Indie RPG News Roundup: February 18
Have you finished all of 2007's independent computer role-playing games already, and you are looking for more? Here's what I've heard:

Avernum 5
The PC version of the latest in Spiderweb Software's huge fantasy RPG series has now been released - a couple of weeks earlier than I expected! Congrats to Jeff Vogel and the Spiderweb team. You can check out the PC demo (or just buy the full game) at Spiderweb's Avernum 5 Webpage. Avernum 5, available for Mac and PC, includes:

• An enormous world. Hundreds of quests, dozens of dungeons and enemy fortresses, and multitudes of characters.
• Epic storyline. Hunt the assassin Dorikas, while his agents try to trick and waylay you at every turn.
• Many unique encounters. Not just mindless hack and slash. Many unusual enemies that will require clever tactics to defeat.
• Rich game system with over 50 spells and battle disciplines, many character building options, and powerful secret skills to unlock.
• Unique game world. Not just the same old elves and hobbits.
• Experience with previous Avernum games is completely unnecessary to enjoy Avernum 5.

Depths of Peril
Soldak Entertainment reports that Depths of Peril, the award-winning and (IMO) incredibly innovative and awesome action/strategy/RPG is one of 7 finalists for Wizards of the Coast's/Gleemax's Gleemie Awards. The finalists for “The Gleemie” were selected from a field of more than 170 game submissions (10th Annual Independent Games Festival) based on strategic and innovative game play. I'm definitely cheering this one on, though it's up against some pretty awesome competition (like the incredibly cool "Crayon Physics" game by Kloonigames, not to mention Desktop Tower Defense).

Ethereal Dreams
The 2.0 Demo for Ethereal Dreams was released on New Years' Day, featuring approximately 3 hours of gameplay. This one has been making some slow but steady progress (the 1.0 demo was released a year ago), but it looks promising. It looks to be (currently) a Windows-only release. (Spotted at JayIsGames)

Indies of the Round Table
In case you missed it last week, ten indie RPG developers weighed in on the subject of "Why Indie RPGs?" here at Rampant Games. Panelists included Jeff Vogel, Vince D. Weller, Amanda Fitch, Steven Peeler, Thomas Riegsecker, and many more. It's a huge article, but full of great insight. Check out Indies of the Round Table #1.

The Trials of Soscarides
The Trials of Soscarides, an entry in the November RPGDX "RPG in a weekend" competition, has been completed as a full "mini" (and FREE) RPG available for both Windows and Mac.

The Legacy of Flan: Flan Rising
This free RPG is available from Scott Games. The game is part of a charity fund-raiser for a playground in Afghanistan, and the site is requesting donations rather than charging for the games. (Spotted at JayIsGames.)

Frayed Knights
The Frayed Knights "pilot" is going into a phased alpha test starting next week. Testers will be added in groups throughout March to test weekly builds. If you are interested in exposing your computer to the perils associated with a very alpha build, you can add yourself to the Frayed Knights Alpha Tester list.

The Adventures of Cendah
Carl Carlsson of KingDiz Entertainment reports that his newest RPG, "The Adventures of Cendah," will be released on Wednesday (Feb. 20th). This game promises improved features and better graphics than his previous games. There's a playable demo already available, so you can check it out now!

Darkened Dreams 2
Darkened Dreams is a primarily text-based (with block-maps of color) RPG by Curtis Mirci - a co-worker of mine and member of this community. He's now gathered together some help from some artists who liked what they saw, and they have begun development of Darkened Dreams 2. I'm hoping for some cool sub-title like, "Darkened Dreams 2: The Wrath of Khan" or "Darkened Dreams 2: Electric Boogaloo" or something, but he's been all tight-lipped about it. But you can check out the production blog and see what updates he has to share.

Sonnheim - A Place In the Sun
Version 0.1.6 of Sonnheim: A Place in the Sun was released about three weeks ago, by Rampant Games community member Hajo. He's been doing some very different things with this game, attempting something of a "non-combat" multiplayer RPG. Sonnheim is described as, "a multi user environment consisting of landscape and city like maps. It tries to combine the ideas of socializing and role playing and provides an environment for this."

To the World Tree
While not making the finals in the IGF, To the World Tree continues development, and version 5 of this free RPG was recently released. Primary emphasis on this new version was on improving the user interface. You can check it out at the To the World Tree Website.


Got more news? Comments? You can post here, or for posterity on the Indie RPG News Roundup Forum Thread.

(Vaguely) related tales of attacking bunny rabbits and giant rats:
* Indie RPG News Roundup, February 2nd
* Indie RPG News Roundup, January 22nd
* Indie RPG News Roundup, January 16th

Labels: Indie RPG News, Roleplaying Games

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