2009 07:52 Mikilatov wrote:Game design is my life. Even before I was a game designer, I have been a fan of independent games, and I've been playing a lot of them as of late. I created a list highlighting the most impressive games in terms of design, production, art, or any combination of the above. I figured I'd share it with you guys as well. I suggest you take the time to play each of these games, as they're all available for free in some form, and they are generally very quick to jump in and play. Some do require download and install, though. Each of these games exhibits excellence in various areas, which I've attempted to highlight within the spoilers below them. A handful of the games also have some very nice gameplay videos you should check out as well. Have fun! OSMOS - Play!+ Show Spoiler +Tranquil and calm in its delivery and play, Osmos is the ultimate ambient experience. Check out the video below! http://vimeo.com/2754925
I just recently downloaded this game from steam, a really chill and fun game. Did you know that you are in the Trailer video with the above quote? It actually quotes it with -Mikilatov, Teamliquid.net
lol, thought that was neat, and one of the reasons why I bought it 
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On September 07 2009 05:07 TheMango wrote:Show nested quote +On February 14 2009 07:52 Mikilatov wrote:Game design is my life. Even before I was a game designer, I have been a fan of independent games, and I've been playing a lot of them as of late. I created a list highlighting the most impressive games in terms of design, production, art, or any combination of the above. I figured I'd share it with you guys as well. I suggest you take the time to play each of these games, as they're all available for free in some form, and they are generally very quick to jump in and play. Some do require download and install, though. Each of these games exhibits excellence in various areas, which I've attempted to highlight within the spoilers below them. A handful of the games also have some very nice gameplay videos you should check out as well. Have fun! OSMOS - Play!+ Show Spoiler +Tranquil and calm in its delivery and play, Osmos is the ultimate ambient experience. Check out the video below! http://vimeo.com/2754925 I just recently downloaded this game from steam, a really chill and fun game. Did you know that you are in the Trailer video with the above quote? It actually quotes it with -Mikilatov, Teamliquid.net lol, thought that was neat, and one of the reasons why I bought it
Whoa, wtf? haha. No I didn't know this. I wonder how the hell that happened. lol.
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wellll either the dev(s) visit teamliquid or digg
come out and say hi if its the former ... !
thats pretty cool though lol
edit: hmm this thread reminded me of my lame attempt at a "0death" clear of IWBTG..
here's where i ended up.. maybe i should keep going lol
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HOLYCRAP
http://vimeo.com/5892502
That's the OSMOS trailer (featured in the OP), read the last quote (1:25), I just rofled
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Russian Federation1401 Posts
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WORLD OF GOO and INSANIQUARIUM are the only two that I have played, they are both awesome!!!! Huge thanks to the OP for making this list.... and why is plants vs Zombies not in that list??
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On December 15 2009 17:31 Telemako wrote:HOLYCRAP http://vimeo.com/5892502That's the OSMOS trailer (featured in the OP), read the last quote (1:25), I just rofled
Teamliquid.net, the revered site for gamereviews.
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On December 15 2009 19:01 Alur wrote:Teamliquid.net, the revered site for gamereviews.
lololol thats so funny
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Nifflas (guy who made Knytt Stories) recently released a new game called Saira. It's like a puzzle-platformer-explorey game. Pretty graphics, too, especially in the Hoffman system.
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On December 15 2009 18:38 chongu wrote:
WORLD OF GOO and INSANIQUARIUM are the only two that I have played, they are both awesome!!!! Huge thanks to the OP for making this list.... and why is plants vs Zombies not in that list??
I don't think plants v zombies was even out yet
Could be wrong though
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On December 16 2009 14:40 Dead9 wrote:Show nested quote +On December 15 2009 18:38 chongu wrote:
WORLD OF GOO and INSANIQUARIUM are the only two that I have played, they are both awesome!!!! Huge thanks to the OP for making this list.... and why is plants vs Zombies not in that list?? I don't think plants v zombies was even out yet Could be wrong though
Plants vs Zombies isn't an independent game which is what the OP was about, it's developed and published by Popcap.
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Insaniquarium is up there too though
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On December 16 2009 15:18 Dead9 wrote:
Insaniquarium is up there too though
I think originally Insaniquarium was an indie (or at least small) developer, and the game was later picked up by Popcap as a publisher. So it sorta kinda fits still.
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On December 16 2009 15:24 GogoKodo wrote:I think originally Insaniquarium was an indie (or at least small) developer, and the game was later picked up by Popcap as a publisher. So it sorta kinda fits still.
Haha. I didn't know that. Thanks for the point
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PvZ deserves to be on that list. It really is a gem.
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Bookmarking/bumping thread... there are a few other games here I wanna try... but at work now.
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I just want to mention that World of Goo was awesome. If you can, please buy the game
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Yeah World of Goo is great
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Yeah it's pretty strange how this thread was quoted in that Osmos trailer, haha, I made a blog post about it a bit ago, actually.
Plants vs. Zombies wasn't out at the time I made this list, and isn't exactly an indie game anyway. However, yes, it is amazingly awesome. I can't believe how much continually fresh content they managed to fit into that game.
I might expand this list or make another soon, perhaps. There's so many great indie games that people NEED to know about. Oh and, for anyone who likes indie games, now is a great time to get on Steam and check out their holiday deals, they have a whole Indie section. You can buy some of them for as low as like a $1 each, and lots of them have descriptions/screenshots/trailers you can check out before you buy.
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lol i actually just looked this thread up after watching the osmos trailer
I was reading the quotes and I see ".... teamliquid.net"
I was like ... WAT? LOL
You're famous!
Edit: BTW, Osmos is going for 1.99$ on steam for the next 4 hours still!
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Do you have any megaman games? When i was 7 i had a few of them but i was not able to beat one specific one. I think it was... megaman 8? Was an older one maybe from 1997?
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EPT![[image loading]](http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/2756/iwbtgyl5.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://g.imageshack.us/img26/iwbtgyl5.jpg/1/)
![[image loading]](http://imgur.com/UIyWD.jpg)
