GCAP09: Wide range of independent and student creations

Mike Bantick
Monday, 07 December 2009 09:27

Opinion and Analysis

Part of the Game Connect Asia Pacific 2009 conference is the showcasing of student and independent game developer work.  This year the range is broad indeed.

While much of this year’s Game Connect Asia Pacific 2009 is focussed on the mainstream industry of video-game creation, there is also a significant presence on the up and coming industry players. 

On show is a group of student and independent game developer work.  The quality this year is as varied as the concepts they cover.

A couple of games are – as expected this year – hoping to cash in on the casual market place.  Wordcore for example, lifts the magic word brain teaser straight from newspapers, gives it a light narrative and then presents players with increasingly larger letter amounts, and therefore more complex word permutations to wrangle.

Likewise Mole is aimed towards the predominately iPhone casual gaming market.  Asking players to delve underground looking for gems, coal and the ever important oxygen to enable even deeper exploration.  The game is the epitome of simplicity, and is obviously trying to capture the same market share that local game developer Firemint achieved this year with Flight Control.

Last Life is an intriguing mix of tower defence and real time strategy as players strive to plan the survival of their host plant in a hostile environment.  Controlling the root system, seeking out water supplies and avoiding parasitic bugs whilst attracting friendly insects is the aim.



Tower defence games are certainly prevalent this year.  Axis Mundi is a radial tower defence challenge using a central ziggurat fountain and water as a resource to building a variety of upgradable defence structures as fantastical undead foes stalk through the desert towards the player’s oasis base.





CONTINUED on PAGE 2