Today I pick yet another game from the GeziJAM, a game jam all about the Turkish protests that have been happening recently. Diren Teyze is a rather interesting game created by Engin Ünsal and Efe Alaçamlı.

Diren Teyze is a very interesting game that shows the other side to the protest, a side sadly present in all protests and often a side that overshadows the real meaning of the protest.

Diren Teyze (Aunt Resistance) was sitting around watching the TV when she was interrupted by the noise coming from outside. When she looked outside she couldn’t help but notice the provocateurs damaging her apartment along with many others along the street.

So taking to the streets she decided the only reasonable thing to do would be to clean up the streets one person at a time. It is up to you to go out and prevent any more damage occurring by enforcing the law.

Diren Teyze is controlled by you pressing the correct keys on the keyboard that correspond to the letters above the person’s head, very much in a guitar hero style.

Average play time – 2 minutes

Diren Teyze is an interesting little game that highlights some of the more underlying issues with the protest and it manages to do so in a rather fun and non-serious way.

Diren Teyze can be played online now. If you would like to find our more about the GeziJAM head to the official site.

If you are a developer with A fun indie game that can be played over a coffee break, we want to hear from you! Private message us on twitter @IndieGameMag or shoot us an email at editors@indiegamemag.com with the subject “Indie Intermission” and you could be our indie intermission pick of the day!

Lone Wolf is a one of a kind game. Combining beat-em-up’s with RPG mechanics isn’t too common, but it happens. And every gameplay genre has been mixed with the post-apocalypse setting by now. But where it gets particularly interesting is where the developer, Play ‘Em adds werewolves and a four-player cooperative mode.

The plot of Lone Wolf is that the protagonist must balance his humanity with the animal inside him in order to turn into a werewolf. Usually in post-apocalyptic stories, main characters are faced with giving in to chaos or staying civilized, so it is an interestingly literal take on the theme.

The game has a large world complete with a day/night cycle, trading system, and even a stealth system.  Honestly, everything about this game reminds me of a cheesy 1980s action/science fiction film, and that has me quite excited.

The developers have been posting on the Indie Game Magazine forums every couple weeks since January 2012, each update with a video demonstrating their recent additions. You can view these videos on Play ‘Ems Youtube channel, or the thread itself.

Every article in the From Our Backyard series features games indie developers who post in our forums. If you’re an indie developer and would like to be featured in From Our Backyard, post in the Tell Us About Your Indie Game forum? Just sign up for developer status before you post and you’ll be set! If you aren’t an indie developer, the Indie Game Magazine Community still wants to hear from you! For instance, right now we are discussing how Sony can best implement a self-published indie games store.

Today’s pick is from the recent game jam aimed to raise awareness of the violence and problems in Turkey. Although I have been following the events in Turkey I was unaware of the catalyst that started this movement.

Of course Turkey has had a lot of problems over the years and it seems this spout of protesting occurred from a small, innocent protest in central Istanbul over Gezi Park, one of the last remaining green spots in Istanbul. This sit-in was met with heavy police resistance and as a result of the disproportionate governmental response the protest rapidly escalated into its current state.

In response to this a group of indie developers decided to create a whole variety of games to show their support for the cause. Today’s game Path Of The Trees is a very simple little turn based strategy game highlighting the catalyst that started the Turkish protests.

Path Of The Trees was created by Burak Kürkçü, Leonard Pabin, and Johann Sebastian Bach as their response to what has been happening in Turkey, although the game is very short and simple the idea is nice and the idea behind the game has even more meaning.

In Path Of The Trees you must try to bridge the game with trees moving from the bottom edge to the top without being road blocked. The game is not overly challenging but it also offers a secondary goal, a goal that you can meet by planting at least 64 trees.

Average play time – 2 minutes

Path Of Trees is a rather basic strategy game that should not take you too long to complete or even achieve the secondary goal, but the bigger message is what is important with the game I feel.

Path Of Trees is very nicely animated and offers a pleasant relaxing game with a very subtle politic message.

Play Path Of Trees Online now. If you would like to find out more about the GeziJAM head over to their official website.

If you are a developer with A fun indie game that can be played over a coffee break, we want to hear from you! Private message us on twitter @IndieGameMag or shoot us an email at editors@indiegamemag.com with the subject “Indie Intermission” and you could be our indie intermission pick of the day!

Harvest‘s premise is that a chemical war has resulted in widespread infertility for humankind. Those who remain able to produce offspring become rare and essential for the continuation of the human race, however they begin to mysteriously disappear, making humanity’s chances of survival yet more perilous. You take the role of a noir-styled, trenchcoat-wearing detective in futuristic Detroit, on the hunt for answers, looking to save mankind. Yes, your as-yet unnamed character has a huge burden on his shoulders.

Gondefire Productions refer to Harvest as a 2D graphic adventure, which most likely means the majority of the investigative gameplay and puzzle solving will take place against static backdrops. Furthermore, in the vein of classics of the genre, menu-based interaction is key, with commands such as Move, Look, and Investigate allowing you to explore and observe the environments. Environments, I might add, which look absolutely beautifully rendered and really capture a great sci-fi aesthetic. In their Kickstarter write-up, Gondefire also promise some “action sequences”, but it is as yet unknown how these will take shape in the game.

