Gaming The System - The Feminist Gaming Podcast

237 Uncovering Creativity – Indie Highlights from Day of the Devs - Part 1

• Gaming The System - The Feminist Gaming Podcast

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Dive into a refreshing exploration of indie gaming as hosts Alex, Jem, and Matt take a look at Day of the Devs—an indie-focused showcase brimming with creativity and community spirit. Moving beyond mainstream gaming events, this episode offers a thoughtful and enthusiastic look at unique games that push creative boundaries and foster genuine connections.

Key Highlights from the Episode:

Fresh Air: The team discuss how indie games offer more thoughtful storytelling and can resonate more personally compared to mainstream titles.

Surprising Finds: Titles like Snap and Grab, Big Walk, Tire Boy and Re-looted show that there are still new stories to be told in interesting ways.

Looks arn't everything: Matt reminds us that even simple, retro-style games can have huge depth. 

Don't miss the second part next Thursday. 

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Alex:

When I discovered it, it was like a breath of fresh air for me.'cause suddenly a lot of the games I was seeing were ones that I would want to play,

Jem:

the first game was a bit like, okay. And then the second game I was just like, whoa, this is crazy. What else is this program gonna bring to my eyes?

Matt:

the ones I find really impressive are the ones that look like a Pokemon game from 30 years ago that are 2D. And then it just, it provides a really important alternative creative perspective on things

Alex:

Hello everyone. Welcome back to another episode of Gaming the System, the podcast where three intersectional feminists examine gaming and games through a feminist lens. Today, I'm your host, Alex, and I'm joined by my friends, gem and Matt, before we get started, if you want to support us, you can subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/gaming the system for some exclusive content. Or you can send us a one-off donation via PayPal to our email address. We are gaming the system@gmail.com. Hello and welcome to another episode. this week we're going to be talking about a gaming showcase known as Day of the Devs. it's themed a little bit like Day of the Dead, the Mexican Festival. So it's got a lot of skulls and sort of Mexican flavor to, but it's all about indie developers within the gaming world and the games that they are very excited to share with gamers and the community at large. I can't remember exactly when Day of the Dev started, but it's relatively recent, certainly since the demise of E three, which used to be the gaming showcase that everyone knew and everyone paid attention to. if your game was at, on E three, it was probably going to be very popular, I wanted to do a deep dive into Day of the Devs because compared to some of the other more mainstream, gaming showcases that we have, such as, summer Games Fest, and the, PlayStation ones, for different consoles, it just feels more creative and appealing to me in terms of the games that it, it showcases. And I'm sure we'll discuss that a lot more as we go through the episode. So I guess the first question to you is, year Day of the devs, took place earlier on in June. have you watched this particular showcase before and how does it compare for you to things like the Summer Game Fest or what was known as E three previously?

Jem:

I haven't watched it before. I don't even know if I knew about

Alex:

Oh.

Jem:

but just, but I'm very bad at watching these kind of Because I'm always very behind the times when it comes to games. And secondly, because I don't like the anticipation of waiting for games coming out. So I prefer to look at them when they're finished, when they're out and about. But actually quite a lot of these are out, or coming out very soon. That was quite a nice surprise. I actually quite enjoyed it.

Alex:

That's good to hear. I'm really glad. I'm really glad'cause I really love watching it. When I discovered it, it was like a breath of fresh air for me.'cause suddenly a lot of the games I was seeing were ones that I would want to play, rather than ones that weren't aimed at me as a target audience. how do you feel about it, Matt?

