Pixelvetica

Back in May 2010, the good folks over at Wolfire Games (creators of Lugaru & Overgrowth) sponsored an unprecedented multi-platform indie games bundle with a name-your-price business model, raising over 1.2 million US dollars to benefit the Electronic Frontier Foundation & Child’s Play charities.

Imagine my excitement then, when, amidst trying to grab one of my DRM-free downloads from the May bundle earlier this morning (World of Goo, as it happens), I stumbled on the second edition of the Humble Bundle. The new bundle, for which you may still pay as little or as much as you want (from 1¢ to $1M) features some of the most engaging & gorgeous independently developed games known to personal computing, including the beauties Braid & Machinarium, a retro-revival 2D physics action thriller called Cortex, the award-winning Spore counterpart Osmos, & an intriguing tower-defense title still in beta called ROTT.

If you’ve made up your mind & want to scarf it up, visit HIB#2’s frontpage. If you’d like some more details about the games & bundle, read on.

First, allow me to set the record straight: I’m biased. Nevertheless, it’s not without good reason: I just downloaded almost a hundred dollars retail in computer games for a price I selected, & in the time I’ve had to sample the games, I’ve fallen in love with most of them.

What is there to enjoy so much about these games? No, they don’t stack up to big-time, big-console FPSs like COD or Halo from a popularity standpoint, but between the artistry, skill, hours, & complex storyboarding to have gone into these indie games, they’re easily each worth a crack at the Covenant any day (also note that some of the titles are actually compatible with XBOX 360). On top of that, you name the game (no pun intended); if you only have a penny to give, that’s all Humble asks.

Foremost in the lineup is Number None’s renowned Braid, which features sensational, post-Impressionist-esqe hand-crafted painterly graphics. Yes, you read that right: true to the innumerable awards & critical acclaim it has received since its release in 2008, the hand-painted, pastel-style 2D imagery is worth the value of the Bundle on its own. (I’d go so far as to frame the artwork for the opening sequence & mount it on the wall.) Braid’s premise touches on the metaphysical: rewind time, warp time, parallel time, delete time, & synchronise time are the underlying commands the gamer must master to best the mysteriously thrilling puzzle/action platformer. Moreover, jazz & classical lovers alike will revel in the soundtrack. With gameplay fluid enough to die for & likely the most brilliant last level ever programmed, the wisest purchaser will grab the Bundle for Braid alone, if nothing else. Unless you want to download the Bundle right this moment [link for your convenience], check out the game’s demo video on Vimeo here.

Second in command is Cortex, a futuristic military side-scroller staring highly immersive retro-revival pixel graphics & dynamic gameplay with exceptional replayability value. What makes Cortex particularly noteworthy is the counterintuitively accurate physics engine underscoring the 8-bit visuals; between its physics & graphics, the game recently won two awards at the prominent International Independent Games Festival in 2009. Furthermore, Cortex includes multiplayer capability up to four additional gamers, and accommodates anything from simple configurable keyboard+mouse controls to “any generic game controller you can plug in.” Finally, while some may consider it a drawback, the game is still in development, which means that the developers are always liable to update the software with new levels or weapons, or to extend the capability of the already extensive level-editor. It also means that there’s a chance you’ll run across a glitch in the game, but in my limited experience with the game, bugs are unlikely. Find it in the Bundle roster, or go ahead & preview the Cortex Command on YouTube.

The reputed Czech studio Amanita Design (creator of the first Humble Bundle’s bonus title Samorost II) brings us Machinarium, a point-and-click exploit set in a desolate industrial dystopia, inhabited principally by a lonely, loveable robot, your avatar as you move through the baffling world. Similar to Braid’s style (discussed earlier), Machinarium’s style manifests in superb, quirky pencil/water-color graphics, giving it a storybook undertone (take a look at this screenshot for a better grasp on the awesomeness). Unfortunately, I found it to be the most difficult of the Bundle’s games; then again, Amanita is known using intentionally challenging gameplay to spotlight its artwork (just as it did in the Samorost series). Play a Flash-based demo of Machinarium online, or download it with the rest of the Indie Bundle.

As boasted on the Hemisphere Games webpage, Osmos is the most awarded title in the Bundle. Like the other games, Osmos is cross-platform, DRM-/region-free, & indescribably entertaining. True to Hemisphere’s description, the “ambient,” “physics-based” game is “elegant,” “dreamlike,” & most enjoyably “minimalist.” Osmos takes a unique approach to gameplay in that it attempts to be literally relaxing— unlike the exciting & often stressful experiences of other games— & it successful lives up to such a standard. Playtime is unlimited, because of an option called “Procedural Generation,” which allows the gamer to play a randomly-generated variation on any of the 47+ levels. What is more, the electronica soundtrack is filled with compositions by Loscil, Gas Skies, Julien Neto, & others. Osmos may be the most awarded game in the Bundle, but that hardly scratches the surface of what this graceful & stimulating game deserves. If you haven’t already purchased the Bundle (really!), find out more from the Osmos trailer page.

Bringing up the rear is Revenge of the Titans, also known as Titans or ROTT, from noobie firm Puppy Games. In short, ROTT is a classic arcade tower-defense game taken to a completely new level. Fusing “frenetic” RTS with a typical TD style, the game, which is still in beta, stands out in the Bundle as the one with the most potential in the future. A sophisticated “R&D department” within the game makes upgrading towers & weapons a novel experience, & the intentionally cliché premise (an alien invasion) is still interesting because of the uniquely orthogonal graphics. Suspenseful from the start, ROTT makes for a lively and never-ending gameplay experience that’s certainly worth a try. It wraps up the Bundle lineup very nicely, but if you’re still somehow unconvinced you can check out the nitty-gritty on the Puppy Games website.

Between the facts that you pay no more than you want to, that the games are DRM-free & universal (you can install them on as many computers as you wish), & that each and every game is astoundingly fun & unimaginably beautiful, it is nearly impossible to make a case against purchasing the Humble Indie Bundle #2. Whatever conceivable cons there may be are dispelled by the fact that proceeds go to the Electronic Frontier Foundation & Child’s Play Charity, & that about 200,000 game enthusiasts thus far will swear to the multi-faceted worth of each & every game in the bundle. What’s more, any donation around $8 will get you a copy of all applications from the original bundle as well. So while this has been a review, it has also been my part in doing what I can to spread the word about a potentially gift-able holiday bundle with charitable aims & endless hours of entertainment to go along with it. If you’ve got a cent (or a Franklin) to spare, do yourself a favor & grab the Bundle now.

While you’re at it, spread the word on Twitter or sound the alarm on Facebook. The world will thank you for it.

Carson Kahn is a user-interaction designer & copywriter currently crafting pixels with Design Vetica Interactive, Inc. Follow him on Twitter (@CarsonKahn) or visit www.carsonkahn.com. Questions, comments, & suggestions are always welcome.

UPDATE: Kudos to young filmmaker Ved Topkar, who discovered that Hemisphere Games has also ported Osmos to iPhone, available for USD$0.99. If you have already purchased Humble Indie Bundle #2 & love the PC release, download it from the App Store.