PAX Aus Indie Showcase winners announced

paxaussieThe countdown is on to what is the biggest gaming festival that Australia has seen in…well…ever. PAX Australia will be delighting gamers everywhere on July 19-21 and the announcements have already started. Up first, the PAX Aus Indie Showcase winners have been announced.

Highlighting the most unique Aussie and New Zealand independent games, the PAX Aus Indie showcase features six titles that were selected by a panel of gaming industry big wigs from 60 submissions. And just who made the cut? The inaugural PAX Aus Indie Showcase winners are as follows:

antichamber

Antichamber

Developed by Alexander Bruce, Antichamber is a mind-bending psychological exploration game where nothing can be taken for granted. In a world where hallways wrap around upon each other and spaces reconfigure themselves, accomplishing the impossible may just be the only way forward.

Features:

  • A deeply psychological experience that will make you question everything you know about how a game works.
  • Mind-bending challenges that will subvert your expectations at every twist and turn.
  • An enormous, seamless non-Euclidean world to explore.
  • Lifelike soundscapes developed by Robin Arnott and an ambient soundtrack composed by Siddhartha Barnhoorn.
  • A gun that can create, destroy and manipulate matter, allowing you to discover new ways to overcome your surroundings.

For more information, check out the game’s official website. And while you’re there, ogle the impressive number of awards the game has already won.

blackannex

Black Annex

Developed by Man Fight Dragon, Black Annex is an action strategy game where the player operates the hands-on business of corporate sabotage and infiltration. In Black Annex, you will manage company resources, customise and outfit your agents before deploying them to steal, destroy, kidnap and kill as the mission and your own choices dictate. You’ll be challenged, however, as you will need to divide your time between taking care of business at Black Annex (where you’ll be represented by the PERSONA of your choice from their collection of agents), and then taking direct control of up-to five agents deployed to various missions spanning a number of unique, corporate locations.

Features:

  • An isometric action-fest with a twist of deception and espionage!
  • A huge array of missions spanning multiple corporate locations!
  • Collect enemy agents during missions to add to your team!
  • Discover hidden, unique agents by completing optional tasks!
  • Explore “Black Annex” with your persona agent and keep business running smoothly!
  • Upgrade weapon and deception abilities over time to further breach target corporations!
  • “Rebuild” completed missions indefinitely until you’ve collected all the agents and assets!

For more information on the game, take a look at the official website.

duet

Duet

Developed by Kumobius, DUET is a fast-paced, classical arcade flyer. Your survival is dependent on protecting two vessels – they are devices in sync, a dance and song between two entities tethered together in symbiosis. Return to an age of high scores and edge of your seat terror where the world around you becomes quiet and numb as all that matters is the game living between your palms.

Take a look at Kumobius’s website for more information on their games.

fracturedsoul

Fractured Soul

Developed by Endgame Studios, Fractured Soul is a retro style platform game played across both screens of the 3DS at once. It features: 5 worlds – each with unique properties on the upper screen (such as inverted gravity), shmup sections, and online leaderboards to compete for the best speedrun times in the world.

You are forgotten. Stranded on an outpost in deep space, you remember nothing of who you are. All you know is that you are different. You are able to shift into a parallel dimension at will. The outpost has been invaded, and is now swarming with hostiles. Escape is imperative, and with danger on all sides, it is only your unique power that can give you a fighting chance.

Features:

  • Double the action: Fractured Soul takes the classic, instantly familiar platform game and brings it to the next level with dual-screen gameplay!
  • Online rankings for speed running: Compete against your friends and the world via Nintendo leaderboards.
  • Gameplay variety: 5 major zones, each bringing a unique challenge to the second screen.
  • Your dimension-shifting journey will take you underwater, through fierce winds, scorching heat and even inverse gravity!
  • Hours of content: 30 levels across 5 zones, including both platforming and shoot-em-up game styles, as well as epic, dual-screen boss battles!
  • Hardcore challenges: Unlock challenge levels, and test your skills to the limit!

For more information about Fractured Soul, hit up its official website.

influx

InFlux

Developed by Impromptu Games, InFlux is a puzzle game that mixes exploration and puzzle platforming in a series of beautiful natural and abstract environments. You are a mysterious metal sphere which falls from the sky, traversing an apparently deserted island dotted with cubic structures of glass and steel. Each glasshouse is a puzzle to be solved.

Features:

  • Sit in a comfy chair and become as relaxed as you have ever been while playing a video game
  • Solve a series of mind-bending cubic puzzle structures connected by
  • A series of beautiful, natural hub world environments to roll around
  • Meet a majestic and enigmatic humpback whale
  • Works great with keyboard and mouse or your Xbox 360 controller
  • A completely original soundtrack by musical genius Jonathan Yandel

The official website for Impromptu Games has more on InFlux, in addition to their other games.

macguffinsc

MacGuffin’s Curse

Developed by Brawsome, MacGuffin’s Curse is an addictive puzzler offering something for both casual and seasoned players alike. When fugitive magician Lucas MacGuffin bungles a museum robbery, he finds himself bound to an ancient amulet, trapped in a city in high-tech lockdown, and suddenly fighting the urge to scratch himself. As a human, Lucas is agile and cunning. As a gigantic wolf, he’d rather smash anything in his way. Only by transforming between the two forms, cleverly utilising both sets of skills, will he stand any chance of lifting his curse. Along the way he’ll need to befriend a hilarious cast of characters, convince the city its most beloved citizen is a terrifying criminal mastermind, and hardest of all, teach his daughter it isn’t funny to fill the fridge with dog food.

Features:

  • Switch between wolf and human forms to solve 150+ inventive and rewarding puzzle rooms.
  • Combines the logical challenges of the classic top-down video games with the quick-witted dialogue and sidequests of a vintage point-and-click adventure.
  • Thousands of lines of comedic dialogue and descriptions. You’ll want to examine each and every park bench!
  • Challenge without frustration! Stuck on a room? P.I. Strump is on the line to help you along (between insults) with a multi-level hint system.
  • Playable casually in tiny bursts, or as a sprawling full-length adventure.
  • No shoddy ports! MacGuffin’s Curse was developed simultaneously for PC, Mac, iPhone and iPad.
  • A rich, compelling world – explore the surreal nightlife and history of an ancient carnival city in high-tech lockdown!
  • An insanely catchy soundtrack spanning spooky strings, acoustic gypsy power-rock and retro chiptunes.
  • Unlockable Comics, Post-Game Challenges, Easter Eggs, Commentary and other bonuses to keep players coming back long after the credits have rolled!

The official website for Brawsome has more on the game.

And there you have it. The six winners of the first PAX Aus Indie Showcase. And if there isn’t at least one title within those six that doesn’t warm the indie appreciating cockles of your heart and pique your interest, well…I don’t know if you can call yourself a gamer.


About the Author: Founder & Editor-in-Chief

Tash is a self-diagnosed gaming fanatic with a doctorate in Psychology. She's also a self-confessed Mass Effect fangirl and will likely talk your ears off if you ever get her started on the subject. A lover of all things RPG and adventure, she has more gamer related action figures and memorabilia than any 30 something year old professional has a right to own, and has spent more time than she’d like to admit to daydreaming about exactly what she would do should the Zombie Apocalypse actually happen.

generic lexapro