Before the coronavirus pandemic starting sending everyone into a frenzy and all of the news and updates in the world became about this threat to our very existence, Google had announced something that had intrigued quite a few people. Back in January, the tech giant announced the 2020 Indie Games Festival which was basically meant to celebrate as well as facilitate a burgeoning industry that is starting to allow a lot of people to take part in the creation of a wide variety of games many of which are starting to become more and more popular as time goes by.
Three regions were allowed to participate in this festival, namely Europe, South Korea and Japan. Developers with 50 employees or less from each of these regions had until March to release their games, and out of the hundreds of submissions that were received, 20 ended up being selected as finalists. 9 of these have turned out to be the winners, with 3 being selected from each region.
The three winners from Europe are Cookies Must Die from the husband and wife developer duo Rebel Twins operating out of Poland, inbento by Afterburn also from Poland and finally the White Door by Rusty Lake from the Netherlands. It’s interesting to note that two of these winners come from duo developers which make them truly indie games.
The three winners from Japan are GIGAFALL by Shiki Games Studio, METBOY! by REBUILD GAMES and Wasureinade, otona ni natte mo by GAGEX co ltd. All three winners from Japan boast a retro art style and are significantly more action packed and story driven than the European winners which serve more as passive, if enjoyable, diversions.
The winners from Korea, Heroes Restaurant by Team Tapas, Magic Survival by LEME and Project Mars by Moontm, found a middle ground between Japan and Europe. While somewhat action packed and immersive, their games are a lot more casual than the winners from Japan which is it is important to note that because of the fact that it is more difficult to succeed in making subtle games like this.
Read next: Queries around Black Mental Health, Ableism, and Ableist Language Were Among the Top Searches on Google
Three regions were allowed to participate in this festival, namely Europe, South Korea and Japan. Developers with 50 employees or less from each of these regions had until March to release their games, and out of the hundreds of submissions that were received, 20 ended up being selected as finalists. 9 of these have turned out to be the winners, with 3 being selected from each region.
The three winners from Europe are Cookies Must Die from the husband and wife developer duo Rebel Twins operating out of Poland, inbento by Afterburn also from Poland and finally the White Door by Rusty Lake from the Netherlands. It’s interesting to note that two of these winners come from duo developers which make them truly indie games.
The three winners from Japan are GIGAFALL by Shiki Games Studio, METBOY! by REBUILD GAMES and Wasureinade, otona ni natte mo by GAGEX co ltd. All three winners from Japan boast a retro art style and are significantly more action packed and story driven than the European winners which serve more as passive, if enjoyable, diversions.
The winners from Korea, Heroes Restaurant by Team Tapas, Magic Survival by LEME and Project Mars by Moontm, found a middle ground between Japan and Europe. While somewhat action packed and immersive, their games are a lot more casual than the winners from Japan which is it is important to note that because of the fact that it is more difficult to succeed in making subtle games like this.
Read next: Queries around Black Mental Health, Ableism, and Ableist Language Were Among the Top Searches on Google