If you’re interested in what you’ve seen of Harvest, the Kickstarter campaign is well worth checking out. There’s still just under a fortnight left of funding, and some cool backer incentives up for grabs, so why not get involved? You can follow @GondefireP on Twitter for updates too.

Incredipede is a unique game to say the least. Your character Quozzle, herself one of the titular incredipedes, can grow new arms and legs whenever she needs them, allowing her to traverse the uniquely designed environments of Incredipede‘s 60 levels by swinging, climbing, and even flying! The player is also given the freedom to alter Quozzle’s shape by taking full control over her limbs, stretching and adapting to make traversal easier.

There is also a fairly robust level editor on offer, or — if you lack creativity like me — thousands of user-created levels and creatures to experience. All things considered, Incredipede certainly delivers a different and interesting approach to the puzzle genre, and is well worth snapping up for free if you’re a Linux user. If you’re still not sold on the concept, consider checking out the IGM review, which speaks very highly of Colin Northway’s creation.

Incredipede for Linux is available here.

It is difficult to say much more about The Cat Lady without re-treading old ground — how do you further praise something that has seemingly been lavished with accolades at every turn? Watching the epic trailer above will tell you more about the game than is possible in mere words. If that excited you, then The Cat Lady is likely something you’d enjoy. For an even better insight into the game, there is a free demo available via the official website.

If you’d prefer something tangible, you can purchase The Cat Lady in both 1 disc and 2 disc boxed editions here. The game is also seeking approval on Steam Greenlight which is worth considering if you want to see the game exposed to the wide audience that it deserves.

Indiebundle.org has begun selling the Deadly Dungeons Bundle, featuring Knytt Underground, Dwarf Quest, and Dungeon Fray for just five dollars. The bundle also offers a “Bundle+” option, which includes another two games (Dary’s Legend and Miniflake) for an extra two dollars.

Knytt Underground is a platformer by Nifflas’ Games. The game features “an array of thrilling quests, unique zen-like gameplay and plenty of dynamic characters to meet and guide you on your adventure…”. A bundle purchase will give you a download of this game on PC or Mac through Desura. The game is also available for voting on Steam Greenlight.

Dwarf Quest is a dungeon crawler by Wild Card with turn-based combat, a battle card system, and nine levels with two boss fights. You’ll be able to download the game for PC or Mac, and a Desura key will be included. Once again, you can vote for the game on Steam Greenlight. Check out our review of the game on IGM Mobile.

Dungeon Fray is a fast paced roguelike game with three playable classes, randomly generated levels, turn-based combat, achievements, and perks. As another incentive for the hardcore players, the game features perma-death. This is the only game in the bundle to support Linux platforms. It’s available for Windows and Desura as well.

The Deadly Dungeons Bundle will be available for the next six weeks, and new bundles will go up for sale every two weeks. Keep an eye on indiebundle.org in the future for more bundle deals.

Today’s game is a game that has been around for a few years and follows a very simplistic but fun mechanic. The Terrible, Terrible Turret was created by Leon Arnott and is a very simplistic yet fun game.

The whole idea of The Terrible, Terrible Turret is that your turret is out of control continually firing more and more bullets in a sweeping arch across the screen. So now you must dodge the incoming hail of bullets and try to survive as long as possible, as the turret continues to sprays more and more bullets across the sky.

It’s very simple in concept but the gameplay itself is quite addictive and requires very little time investment but offers a great deal of fun as the game can potentially go on forever.

The graphic style is very simplistic and brings out a rather retro vibe in the game making for a rather visually interesting game.

Average play time – 1 minute

The Terrible, Terrible Turret is a very simple yet fun little game that provides you with quite the challenge from the outset as you try to avoid your own bullets in this crazy little game.

Be sure to play The Terrible, Terrible Turret online for free now and see how long you can last against this self-inflicted bullet storm.

If you are a developer with A fun indie game that can be played over a coffee break, we want to hear from you! Private message us on twitter @IndieGameMag or shoot us an email at editors@indiegamemag.com with the subject “Indie Intermission” and you could be our indie intermission pick of the day!

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Even though I immensely enjoy action platformers, puzzle platformers tend to deter me. As much praise as Braid received over the years, it remains on my list of shame, largely due to the fact that I know it features brain-bending puzzles that frankly, I’m just not interested in solving.  The simple physics-based puzzles in the Trine series or the whimsical puzzles found in Incredipede, —where failing often results in hilarity— are about as close to the border of puzzle platformer as I want to get.

At first glance, Gunpoint looks incredibly puzzle-heavy: getting from Point A to Point B and escaping to Point C often involves rewiring electrical currents, syncing light switches to trigger guns, hacking motion detectors to turn off the lights when activated, —the list goes on. However, much like the protagonist sleuth himself, the puzzle elements blend into the gameplay so well that I hardly realized they were there as I played through the game.

