Hotline Miami, FTL and Cart Life all pepper the shortlist nominations for the 15th IGF awards.
Next in our exploration of the UK games industry we take a look at some of the best games to ever come from the British Isles, from modern classics such as Tomb Raider right back to some retro gems. What are the games that the UK should be proud of?
Microsoft briefed us on the ways it sees gaming developing, focusing on multi-player, touch-screen gaming and making development easier for small studios and bedroom coders. We take a look at its touch-screen concepts and XNA program.
We love to obsess over whether PC gaming is dying, but now it's time to look at the other side and examine if console gaming is really as secure as publishers would have us believe. With casual gaming and the credit crunch on the rise, what does the future hold?
We take a look at the Free Play from Ultimate Game Chair, which attempts to make gaming better than ever but without breaking the bank. Has cutting the cost resulted in a dip in quality though, or is the Free Play really the ultimate gaming chair? We find out.
With more and more shovelware making it in to Apple's AppStore it's getting harder to find any games that are actually worth playing. So, why don't you let us do the hard work for you with this guide to some of the latest, greatest and most belated iPhone games?
Joe has lately been trying and failing to review the new downloadable expansion to Fallout 3, Operation Anchorage. It seems that Microsoft just doesn't want to let him though and is fighting back with every worthless inch of Games for Windows Live. Now Joe has had enough.
Abandonware is a complex topic and the legality of it has been the cause for many a court case. In an effort to clear things up we examine the different types of Abandonware, as well as listing some of the best abandonware games that you can currently download.
2D Boy has announced that it/he is releasing the soundtrack for World of Goo - and it's absolutely free!
Crayon Physics Deluxe, the Crayola-alike indie game of much fame and acclaim, will be released later this week.
GOG.com, the cheap online gaming store for classic games, has announced it is giving away two free games to all account holders.
The year may well be drawing to a close, but we aren't done yet. There's just enough time left to look back on the specific moments that stood out for us this year, at what we reckon were our best gaming moments of 2008. Read our tales and choices within!
Crafty coders have updated the mobile phone version of Quake 3 for Nokia phones so that games can now be hosted from a handset.
According to rough figures from 2D Boy, developers of World of Goo, roughly 90 percent of all installs are pirated.
Independant Games Festival-winning game Crayon Physics Deluxe has finally gone on pre-order.
Nintendo's new DS model, the DSi, has a lot of new features and protections - but that hasn't stopped it being cracked within days.
Cliff Harris is an independent developer who gave up a career at Lionhead to start his own studio and make his own games - but don't they all say that? Cliff has a look at how indie development has evolved and asks if indie studios are truly independent yet.
It's big, gooey and reeking of unusual charm. What is it? It's Joe's latest plaything, the World of Goo. Based on the popular experimental game, Tower of Goo, World of Goo fuses a Lemmings-style gameplay with an icky, but adorable art style and the result is bloody fantastic!
The Pandora handheld, an open-source handheld console geared towards homebrew software, will go on preorder soon.
Indie dev house Introversion Software has released the new multiplayer spin on the critically acclaimed Darwinia - but is Multiwinia a game that has real depth to it, or does the game fall a little flat in the end? We find out...
Mount and Blade may have modest indie origins, but we reckon there's a hell of a lot of fun to be had in this open world, free-roaming medieval simulator. Check out our thoughts as we send Andy to conquer a kingdom with nought but a steed and a broadsword!
Jonathan Blow has said that while Braid may one day emigrate from Xbox 360 to PS3, it will never go to the Wii.
The Summer is already dying and we find ourselves moving ever closer to Christmas - the time when all the good games will burst onto shelves like over-ripe pimples under pressure. Check out our guide to find out which games we're excited about this year...
EA Bioware has announced that the Bring Down The Sky content pack for Mass Effect has just launched for the PC version - for free!
Nintendo has joined with 54 other companies to launch a mass lawsuit against the makers of the R4 device for the DS.
Pteroglider has been released for free by Codeminion, who only sold 32 copies of the game and describe it as a perfect example of what not to do.
All gamers have had an idea for a game, but many don't know how to launch their ideas off the ground. Now, Mark Morris of Introversion kicks off a new series examining how to launch your own independent studio.
Mainstream commercial games driving you nuts? Want some quick, free games to fill your lunch breaks or early evenings? We've got just the thing in our round-up of the best PC and Nintendo DS indie and experimental games.
Cliff Harris, ex-Lionhead AI coder turned indie developer, talks us through why he thinks sequels are actually a good thing. Is it possible that EA's endless sequels are a good thing? Cliff thinks so, pointing to his experience at Lionhead as an example...
