Cerebral Pop's 2010 Indie Game Round-Up

It's official: indie games are now an important part of today's pop culture. It cannot be denied.

Every day -- whether it's on their smartphones or on their favorite websites -- people who have no idea that an independent video game movement even exists play indie games. This has made the games industry reconsider the "wild" notion that a video game developed by one or two guys in their spare time -- and offered freely through the web -- can be played by thousands upon thousands of people.

Much like it was for both music and cinema, the evolution of the medium's tools of creation (they've become cheap and accessible) and a prevailing feeling of stagnation in its mainstream have set the stage for indie game designers to rise up and remind us, in the true spirit of punk rock, that, even though millions of dollars are being spent on developing derivative "triple-A" games, it only takes the will of a few, and a rudimentary knowledge of the medium's craft to create something passionate and engaging.

I Punish Myself (in Games)

For the last three weeks, I have spent the majority of my game time playing Super Meat Boy, Trials HD, and 'Splosion Man. If you're unfamiliar with any of them, know that they are all 2D quasi-difficult-to-screaming-brutal XBLA games that test players' patience and provide a deceptively harmless question at their foundations: Can you just make it to the end?

If you play these games, you won't remain deceived for long. You soon realize that the early tutorial levels have only the loosest connection to the developers' intentions when they made the games: you learn the controls there, but, immediately after, the level design ramps up in complexity, sinister trickery, nearly impassable sequences, and high death counts. My muffled screams of frustration playing these games might indicate that I do indeed punish myself in games. But why?

Game Review: Super Meat Boy

Super Meat Boy is difficult—punishing, in fact. The gameplay in this sequel to the flash smash success offers a simple mechanic: try, die, and repeat. However, this brutal celebration of trial and astronomical errors has recreated classic 2D platforming fun, and rises to the top of downloadable titles this season.

Dr. Fetus is still capturing, releasing, losing, and recapturing Bandage Girl in this sequel, and with that skeleton of a story, you dive into instant high-speed platforming. In the beginning, the scope may seem small: you start out with five visible worlds with twenty levels each. But you quickly learn the ways to access more than twice as many levels—each original level (in the light world) has a much more difficult counterpart in the dark world.

Video Round-Up: Nostalgia Lane Edition

Video Round-Up is a weekly post collecting an assortment of videos from around the web. Whether they be music videos, creative viral marketing, just plain cool, or just plain ridiculous, they will all be found on Video Round-Up.

This week's Round-Up is an assorted mix of awesome. The nostalgia comes from a retro-inspired commercial and a Simpsons intro that has me looking to return to one of my most beloved childhood TV show obsessions. But apart from that, there is some amazing vocal talent from my newest schoolgirl-like crush, and a eery phone call you might not have heard, probably won't believe, but should find interesting nonetheless. Enjoy!

Sophist Radio Episode 34: The Giant Bombast

In their continuing adventure into inanity and format-less shows, the Sophist crew discusses the attractiveness of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and actor David Boreanaz. They also discuss how World of Warcraft is very much like Fallout: New Vegas, and after that, James, Harold, and Aaron waffle about the merits of Vanquish and the game's difficulty. More tangents and off topic chatter than you can shake a stick at. At the end of the day, what's important is that you should play Super Fallout mixed-story Meat Boy...grilled cheese.

P.S. Don't click play if you're at work, or around children/those prone to heart-attacks.