Matt:

Yeah, I thought it was quite sweet. I feel like. The E three left quite a gap in the market, which probably explains why there have been so many different game showcases over the summer. It just felt pleasant and not capitalistic ish I found really interesting recently, I've been trying to expand my creative horizons with the kind of games that I want to make because I've always preferred playing fast paced. First person shooters or third person action games with the graphics getting better and better. And I assumed that even though a very quick glance at the Steams most played list proves me wrong immediately, that the most popular games are the ones that fit into that very narrow mold of say, a first person shooter or a third person action like God of war. But what games like, Stardew Valley and Hades and binding of Isaac Rebirth shows that there is a massive audience for very retro style games, even the art style of those games, which is something that, had surprised me because. When you got to the PS two, that was when it became 3D time, and there was no looking back after that for me. But a load of the games on this list. Ones that are 2D, 2.5 D, the ones I find really impressive are the ones that look like a Pokemon game from 30 years ago that are 2D. And then it just, it provides a really important alternative creative perspective on things because people, it's very easy to think how, I think it's just it needs to look amazing. It needs to be really fast. It needs to be really impressive. It needs to be something that no one's ever seen before. When these games prove that you need to have developed a very good game. You can't have any,'cause the some I saw somewhere, which I think is very true, that games shouldn't be allowed to have good graphics for the next 10 years. And you have, you're gonna be forced to have PS two graphics for the next 10 years, and then that'll force people to make games that are better games, which is clearly what they've been able to do here.

Alex:

I have in my notes under the question I've just asked the phrase, creativity and community, which is how they introduced Day of the Devs as a showcase. and I really think that runs through a lot of the games we are going to discuss. Which leads me nicely onto my next question for you, which is, and I have a very long list, for this one. Which games from this year excited you the most and why?

Jem:

I have to say that I really liked Big Walk.

Alex:

Yes. Yeah.

Jem:

and I loved the, the fact that you went through this. You are walking through this world that looks like these high-end games as you were talking about Matt, and then you're like these funny little sort of stick drawn little creatures with mouths and, all very primary colors. And I mean that the look of it was just bonkers. But the, meaning behind it. And the whole idea behind it was excellent. It's a multiplayer game, and you all go on a walk and you communicate with each other over voice chat. And the further you are away from each other, the harder it is to hear one another. Obviously you are going somewhere or you are to explore something. There is a meaning to the game in that respect. But they were also saying, you can just hang out. You can

Alex:

Yeah.

Jem:

you can just go and explore. You can go off on your own. And I just really like that idea because in the real world. I think walking and talking is a really positive thing. I Actually, doing something with other people where you can chat whilst you're doing it. So I think the same for crafting is something that I'm a big fan of because I think it's very good for mental health because it means, allows you to chat away without having to sit and look somebody straight in the eye. And it just can, that can be a bit intense. So walking is a great form of therapy really. And walking with friends or walking with strangers and chatting to them, I think it's a lovely idea and it felt like all of that thinking was in behind this particular game. So I just thought that really looked like, Unique and interesting concept. And and yeah, that kind of hit me. I think that's what grabbed me, really, because, just that was the second game that they showcased. So it was I think the first game was a bit like, okay. And then the second game I was just like, whoa, this is crazy. What else is this? Is this program gonna bring to my eyes? But yeah, I have quite a long list too, so I'm not gonna ramble on with all of them. But yeah, that was probably the one that stood out. Actually, the only other one that I think I would like to comment on that I thought was really intriguing was Re-looted,

Alex:

Yeah.

Jem:

because I thought the concept of that was excellent. It's about recovering, um, relics that are in, private, that have, that were From African, roots and then are now in private. and it's about recovering them and it's been put together by an African studio and it's just really nice to see something that just, the concept was great, but also the actual gameplay looked amazing

Alex:

Yes.

Jem:

this whole thing of you plan your heist you do that in a, a third party system and say, we're gonna jump over here and we're gonna go into that and we're gonna go round there and we've gotta avoid that alarm and all of that. And then you have to execute your plan. So it was multiple, layers of different sort of game styles, which I think is really cool. And as somebody who cannot make up their mind about anything, was really pleased to see that the, probably the majority of the games showcased were, were like, that were bringing in either multiple genres or they were bringing in multiple play styles. I really like that because it means you get basically two

Alex:

Something for everyone. Yeah.

Jem:

for the price of one, yeah.

Alex:

Did you have anything to add, Matt?

Matt:

Yes. I will admit that I've still, I have yet to break out of my addiction to the fast paced, the not, it doesn't need to be fast paced, just the, thats. That's like narrow mind threat that I've been in, so the key ones for me were one Sword of the sea, Which is the next made by the studio that made Abzu and Journey, and I've seen that o wintry is returning.

