Fiddlin' Joysticks.

First things first. I'm a closet gamer. Growing up, I was never really a Sega or Nintendo guy myself - I just wanted to saddle up with a few friends and let my brain melt away into an alternate, pixelated universe. I've always wanted to make a game, or even just pen one up. Hell, if I can put a game into any of the work I do today, the better.

Now, I haven't quite had the chance the lay down some gaming pixels quite yet, but I've been keeping a close eye on the indie game development scene for the last year or so. Checkout these indie folks that are absolutely slaying it (via their parent's basement, of course.)



Dinner Date
Simply put. You wait for your date to show up for dinner. Have a drink. nibble on some food. Hell, eat your entire meal before she even shows up while listening to your subconscious ask if you should stay or go. Really fascinating.. and a bit too real.



Minecraft
I don't even know how to put this into words, but I'll try. Basically you build your own pixellated landscape… and do really whatever you want with it. Some folks have created working computers in the damn thing. Not sure exactly how - it's amazing though. Things like this make me want to drape blankets over the windows and stay in over the weekend to play it.



SpyParty
SpyParty involves two of my favorite things: spies and shooting spies. While the game isn't out yet, it has a really interesting dynamic to it - you watch a small crowd of people in a party, learning each characters behavior. If something begins to seems a little off about someone's behavior, that small instance could be all you need to know in order to take him to the cleaners.



Fract
Lots of people claim that this game is Myst on acid - I think it's just a purely amazing visual/audio spectacle. Basically you are let loose in the abstract world and it's your job to reassemble some structures by way of sensory. Kind of a mindfuck, but it's fun just to sit back and watch.