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This week, GamesRadar is celebrating independent development in gaming. Were talking to some of the most important names in the business and showcasing some exciting upcoming indie games. But as our "Ask an indie developer" series proves, its important to know the people behind the games. And theres always new talent worth learning about.
Yacht Club Games
Shovel Knight might be the first project from Yacht Club Games, but the teams background is hard to argue with. The group was formed recently by former members of developer WayForward, with Sean Velasco heading up the team. At WayForward, Velasco was director on 2D throwbacks like A Boy and His Blob, BloodRayne: Betrayal, and Double Dragon: Neon. All those games had clear affection for retro titles, and Velascos new team at Yacht Club looks ready to embrace those sensibilities with even more gusto.
Mike Bithell
Thomas Was Alone made some waves when the experimental platformer got a proper PC release in 2012, and Mike Bithells lovely title was introduced to a whole new audience a year later when it came to PS3 and Vita. The charming narration, subtle score, and progressively challenging puzzles made players invested in characters that were simple squares and rectangles. If Bithell could make us care about such simple shapes, it makes you wonder what he could do with more detailed characters, which hell likely do in his next game, Volume.
Gears for Breakfast
At one time, 3D platformers like Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie were the biggest thing in gaming. But the collect-a-thon genre (as the Gears for Breakfast team calls it) has virtually disappeared from gaming. Perhaps its Rares fault for adding too many collectible doodads to titles like Donkey Kong 64 and Star Fox Adventures, but Gears for Breakfasts head Jonas Krlev isnt ready to give up on that style of game just yet. Thats why he brought together a handful of developers from across the world and started work on A Hat in Time.
Capybara Games
This team might have put out the most games of any dev on this list, but by our estimation, not enough people are paying attention to Capybara. Luckily, we think thats about to change. Named after the largest breed of rodent in the world, the Toronto-based studio got its start making iOS games for several years before impressing PS3 owners with a port of the rainbow-vomiting Critter Crunch. The team then rebranded Might & Magic as a smart puzzle game across multiple platforms, and followed that by releasing Superbrothers, which appeared on multiple lists of best iOS games. The team is now gearing up for two big releases thatll likely make them one of the most high-profile indie devs around.
Young Horses Inc.
We doubt most of you would want to share your college projects with close friends, let alone the whole world (we know we wouldnt). But it was a student gaming project that brought a number of DePaul University students together to form Young Horses. The group made headlines at GDC 2011 with a little game called Octodad--so much so that some of the classmates quickly formed a team to release the project officially. Thus Young Horses was born, and theyve been working to refine Octodad ever since.
Asteroid Base
This Canadian trio of developers came together to create a title at a game jam in Toronto, and the three men have stuck together since 2011. Matt Hammill, Jamie Tucker, and Adam Winkels' first project was the simple ninja skydiving game Shuriken Skies, which made falling through the sky a frantic, multiplayer competition for the last parachute. Asteroid Base looks to continue that commitment to cute visuals and intense multiplayer with Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime.
Tribute Games
Licensed games are known for being pushed out to retail as quickly and cheaply as possible, so you'd be forgiven for overlooking Ubisofts GBA version of the ninja turtles game TMNT. The brawler was made by a small team within Ubisoft Montreal and took clear inspiration from the arcade game that older TMNT fans loved. After that nostalgia-tinged game, the teams next project seemed perfectly tailored for them. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World was a comic book and film for gamers and by gamers, so its fitting that the video game adaptation was a River City Ransom-style beat em up that paid homage to the source material.
Compulsion Games
Another member of Canadas growing independent community, Compulsion is based in Montreal, though it has a very international sensibility. Studio head Guillaume Provost worked for FPS dev Arkane before forming Compulsion four years ago. His other team members have worked on titles as diverse as Far Cry 3, Too Human, and Darksiders II, and the collective wanted their next game to stand out from the crowd of AAA releases. Contrast certainly should, as we doubt many other titles star an imaginary friend and visuals that combine film noirs shadowy style with vaudeville routines of the 1920s.