Alex:

he is.

Matt:

So that's quite exciting. And the, those games have never been about graphics. They've been about feel and gameplay. Not necessarily gameplay, it's just feel they're not the most, complicated or intense, but they incredibly impactful. Then Snap and Grab is quite cute. I've just looked at a description of it and said, this game is described as a photography based heist game where players need to be gay and do crimes.

Alex:

Yeah.

Matt:

I didn't realize if that was a crucial, a critical part of it.

Alex:

well.

Matt:

So that's good. And then what's the third one? Moonlight Moon Mile two. The endless vault looked a bit sweet. I've been playing Fallout four recently, finally played Fallout New Vegas, fallout three, and now replaying Fallout four. And you can build your own settlements in Fallout four. And it just, there I have such an itch to be scratched there in that kind of building, just constructing a civilization thing. And I have yet to find the perfect place for me to go and just make something.'cause I've had, fallout is good for one way and then, but then I've tried that. Town Scaping game, and then that was too small scale.

Alex:

far.

Matt:

And I just, I feel it, I feel the right one out there. And I just, I like this. And with each of these ones, with most of the games on this list, they are taking, they take a specific concept and then they explore that one concept. They're not trying to sell you loads of things inside the game. They're not trying to justify a 70 pound game. They're going, I've got this idea of I want to be a photographer who's also a thief and a heist master, or I want to go and return stolen artifacts to their countries of origin and just go, that's a good idea. We'll make it, we'll see what happens if we make a game with that and. And again, yeah, like you said, with the fewer resources you have, the more creative you have to be

Alex:

Definitely.

Matt:

yeah.

Alex:

