Here, we've collected 25 of the most entertaining indie titles we got our hands on recently. Some of these were being shown for the first time, others have been around the trade show circuit a few times now. Some are even already available for purchase or download. Regardless, all of these should at least be on the radar for anyone seeking new and entertaining gameplay experiences.
The complete family tree of video game control schemes–including handhelds, joysticks, paddles, gamepads, and one notable glove–this chart shows how gaming input has evolved from simple knobs to directional pads to touch screens. Including every console ever, this sprawling print features 179 species and 12 genera over seven decades of gaming.
The developer who crafted the creepy puzzles for the 2010 platformer Limbo is close to releasing 140, a side-scrolling rhythm game with constantly changing levels. The landscapes in 140 alter as its overlaid techno soundtrack hits major percussive beats, requiring players to time their movement and jumps with the rhythm to stay alive — the game's soundtrack controls everything from the player controlled character to the environment's shape and color. The music design earned the game Excellence in Audio from the 2013 Independent Game Festival awards presented at last week's GDC. 140 looks like a color-soaked hallucination of an 8-bit platformer, which should be equally wild to play as it is to watch. The game was created as an independent project of Playdead developer Jeppe Carlsen, and it's set to be released later this year.
