June 1st, 2010

The recent proclamation that two hours of gaming is equivalent to doing a line of coke sure got us thinking. Beyond the natural reaction that this was sensational quackery at its finest (and many fine sites agree), it made us thankful that our gaming hobby is oh-so-cheaper than those the seedier members of society pursue – apparently with the same results!
That’s the challenge then: can you make the most casually addictive game possible?
We’re giving you two months to find out!
99 Comments | In: Theme | tags: Casual Addiction, Theme | #
May 1st, 2010

There’s really nothing witty to say about that title, nothing apropos I’m afraid, but at least State side, May is the time for big-budget movies. The type with guns, babes, explosions, pithy one-liners, and HIGH VELOCITY car chases.
Given how quickly some of you guys belted out games last month, I’ll be surprised if we don’t see any games developed speedily within the week. Good luck!
72 Comments | In: Theme | tags: High Velocity, Theme | #
April 1st, 2010

Repetition often means getting better at something, or failing over, and over, and over. There have been a few (now) classic indie titles that have used it with some success – Cursor Times 10 springs to mind – and JRPGs have practically monopolized this theme for over 20 years now.
Though it would be easy for you lot to take the easy way out and make a game about level grinding, I expect we’ll see some takes on REPEAT gameplay we’ve never seen before.
66 Comments | In: Theme | tags: repeat, Theme | #
March 1st, 2010

Last month’s limited 28 day period sure got us thinking about time. Time was the mechanic du Jour back in the early 2000’s, what with your Prince of Persia’s, and Max Payne’s and what not. Lately we’ve shifted from simply being able to rewind time, to doing all sorts of crazy things with it – Braid, Time Donkey, and most recently 30 Second Hero come to mind.
It seems like 100 Things was plenty back in January, so what can you have the player do in 10 seconds?
82 Comments | In: Theme | tags: 10 Seconds, Theme | #
February 1st, 2010

Another month, another theme. With everyone focused on love this month (especially Hollywood with the abysmal looking “Valentine’s Day”), what better theme than Rejection?
So what about it you lot, any horrible ideas you’ve been itching to try from previous themes?
*Update*
Some of you have already started doing this, but it would be great to get an explanation on how your game fits the theme. It’s not a requirement, obviously, but I imagine it’s always interesting to see how everyone thinks.
62 Comments | In: Theme | tags: Rejection | #
January 1st, 2010

Happy New Year, everybody! While 2010, might quite not have the chutzpah of the year 2000 – what with its futuristic robot names and the ever delicious Millenios, it is a bright and bold decade in its own right. One that calls for an equally bright and bold theme – so what better than one with some strict limitations?
Yes, 100 Things is the name of the game this month, in honor of the original Indie Game Jam, which back in March of 2002 which tasked developers with using 100,000 sprites on screen at the same time.
So what can you do with 100 things?
58 Comments | In: Theme | tags: 100 things, Theme | #