So basically what I did in preparation for this episode was go through every game that was showcased and put them into a list. So I wanted to give a shout out to each of them, and I'll try and be as quick as possible. But, and I'll also give a shout out to each of their developers as well. So if anyone's interested, they can go and find them and check them out. definitely the first three. So that snap and grab by no Goblin and Anna Perna. a big walk by house. House and the sea by giant squid. Those were immediately on my, I would like to play these list. Stop and grab is actually set in the 1980s, so I hope it has an eighties soundtrack. That'll be really fun, to play with while you're plotting your heists of, various artifacts, or art pieces. What's fun is that you have to also plan around like all the security as well. It's similar to looted in that way, but it's a lot more sort of cartoonesque, 3D animated exaggerated caricature style. Very much color, lots of color, very eighties vibes, and it also being hunted by a detective as well. But it looks like a good, fun, a nice little fun game to give a try. Definitely. And we know that Anna Perna is a very good, games developer'cause they've done lots of games that we've played. Things like Stray, I can't remember think of any others, but they'll come to me. They did actually have some involvement in it, which we had a recent episode on as well. Big Walk, by House, house, house, house also developed Untitled Goose Game. I dunno if you have played that one, but I think it's brilliant. I wondered also since the studio is based in Australia, whether Big Walk could also be tied into the concept of the Aboriginal Big Walk. Which I think, was one of the focal points of the film. Australia, again, very surface level knowledge based on a film that I saw. But I feel like in Aboriginal culture, they go on a big walk and then when they come back they're like a man or woman or, it's like of passage that they go on a walk and then come back like several months later, go out into the bush. So I feel like that's maybe linked to some of the stuff that you'd be doing in Big Walk, or at least the wider concept. But I think Big Walker is, as Gem mentioned a lot about. Just connecting with people and talking and spending time hanging out, which is, we've discussed on the pod a lot about the social aspects of gaming and how gaming is a lifeline for people, to connect to people that live far away from them or that they can't see very often. And it certainly had, that's why it had such an explosion, during the pandemic as well. So I really think that would be a really fun game to explore as a concept. also had you, using certain signals and also you can also type if you want, if you don't want to use your voice to communicate as well. So that's definitely worth checking out. I think sort of the sea, I've talked multiple times on the board about how big a fan I am of Journey and Abey. So this one's just straight on there. I think it's a combination of both, also mixed in with some sort of, surfing and skateboarding. Snowboarding type gameplay, through the gins and all the various bits. So I feel like it's one you can tune out to chill out with. so that one's very nice. Other notable mentions, I have Doer Divas by Elder Loop. I think the plot centers around sort of term-based combat where you are on the side of cooking meals from scratch and having nice nutritious food and you're battling your sister who is running an empire of processed, ready meals. Which is again, quite a fun concept, to explore. I put this next one in Bracket'cause I don't think I will play it, but I love the concept. It's something called Please Watch the Artwork. And it's a psychological horror, bought the difference game based on real artwork. I think, it Hopper, the one that did the coffee shop in? America. and there's like abnormalities going on with each of the pictures and you have to basically spot where there's a ghost or a Poltergeist or some things have moved in the picture, stuff like that. But it's about getting you to look at the artwork and appreciate it on that level. But as a concept, I think it's very cool. And it all, it's all to do with you being a, dunno if you're an employee or what, but it's involved with the of, I've forgotten what the, abbreviation is, but it's MAA instead of maa, which is in New York and various other places. And that's by Studio of Water Zoo. So that's definitely one to check out if you're into spooky games. I think it's coming out near Halloween, looted as Gem mentioned. That very much appealed to me because of my background in museums and heritage repatriation has been a problem, so well, it became much more into focus while I was studying my ma in collections care because of the whole thing over the Elgin Marbles, whether they should be returned to Greece. But it's a big problem for collections with origins, in non-European countries. oftentimes when they've been, taken back to these European countries, they've probably have been stolen or looted or that their kind of origins haven't been noted properly. And indeed the people looking after them are not from this culture, so they're gonna interpret them. In a way that doesn't, pay proper homage to the importance of the objects. And we had a couple of objects of African origin actually in the college where I was studying. And while I was working there, we tried really hard to give some context to the fact that we didn't know where, how these had come to Westin and we had to treat them like with with the right tone and talk about it as, as probably a, an object that shouldn't probably be there, but that is, and that we're, this is how we're looking after them at the moment kind of thing. So I definitely am 100% on board with the concept and, the gameplay, as you mentioned, gem looks really fun as well. So that's definitely one I'll be looking into. other things I had noted because Thieves is a kind of multiplayer stealth game, which claims to be doing something new with the stealth genre, so that'll be quite interesting to check out. one particular trailer I really liked, consumed me, the developers for that one. They didn't actually have a studio name, just Jenny and ap, but they were really funny. And it's all about Jenny's life in high school. You're roleplaying as her juggling all the various tasks in her life, trying to stay fit, trying to keep on top of all of her social activities, walking her dog, trying to stay in a relationship, basically being a young woman, but as a role playing game. And it was just really funny looking and, it looked really, like a good time and I'm definitely gonna be very interested in that one. So I think it, it centers largely around managing diet, hence the title Consume Me. But, it also factors in lots of other things about being a teenage girl or, someone in a young person leaving school and trying to get out into the big wide world and all the pressures that there are on women. So I definitely think it would be a very relevant game for the pod to, to look at, a couple more in my interested list. Tie a Boy Game Team six. To me that kind of gave me elden ring and s vibes, but you're attire with some legs and arms and a stick. It's pretty crazy, but it looks quite fun and all the things in the world, like there were some really large animals, so it gave you that sense of scale that actually you are about this big and all the animals are about this big. it looked quite fun. and then to two, which I have played the first original to. That's by something we made and they've made it 3D instead of td and you can now jump and climb and stuff. But it's mainly about, taking photos. So it's based around photography it's just very chilled out. What about games that maybe weren't so interesting to us, and why? Did you have any of those

Jem:

you both really liked the, the first one. Snap, what was it?

Alex:

Yeah. Snap and grab. Yeah.

Jem:

and grab. I really didn't, like that or I didn't like the graphics. It just screamed mobile game at me and I just really was like, whoa, I'm not into this at all. Maybe I just have something against the eighties. I dunno. Just reminded me of the Barbie cartoons that my daughter

Alex:

Yeah.

