A free PC game every few days

[J T]

This thread is like my other thread about "a new browser game every few days". Basically, the idea is to have a thread that isn't just a big fat list of games. Instead, one game is posted at a time with a few days for people to talk about it, kind of like "together retro", but for indie games.

If you want to add a game to the thread, please do, but try to keep the new game posts spaced at least two or three days apart from the previous one.

Let's begin...


Fract
http://richardeflanagan.com/lab/10-frac ... e-and-play
(Size: 189 MB)



This game just won the award for best new student made game at the IGF. It's created by a guy named Richard Flanagan who is an up and coming indie game designer that you might want to keep an eye on. The visual style is something like Tron or Rez, though it's more of an adventure game.

[J T]

The Journey Down: Over the Edge
http://www.skygoblin.com/
(Size: 241 MB)



The Adventure Games Studio (AGS) is a great site for playing and creating point & click adventure games. They have a yearly award show where they give out awards for some of the best games developed using the tools at AGS. This year, The Journey Down swept the awards.

Best Game Created with AGS for 2010: The Journey Down: Over the Edge
Best Gameplay: The Journey Down: Over the Edge
Best Dialogue Writing: Eternally Us
Best Original Story: The Journey Down: Over the Edge
Best Puzzles: The Journey Down: Over the Edge
Best Short Game: Eternally Us
Best Non-Adventure Game Created with AGS: Operation: FORKLIFT
Best Demo: Matt to the Future
Best Player Character: The Journey Down: Over the Edge
Best Non Player Character: The Journey Down: Over the Edge
Best Background Art: The Journey Down: Over the Edge
Best Animation: The Journey Down: Over the Edge
Best Character Art: The Journey Down: Over the Edge
Best Programming: Operation: FORKLIFT
Best Sound Effects: The Journey Down: Over the Edge
Best Voice Work: Ben Jordan - Case 2 Deluxe
Best Music: The Journey Down: Over the Edge

It wins across all these categories for good reason. It's a great adventure game in the tradition of the Lucas Arts classics and it really understands the art of storytelling within the Point & Click genre.

[emwearz]

The Journey Down looks fairly good, I will have to give it a try. Do you know if it has speech?

EDIT: Never mind, I see the full release will feature High Res and Speech.

[J T]

Desktop Dungeons
http://www.qcfdesign.com/?cat=20
(Size: 6 MB)
PC and Mac versions available



Desktop Dungeons just won the award for excellence in design at the Independent Games Festival. It is sort of a rogue-like game and sort of a single screen puzzle game. It uses randomly generated levels to keep the game constantly fresh as well.

[J T]

Super Crate Box
http://www.supercratebox.com/
(Size 22 MB)
PC and Mac versions available



AmishSamurai recommended this game over in the browser game thread, but I thought it was more appropriate here. I finally got around to playing this. Wow! What a great little game. It's really fast and fun. Here's what AmishSamurai had to say about it:

It's not a browser game, but I still found it to be a blast. It's like the original Mario Bros. Arcade game, except you have guns. And there's boxes. These boxes have guns. You unlock more guns by getting more boxes. The enemies on the screen don't matter- your score is based on how many boxes you collect. However, ignoring the enemies makes them fall into the pit of fire, which enrages them and causes them to further impede your glorious quest of boxes. I had some slowdown and stallout issues after playing for a while, but maybe they've fixed it in a recent build. Also, the soundtrack is great, and free for download in it's 5-track glory.

[J T]

Improviso
http://gambit.mit.edu/loadgame/improviso.php
(Size: 180 MB)
PC and Mac versions available



Improviso is a game about improvisational story telling. You act out the parts of different characters in a play about a space alien. There is some basic structure to the plot (with some possible plot branches), but you fill in all the dialogue. It's a bit like a 3D version of Jason Rohrer's "Sleep Is Death". This game is pretty easy to figure out and play.

The game is played by two people. One is the lead character (Ted, the reporter) and the other is the director who selects the plot structure and plays the entire supporting cast. So far, I have only done the tutorial, but I'm looking forward to playing with another person soon.

The game is also part of a research project. There is AI built into the game that is trying to examine and understand how people play the game so that the AI will later be able to play the role of supporting actors as well.

[fvgazi]

Great stuff, JT! Thanks for posting all these games.

[brunoafh]

I will almost certainly be playing Desktop Dungeons. It's the kind of game that would've kept my 10 year old self occupied for days after stumbling upon it, when cnet.com was a decent source for free games. Luckily I haven't grown up much since.

[J T]

White
http://www.white-the-game.com/downloads
(Size: 211 MB)



Some games try to be art. This game only tries to let you make art. And you make it in the funnest way possible: by shooting adorable little aliens and using their blood and eviscerated bodies to paint your abstract art masterpieces. It's cute, it's horrible, and it's awesome.Watch the trailer

[J T]

I will almost certainly be playing Desktop Dungeons. It's the kind of game that would've kept my 10 year old self occupied for days after stumbling upon it, when cnet.com was a decent source for free games. Luckily I haven't grown up much since.

Yeah, it's definitely one of those games that can just suck you in. Each level is like a puzzle that requires you correctly balance all your stats. It feels like an immensely challenging RPG, but you can tell there is a way to beat each screen if you just play it right. Also, with the randomly generated dungeons, you will never run out of rooms to play. It's endless.