Beautiful Katamari has been out for a fair old while in the US and Japan, but it's only just hit European shores. Is the game objectively worth the wait now that the hype has died down, or is this ball reached the bottom of the hill?
The Penumbra series gained fame as an accomplished indie effort, but has grown into a professional game of astonishing depth and detail. Now, as the series draws to a close in this final mini-epic, we take a look at Black Plague and see if it can go out with a bang.
Atari has announced a new retail version of The Witcher, i.e. not a patch, which will fix the games numerous issues.
Nintendo has released new figures, estimating a loss of $975 million in potential sales last year due to piracy.
Sierra Entertainment has announced that the awesome World in Conflict will be coming to both Xbox 360 and PS3 later this year.
We go hands-on with the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of Monolith's sequel to the Xbox 360 launch title, Condemned. With an even darker and grittier world, can the pant-wettingly scary Condemned bring the story of Ethan Thomas to a close?
So much for Xbox 360 exclusive - EA has confirmed it'll bring BioWare's Mass Effect to the PC with some new extra content to boot.
After EA bought up developer BioWare, Mass Effect was open to become multi-platform. Microsoft has other ideas though...
Bioware has announced the first downloadable content for Mass Effect, titled Bring Down The Sky. The pack will add a new race to the series as well as a new planet.
Mark Morris of Introversion Software, makers of DEFCON and Darwinia, writes in this weeks developer column about publisher pressure, how all the characters in Darwinia almost had smiley faces on them and why it's good to be indie.
Disney is testing out plans to use the Nintendo DS handheld as an interactive tour guide, further expanding the non-game applications for the console.
A new simulation game from Ian Bogost is released today which attempts to tackle the issue of obesity and promote nutrition awareness.
This year we didn't just get graphics cards and computer games in our Christmas stockings - some of us got books too. So, in an attempt to prove that the internet hasn't killed printed media, we take a look at some of the best and worst books about gaming available!
2007 is over, so we look at some of the most exciting games of the year ahead, just to show that even though 2007 was good, 2008 could be even better. It doesn't matter if you're a hardcore rocker or a casual sim-lover, 2008 has something for you!
Halo, Half-Life, BioShock - all great games to be sure, but they've all been covered to death. Now it's time to look at the underdogs and devote some time to the games that managed to slip through the cracks but which remain worth a look.
The finalists for the Independent Games Festival have just been announced as the event enters the final stage and the games compete for a $20,000 prize.
As part of a new series of columns by prominent indie and professional developers, James Silva talks about how he moved from being a dishwasher in an Italian resturant to being a game designer. Beware, the story contains ninjas, zombies and dishwashery!
Mass Effect for the 360 has been banned in Singapore due to the inclusion of lesbian alien-on-human sex scenes in the game, according to sources.
The Flemish Ministry of Culture knows that all the cool kids play computer games and has invested a stack of cash into the industry.
The new version of the GP2X handheld, the portable platform of choice for cheap gamers and coders, has been released with a few new features. Check out the specs inside.
We take a look at the best and brightest games from this year's Independent Games Festival and hazard some guesses at which games will be winners and which will be losers as they compete for the $20,000 Grand Prize.
The Independant Games Festival 2008 is now fully underway and the full list of entries is up, proving a great starting point for those wanting some new, free indie games.
Bioware has confirmed exactly whats going to be in the Limited Edition version of the upcoming Xbox 360 RPG, Mass Effect. Get the full skinny on what's going to be in the box.
Are you scared of trying out homebrew games and applications for your DS? Worried that you'll break it or get arrested for piracy? Fear no more - we explore the world of DS homebrew and look at some of the best games, apps and hardware to get the job done.
It's the gold rush, baby! Right at the front of the queue in fact is Splash Damage's Enemy Territory: Quake Wars and Mass Effect for the 360.
As part of a new series, Joe Martin has a chat with Rob Yescombe, screenwriter for Haze, and Martin Lancaster, writer for Crysis, about the process of writing first-person shooters and some of the problems involved.
Nintendo has confirmed that the Wii will have original downloadable titles, called WiiWare, available next year.
Joe Martin talks about episodic distribution and how to use it to revive the adventure game genre. Can episodic gaming be a success?
The 10th annual Independent Games Festival is now open to submissions. Indie developers, rejoice!
Joe Martin has a think about the culture of smack-talk and it's place in gaming as whole, complete with embarrassing stories from his past.
New bit-tech Staff Writer, Joe Martin, introduces himself and talks about the problems fanboys pose in our industry.
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