Indie RPG News Roundup, April 30 2009
So what's up in the world of indie computer RPGs? Heck if I know - I'm head-down in my own development these days. But somehow news of the cool has filtered down in the dungeon where I am laboring. This month, most of the news and rumors I'm hearing on the indie RPG front has a very definite "jRPG" / anime - style slant to them. Not that I don't love my jRPG / manga / anime style games. But I'd like some more the love from the more western-style RPG developers in indie-dom with projects that are nearing completion. I'll keep listening. Let me know if you hear anything!

Here's what I've been hearing lately.

Dark Souls
Dark Souls is the recently-released debut RPG from Warfare Studios. It tells the story about a mercenary haunted by the crimes of his past - and hunted FOR them as well. As one of the premier bad-ass mercenaries of the world, he receives a commission from the church - whom he's done business with many times before - to escort an innocent girl with great potential power and her idealistic-but-capable protector across the country.

Of course, the fact that he's hunted by soldiers makes him less-than-ideally suited to be the best guide for this young prodigy, a suggestion he makes and the church leader dismisses. Something's going on.

Dark Souls is the first in a planned 4-game series. It's a little rough around some edges, but it also has a very interesting world that seems - at this point at least - to be pretty well thought-out. It's worth checking out - the game offers the first hour as a free trial mode to see if you like it.

Download Dark Souls

Aveyond
The next game in the best-selling "casual" RPG series, Aveyond 3, is now officially in beta. In her blog, Amanda reports that the game remains on track for a release next month - which is to say, at some point in May, not TOMORROW, May 1st. In addition, details have been leaked that the next RPG in the series - Aveyond 4, will be more of a direct sequel. Up until now, the Aveyond games have taken place in the same world, but with (mostly) new characters and unrelated storylines.

Aveyond 3 Screenshots

Also, Walz Music is also releasing a soundtrack of extended versions of music from Aveyond and a few additional pieces. Entitled, "From Another Shore, Aveyond & Beyond," it should be available at Amazon and iTunes on May 25th.

Spirited Heart
If you (or someone else you know) liked Cute Knight and / or Princess Maker, you will want to check out Spirited Heart. It's a "life sim" style game. You choose your role as one of three girls - an (apparently) normal human, a cute elf, or a wicked demoness. That's the demoness working as a maid to the right. There are twenty different jobs and many events that take place during the game.

Download Spirited Heart (Mac, Linux, and PC)

Mars
Spiders Games is a new French game development studio, which includes several veteran game developers. They are going indie (so far) and self-funding their first title, a sci-fi action-RPG entitled Mars, intended for both the PC and the PS3. They are shopping for a publisher now, and so the "indie" status of the title might not last much longer. But for now, here it is:

Mars Website

Cute Knight Kingdom
Hanako is hard at work on Cute Knight Kingdom, the sequel to her best-selling Cute Knight. An early video and screenshot (left) shows that the game is now a bit less abstract in its environments. The Cute Knight can walk around outdoors and in the dungeon just as she can in the town environments. The first-person-esque dungeons of the original game are gone, replaced by top-down 2D dungeons with lighting effects and monsters that can be seen at a distance. Development is still early, so a lot can change, but it's shaping up and looking pretty sharp.

Kivi's Underworld
Last week, Soldak entertainment added pictures and descriptions of three more playable characters - all female - of the twenty available in Kivi's Underworld: Diador, the gladiator; Xtara the merchant, and Vara the Runemaster.

Age of Decadence
A "Combat Demo" for Age of Decadence is planned "soon." So we should soon get a feel for the turn-based combat system for this upcoming, Roman-era-esque hardcore indie RPG!

Eschalon: Book 2
Not too much to report here, but it seems the hoped-for Q2 release this year won't be happening. Right now, expectations are for a (late) Q3 release.

Labels: Indie RPG News

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