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Thursday, July 16, 2009

Games Every Game Is A Winner

Posted by Sam Machkovech on Thu, Jul 16, 2009 at 10:31 AM

Seattle's coming-so-soon Penny Arcade Expo can be intimidating for folks who don't dress like Princess Toadstool. For folks who don't hold onto the back handlebars while they play Dance Dance Revolution. For folks who'd never dream of binding their FPS controls to ESDF instead of WASD. Normal folks.

But you don't have to be any of those things to get a kick out of the PAX10, the fest's indie gaming competition. Just announced today are the fest's hand-picked choices: complex strategy games, twitchy puzzlers that the Bejeweled set could love, and an interactive book for kids called What Is Bothering Carl?, among others. Oh, don't forget this entirely hand-drawn point-and-click adventure:

Our local pals behind Tag: The Power Of Paint are on the list, too. Congrats, guys. The full list of nominated games with links is after the jump.

CarneyVale: Showtime by the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Games Lab (Xbox 360)

Closure by Tyler Glaiel and Jon Schubbe (PC)

Fieldrunners by Subatomic Studios (iPhone/iPod touch)

Liight by Studio Walljump (Wii)

Machinarium by Amanita Design (PC)

Osmos by Hemisphere Games (PC)

Puzzle Bloom by Team Shotgun (PC)

Tag: The Power of Paint by Tag Team (PC)

Trino by Trinoteam (Xbox 360)

What is Bothering Carl? by Story Fort (PC)

Comments (9) RSS

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For folks who don't hold onto the back handlebars while they play Dance Dance Revolution.

UGH! Not a real fan! DRTB, bar hugger.

LOVE. IS. OVER. I no longer desire to touch your face. You are beneath contempt.

Posted by Baconcat on July 16, 2009 at 10:45 AM

I love adventure games. It's one of the reasons I'm holding onto my old computer - the knowledge that someday, I'm going to want to pop in Full Throttle or Sam & Max and play all the way through again.

Posted by Greg on July 16, 2009 at 12:55 PM

I need to find a good Day of the Tentacle crack. Mmmmmmmm

Posted by Joh on July 16, 2009 at 1:07 PM

@2, 3: There are bittorrents with all the old lucasarts games floating around--got mine off of the pirate bay, not sure where you'd go now, but. yeah. Playable off of the SCUMMVM emulator engine.

Posted by Garth B on July 16, 2009 at 1:15 PM

@4: If you go that route, you could also support LucasArts by getting the remastered Secret of Monkey Island off Xbox Live, released yesterday for only $10. The redone artwork is fantastic; not ready to pass judgment on the voice acting, though.

Oh, and the DS SCUMM emulator is particularly good.

@1: Can't believe I'm saying this, but I liked it better when it was Will In Seattle who made no fucking sense on my posts.

Posted by Sam Machkovech

on July 16, 2009 at 1:39 PM

Why would you go ESDF? Seems like it would just make it difficult to hit L-Ctrl with your pinky.

Posted by w7ngman

on July 16, 2009 at 1:44 PM

I guess it opens up your pinky to A and Z... but still. Worth it?

Posted by w7ngman

on July 16, 2009 at 2:02 PM

@5: It's a DDR joke. Only elite gamers will know it.

Posted by Baconcat on July 16, 2009 at 2:19 PM

I played Closure a few months ago when it came out, and had a hard time loving it--yes, the atmosphere is excellent, but the controls (which is to say, the glitchiness of the controls and the irregular application of game movement rules) ruined it for me. I wonder if they've cleaned up the controls for PAX? If they have, it's a great game. If they haven't, it's still a great concept.

I can't wait for Machinarium. The Samarost games are absolutely delightful, and I've been hoping for another installment from their developers.

Posted by Christin on July 17, 2009 at 10:18 AM