This coming Independent Games Festival Mobile competition — an event designed to “promote innovation in portable games” — features five Nintendo DS entries, three of which I’ve never seen before.
Some look more promising than others, but I’ve gathered all of the independently developed DS titles here for you to preview. Who knows, one of them might win big like 5th Cell’s Drawn to Life did last year!
Mortley: A Stitch in Time (Yellow Monkey Studios)
A homebrew game from India! Is this a first? Yellow Monkey’s blog has more artwork for this adventure title.
“Its the yearly mad scientist reunion, or ‘In.S.A.N.E.’ awards! Award nominee Dr. Frank Einstein’s Doomsday device is a sure winner. But alas, its stolen. Dr. Frank stitches up various body parts to create Mortley, a grotesque rendition of a noir film detective who is literally falling apart!
Play as Mortley, meet fantastic characters, replace his various body parts with in-game items, travel back in time to recover the doomsday device and save the world in this quirky adventure game for the DS.”
Oozerts (Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab)
This group put together some really interesting prototype Wii games last years, several of which I remember seeing featured in some Brit gaming mag’s sidebar. You can see more screens and even a trailer on Gambit’s site.
“Oozerts, Tastipet Inc’s bestselling candy bar, is low on supply and they need help! In order to fulfill their shipment orders, you have been hired as an intern at the Candy Reclamation Plant. Your job is to dispense every monster’s favorite candy bar into awesome-looking candy wrappers. Your supervisor, Scoop McGoop, wants you to fill each candy mold with precisely the correct amount of Oozerts.
Developed especially for middle-school pre-algebra students, Oozerts will be a highly enjoyable and interactive experience for everyone, regardless of their age.”
Reflection (Team Reflection)
This sounds like Chronos Twin, except upside down! Team Reflection has a PC prototype available on its site.
“Run and jump across two screens at the same time! Reflection is a 2D puzzle platformer developed for the Nintendo DS at the University of Southern California. Follow the adventures of an inquisitive young girl who accidentally releases an evil being, and the no nonsense warden she must team up with to stop the destruction of the world.”
UZA The First Journey (Multiple: Option)
I’m really surprised that Multiple: Option submitted this instead of Game Trivia Catechism: The Secret of Mister X. I haven’t played UZA, but you should try out GTC if you get a chance! Download UZA here.
“Arcade action meets abstract art - UZA: The First Journey is an arcade action game similar to Robotron/Geometry Wars. Guide UZA through fifty rounds of frenetic action, where wave upon wave of relentless enemies test your speed, accuracy and coordination. Watch as your gameplay performance creates a piece of real-time abstract art. With only one life, how long can you survive, how much can you score, and what will your actions look like?”
Wardive (and-or)
“Wardive reads the names of the hotspots in your immediate area and turns them into enemies which try to take over your wardrive-crystal. Try to fend them off with your touch pen, put your shields up, and don’t just stay in one spot. take Wardrive for a walk or on a ride through town. find out how may enemies hide in the area you are in or pass through.”
Here’s a link to download and watch video for Wardive. Developer and-or has another similar DS application called sniff_jazzbox, which “creates an audible city” by converting nearby wlan-waves into sound waves.
Good luck to all of the entrants!