Led by Tom Francis, development team, Suspicious Developments, spent the past few years developing Gunpoint. On the Suspicious Developments website, Francis came up with a manifesto where Francis listed ten goals that he strived to make a reality in Gunpoint (and future titles). Francis and his team have hit them all on the mark with Gunpoint. Perhaps the most prominent goals that Francis set are number five and six: “I want to make games that are fun to learn” and “I want to make games that feel good but still use your brain”. Gunpoint excels at both.

It all begins with a murder. Before I even realized what I was looking at, a gun went off and a body fell unceremoniously out of a window and to the ground below -thud- thus beginning my career as a spy. Straightaway it is evident that Gunpoint’s simplistic user-interface is the Yin to the game’s rather complex mechanical Yang. There is no excess in Gunpoint, everything is streamlined and clearly presented; everything has a purpose and nothing is a waste of time. The pre-mission context is held in a tight text message conversation which serves as a light narrative that string together the levels. The chats can be skipped altogether, though you’ll certainly miss out on some great dry humor by doing so.

Gunpoint tip-toes along the fine line that runs between blatantly holding the player’s hand and dropping them into new situations with no instruction whatsoever, —glaring at you Starseed Pilgrim. There is no tutorial level, but that is because Suspicious Developments did such a great job at constructing the levels in a way that force players to practice with new gadgets without telling them to. When a gadget is purchased (using the money you earn from missions) a simple, single-sentence tip pops up, and that’s all the tutorial there is.  With that said, I was still learning things up through the last of the game’s twenty levels. Just as the game ended, I finally started feeling like I was getting good.

While I just started feeling like a professional spy as the game concluded, Gunpoint never punished me for fumbling around the earlier levels like Mr. Magoo.  If players are killed, Gunpoint gives them the option to respawn at various intervals mere seconds back in time.

Say I trigger an elevator door to make the guard look at it and away from the window that I plan to jump through. Everything is going to plan until, whoops, forgot to activate the gadget that allows me to muffle a window break. The guard turns, sees me still sliding through the shattered glass, and without a second thought, puts a bullet in my belly.  A menu then pops up with the option to respawn 5, 15, or 20 seconds prior. I respawn 5 seconds back, fix my error, and successfully infiltrate the building.

Gunpoint’s soundtrack (composed by Ryan Ike, John Robert Matz, and Francisco Cerda) is absolutely standout. Noir games are few and far between, and Gunpoint takes full advantage of that fact by engaging players with an urbane collection of tracks. In the commentary that comes included with the Special Edition of Gunpoint, composer Ryan Ike talks about his influences for Gunpoint’s soundtrack, specifically the “Five Floor Goodbye” which is named for the act of killing someone as seen in the opening scene of the game. Gunpoint’s music is catchy, slick, sexy, and has just the right amount of the genre’s iconic inauspiciousness to perfectly set the tone of the story.

There are only three types of enemies in Gunpoint: guards, armored guards, and agents. I never really noticed a difference between them since they all could be incapacitated with a leap-pounce attack and a few judo-slaps to the face. Even though Gunpoint is a one-shot, one-kill, game…avoiding the guards was pretty easy thanks to the protagonist’s ability to cling to walls and monkey-bar across ceilings. Upgrading the spring power of the pounce-attack enabled me to knock guards out of windows for easy kills…which I found strangely enjoyable.

While Gunpoint is a fairly short game, (I clocked in about two hours from start to finish), the fact that I felt I was just getting good at the end makes me want to go back and play through the levels again. The Special Edition comes with a commentary track that places Tom Francis and other members of the Suspicious Development team within the levels as interactive avatars. Walking up to one of these avatars and interacting with them triggers a short audio track relevant to that level. The amount of insight I gained from these bits of commentary was very impressive and made me appreciate little things that I would have otherwise never noticed (like the pre-mission text conversations actually impact the game). The commentary only comes with the special edition, which is double the price of the base game, but also comes with Gunpoint’s lovely soundtrack, which alone is easily worth the price difference.

A level editor comes with Gunpoint, and it was neat to see how the parts of the levels break down to pieces that players can then reassemble to create their own office settings. However, once assembled, there is nothing to do with the level apart from playing through it on your own. There is no option to share levels “with the cloud” or any other fancy business like that. I looked over the official website and the only mention of level sharing I could find was, “All editions come with the level editor. The levels it makes are saved as simple text files so they’re easy to share.” So if that helps you figure out what to do with your saved levels, good, I’m glad. If you’re still lost…you’re not alone. Considering that little bit of research is more than most people would do, the level editor will probably be useless for most players. I even checked Steam’s Workshop feature, hoping that maybe there would be a shadowy corner for Gunpoint player-made maps, but there was nothing.

Gunpoint, from start to finish, was a persistent challenge, but never felt like a chore. The simplistic visuals and interface layout made what could have been an overly complex experience, an incredibly fun one. The soundtrack and the humor blend seamlessly into the gameplay, resulting in a final product that  will remain in the back of my mind for months to come. Gunpoint is a near-perfect example of what a 2D stealth platformer should be, only falling short on extracurricular material that would have served to reinforce an already solid experience.

Buy Gunpoint today from the official website. Follow the game on Twitter, as well as its lead developer, Tom Francis.

The developer provided IGM a Steam key for the purposes of this review.

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