Day of the Devs Draws Best Indies Together for a Night of Radical Games

I could use a shirt with this sweet logo. (image via dayofthedevs.com)

California was so lucky last night! Of course, it played host to this year’s third annual Day of the Devs, hosted by Double Fine and iam8bit at the The Midway in San Francisco. Since I was glued to the stream and stream’s chat all night from my couch here in New England and not at the event myself, I caught only but a modest slice of the varied and delicious pot pie known as Day of the Devs 2015, which wafted its incredible aroma of indie sweetness with great fervor. All streaming issues aside (and there were a lot of streaming issues, I did feel sorry for the team working hard on it!), the exhibition on twitch highlighted about half or so of the featured games at the event. Some, like Secret Legend and Wattam, I had come prepared to be amazed by. Others, like Thumper and Gnog, I hadn’t envisioned in my wildest dreams and feel better just remembering that I had the pleasure of discovering them last night.

Wattam! (image via US Playstation Blog)

As I said, the stream at the start was extremely unreliable and spotty, but at least the title card was purdy to look at. Wattam, Keita Takahashi‘s new joint (alongside the amazing Robin Hunicke and Funomena) was featured first and we were treated to it’s new trailer, which highlighted extremely engaging and creative gameplay and Takahashi’s trademark amazing character flavor. Unfortunately, the feed had cut out for most of the actual interview with the both of these fine folks.

Overland, Cannabalt’s Adam Saltsman (@ADAMATOMIC)’s newest endeavor, had a lot of screen time during it’s time slot. You know by now that I’m a sucker for isometry, right? The terrains and models in this game in addition to the turn-based tactics mode of play made it feel like a completely fresh and new experience. I’ll definitely be watching this one.

Seeing the trailer for Secret Legend was a special moment, and the point at which the chat lost its mind. Everyone seemed to have a really positive response to the gameplay and, like me, fell instantly in love with the fox character and the world in which he royally destroys all monsters. Not a huge surprise though, since I spent the majority of the other day talking my jaw off about this game in anticipation for the big trailer reveal!

Gnog it out!(image via gnoggame.com)

I was also introduced to GNOG, which henceforth you may hear me gushing about frequently. All I can say is this: prepare to explore a ridiculous amount of gorgeously designed monster heads and the adorably complex innards therein. And maybe even inside yourself. Who knows? Thanks KO-OP (more on this unbelievable collective someday) and Double Fine!

I’m sad that I couldn’t see any of the live music on the stream, or get a look at any of the booths and food! Also, imagine my sadness at not seeing Donut County on the stream… bah, I’ll have to lord over the Donut County site and watch the amazing raccoon some more.

Other marvelous mentions include Thumper (for a magically uncomfortable yet brutally beautiful meditation on what playing F-Zero to Nine Inch Nails feels like… seriously, this is gorgeous), Badblood (if you’ve ever fantasized about what Kill Bill would have looked like if it were animated by Eric Carle), and Cuphead (if you’re a human being with eyes).

Cheers, well done devs! I’m so excited for the future of video games.

-Ryan

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