All good things must come to an end

Last week I heard Microsoft was finally beginning the process of sunsetting the Xbox Live Indie Games program for good. I know the writing’s been on the wall for a while now starting as far back as 2013 when MS announced they would no longer be adding updates for XNA, the development platform to build games with, but it’s still a bummer to hear as XBLIG together with XNA was something brilliant and innovative, allowing basically anyone the tools for building games for the Xbox 360.

Take me for an example. XNA was the primary reason I finally purchased a 360 back in 2012. For a while I was reading their book on XNA development and it was so cool seeing something you built on your computer be transferred to your 360 via your home network and watching it run on your big screen TV and controlling it with a 360 controller. In fact, when XNA was introduced back during the mid-2000s, this was a time when Microsoft was pushing hard for everyone to build software and applications on their platforms. Microsoft Press -- their own print publishing arm -- was churning out all sort of books aimed at their programming languages. Some of their books even looked like they were focused on kids getting into development.

XNA was a fun quirky little experiment, so it was odd seeing it come from such a large corporation. I’d put it in the same category as Sony’s Net Yaroze -- a development kit which allowed anyone to develop games for the original PlayStation. The games that people built for that were neat too, but unlike Net Yaroze, XNA had hooks built in where you can actually sell your games on XBLA’s indie section, which was mind blowing for the time, and actually still is today. So while Net Yaroze was something for hobbyists, you could potentially make a career with XNA.

So rather than feeling bummed out about them slowly ending support for their low entry program for games development, let’s celebrate Microsoft’s indie platform by showing off some of the games that came from it; which you can still buy today (so check them out if you’re interested). Here’s a short list of games I played that came from Xbox Live Indie Games. Don’t worry as there are no zombie games in this list ;-)

Gentlemen Start Your Engiiines

A bare bones racing game yet includes enough options to keep things interesting. You can select from four different circuit tracks, pick from a number of racers that resemble cars from America’s classic era, and can even do a bit of detailing to your ride like changing its color, racing number, and which US state flag to slap on top of the roof (I have no clue why this option exists). Inspired a bit by Daytona USA based on what I’ve seen such as the name of the game, the rolling start which begins each race (unfortunately "The King Of Speed" or a variant of it isn’t heard when this occurs), and the cover art for the game, it also includes slipstreams to help in reaching the front for the pack. If a quick race is all you need, then Gentlemen Start Your Engiiines is a great way to scratch that itch.

Cylinder

An absolute fantastic puzzle game and my favorite XBLIG title. You need to lineup matching puzzle pieces to have them removed from the play field. Time is of the essence though as new blocks will drop from the top every few seconds. If they stack up above a certain point, it’s game over. The unique aspect of this puzzle game is that the pieces are wrapped around, you guessed it, a cylinder, so you’re constantly moving the camera around to see what pieces you have on the other side. The soundtrack is pretty awesome, too.

Battle High 2

Fighting games seem like a tough one to program for. What with all of the precise controls and collision boxes you need to program and tweak again and again to get it to feel just right sounds like a nightmare. So to see one on XBLA indie and is one that plays well should be allowed an opportunity to shine in the limelight. Battle High 2 includes all the flair you’d see from a triple-A fighting game, has a good roster count, and great graphics. The controls feel a little squishy, but hey, they are responsive enough to where I don’t give a hoot.

Curse of the Crescent Isle

Probably the most polished game on this list. You get the sweet look and play of Super Mario Bros. 2 with Curse of the Crescent Isle. So if you’re jonesin for a new SMB2 game, then this is the one to get. It includes some of the mechanics like picking up enemies and throwing them at other enemies to knock them temporarily out of commission and the levels have those blocky, Fisher-Price looking backgrounds to boot. But it’s the visual look of the game being displayed on a wide screen HDTV that originally caught my attention. It’s a beautiful game, to say the least.

«Parallels - Short stack »