Day of the Devs

 

Day of the Devs starts at 2:17:00

As much as I still enjoy playing AAA games, I lately find the most fun and enjoyable gaming has been from indies.  While big publishers keep chasing trends as they search for the secret to making infinite profit for free, people who actually love games are using all the new tools available to them to make creative and entertaining products.  Stardew Valley, Factorio, Undertale, Satisfactory, 7 Days to Die, Dwarf Fortress, and technically games like Minecraft, Path of Exile, and Warframe have dominated my game time since college.  That doesn't mean I haven't played my recent WoW and Diablo, my Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, my Elder Scrolls and Fallout.  But by far, smaller, more passionate developers hold my interest more easily.

So in all honesty, this is the part of the showcase I'm most interested in.

Cuphead

Cute trailer reminding us of this classic.  I don't know if my head will let me play it, but this would have been my jam as a kid.  I'll probably attempt to play this eventually.

Beastieball

Pokemon meats volleyball in turn based combat?  I am here for this!  And wholly crap is this adorable!  It also looks like they've put a lot of thought into these systems.

Hyper Light Breaker

Hyper Light Drifter is another one on my queue.  My queue is way too big . . .  I really love the visuals in this.

Simpler Times

This looks charming as hell.  Giving me Edith Finch vibes, but crossed with Unpacking.  Not sure I'll check this one out, but it definitely looks like a nice chill game.

Viewfinder

I've seen some of this before, though I can't remember where.  May have been Sony's.  I love puzzle games like this!  If they pull this off, I can see myself really enjoy this.  I also see a cute kitty companion!

Hauntii

Definitely digging the art style.  Might check this out if I get a chance.

Cart Life

Given it's history, I'm not surprised I've never heard of this one.  It's nice that an older indie game that never got a chance to shine gets new legs.  I like the whole Indie game thing of taking a basic video game concept and expanding it into a more narrative experience.  In this case, it's a retail sim where you also have to manage your characters work-life balance and social relationships.  Possibly compelling concept, though might be a bit real for this time in my life.

Helskate

I used to love playing skate and snowboard games before college.  Combining this with a combat game sounds like a ton of fun!  I'm kinda getting the same vibes I got from Hi-Fi Rush.  It's that same level of smashup, but the visuals also have a similar vibe.

Henry Halfhead

Alright!  This is the weird, trippy shit I'm after.  Could do without the William H McRaven at the start, though.  Also, that sound effect was getting a bit annoying.

Cocoon

Got a little bit of Journey vibes from the art style and world on display.  This is the kind of trippy, puzzle exploration I'm into!  This looks like a ton of fun.  The guardians have really interesting creature design.

Été

This looks like an interesting open world and sandbox game.  I hope you can export the art you make, as this could be a fun way to make some simple art.

Indie Mega Booth

It's good to hear this back.  Glad to know that COVID didn't kill this.

Summerhill

This game looks beautiful.  Sheepherding is an odd angle to tackle exploration and puzzling from, but it harkens to other games where you have to roundup lost creatures.  In a way, one could say those game harken back to sheepherding.  Not much info on it yet, so not much to get excited about for now.

Eternights

Growing from the trend started from Persona, this mashes up Japanese style dating sims with another genre of games.  In this case, it looks like an ARPG.  If this is done well, bridging the mundane slice of life with supernatural weirdness the way Persona does, it could be good.

Retro Gadgets

Oh cool!  A simulator for hacking hardware and making your own electronic gadgets!  I have got to check this one out!  Full stop!

Mars First Logistics

Oh no!  It's a robot builder!  I'm already there!  This is why I love this showcase!

Saltsea Chronicles

Not sure I like the art style, but the writing they showed off looks solid.  Adventure games are tricky though.  I do like the fact that they make moving around to each interaction much easier.

PsychOdyssey

As someone who's passionate about gamedev, I might have to check this out.  This isn't necessarily an independent look at game creation though, as it seems Double Fine did it themselves.

Tchia

Another gorgeous looking game.  The most trailer like presentation of the show, it's hard to beat showing gameplay to beautiful music from the game itself.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Although much slower paced than many other game reveal shows, I still feel like I get the most form this one.  While at the end of the day, these people do have a product to sell, I don't feel as marketed to here.  There are no expensive trailers, no bullshots, no marketing gimmicks.  Where as so many other shows feel like a company trying to get you to buy their product, this always feels more like artists trying to get you to play their games.  I would honestly try any of the games in this showcase.  There are some I'm more interested in then others.  Beastieball, Cocoon, Retrogadgets, and Mars First Logistics are my standouts.

Up next is Devolver Direct.  But I'm not sure how I'm gonna handle this one.  I've missed a couple of their presentations, which was bad of me.  One of them was an actual interactive showcase I really should have found the time to play.  But unfortunately they came out during some really rough times.  Also, their stuff tends to not be the kind of thing you should spoil.  So I might just go on from here to the Xbox showcase.  I'll have to think this over . . . while I'm crunching Datasheets . . .