Jem:

I can see that, that appeals to a certain group, but it felt very, it felt like it stuck out side of a lot of the other games in the, Showcase. I was also really bemused by Tire Boy as well.

Alex:

it is. I don't want there. Yeah.

Jem:

When I was in, Cologne,

Alex:

Mm. to the Museum of Modern Art, there. Display where the photographer had gone and filmed children playing in different parts of the world. and just to talk about the way that children play and how it varies depending on the country that you might be in, but also about how children play with the environment that they're in or the friends that they have. And one of the videos, the one that was quite poignant, was this video of this little boy who, and I can't remember where he was, but he went up a slag heap, with a tire all the way up to the top. And then he climbed into the tire and rolled down this. It was massive. It was huge. And there was this video of this tiny little Oh.

Jem:

walking up and he must have been about. or eight,

Alex:

Wow.

Jem:

he wasn't old and it was just such a dangerous thing to do as Those kind of, mountains are they're not structurally, safe. So when I saw this, I that was what I thought of and it just made me feel a little bit, a little bit sad actually. I want, I, the note I wrote on it was how much is the tire a part of the story

Alex:

Yes.

Jem:

that they've

Alex:

Yes.

Jem:

to, to make the game stand out? Because much of the rest of the game, when they described it, sounded like other games

Alex:

exactly.

Jem:

seen before. That sort of, it didn't really. It let, it did definitely made an impression on me, but I didn't

Alex:

Yeah.

Jem:

oh, I want to go play that. The other one that I just, I don't even think I paid any attention to it at all, was the Marvel

Alex:

Yeah. Same.

Jem:

came on, and I was just like, I dunno why we're even talking about this, because it feels like such a big name, a big That

Alex:

Yeah.

Jem:

like it shouldn't have been within that group Games.

Alex:

Yeah.

Jem:

I will caveat what I have just said with, by saying that there was something for everyone in that set of games. And it just goes to show how much skill and talent and inspiration there is within the indie, industry. And we've talked before about how. indie games are becoming, a force to be reckoned with when it comes to the industry as a whole and AAA games are not necessarily holding their own. And Matt said at the start, it's not all about getting better, getting better, getting better, getting, you know, that there is actually a lot to be said for having a really good idea, a really good concept, and executing really well. It's not all about having the fancy graphics and the special effects,

Matt:

This is why there should be investment from some, from somewhere in studios making indie games. I'm pretty sure that Epic Games does this because they, when a studio makes a game in the Unreal Engine, epic Games gets a, percentage of the sales from that game, and they give, just grants to, independent creators the big gaming companies should do it as well, because if they're only focused on things like Madden and FIFA and Call of Duty. They're the only things that they want to focus on. Whereas if you fund. A thousand indie games, like 99% of them will sell a thousand copies. But then you might get one which turns out to be animal crossing and then all of a sudden you're absolutely filthy rich from another area. And I think it's the money, the difference in price between AAA and Indy now has grown so much that it's, it is driving people towards these indie titles and it's making the indie titles better.'cause all of a sudden people are going, we are gonna spend money on an indie title. How do we choose which one it is? And and then because there, there are more options. You've got to, you've got to be better. And I've, I was surprised close pleasantly and unpleasantly the other day because. I've done such a good job of avoiding anything about death. Stranding is, I completely, utterly missed that. It came out a few days ago, I saw this, oh, there's been a lot of stuff going on. And then I checked on Google or something and it said, oh yeah, it comes out tomorrow. And so that, that was a surprise. But then, but the stuff around that, and then I looked at the price and it is 70 pounds. And I am mortally disappointed with the publishers for that because when Eldon Ring came out, it was 55 pounds. When, blacksmith Luke Con came out, it was 55 pounds. Big, some big game studios are making these games that take four, five years and still releasing them at 55 pounds.'cause that is reasonable. I'm happy to, I'm happy to do that. And especially if it's a game that I love. I, every game that I've bought for 55 pounds and played, I have thought this is worth more than that. I'm getting every penny out of that. Whereas it's so rare for games that are 70 pounds to go. I, it was fully worth that.