If you're right, and they received a free version of the Source Engine in return for publishing their game with Steam, that's a publishing contract, isn't it?  Which would make the game ineligable for IGF.

The whole question of whether you're indie or not is a tricky one.  It's tough to say whether there should be more specific rules or not.  Detailed rules could be a huge headache for the IGF to verify, so I can see why they stick to their more vague "indie spirit" rule.  But "Zeno Clash" sorta seems on the brink to me.

no, I don't think so. I am pretty sure the base Source SDK is useable without much difficulty, just like any mod would start with.

I am not 100% certain but I don't think you would have to pay upfront for Source engine usage if you planned to release the game on Steam, since games on Steam using the source engine garner a lower royalty rate to pay for the use of the engine.

I wish with how big the list of entrants is becoming now that there could be a more modern way to navigate the list like most websites these days, a link for each page and one for going all the way back to the beginning or last page.

over 200 games and it's listed alphabetically, SHIT  :D

I think in particular you are noticing the character head clipping through the ground when the kart flips over (in the videos), in our current build we have much better shape for the kart that encompasses more of the character in it so that wont be happening anymore. That is not to say there are not many other issues, but we hope to keep them small and ensure the fun to be had outweighs them.

the physics system we use is Bullet which is a pretty robust rigid body (and some soft body stuff now, though that is pretty hard to translate over a network) physics library.

We are always working on the vehicle model and the physics, there are so many things to tweak and tune with a physics based game that it is always evolving. All of our gameplay revolve around physics, and in action it is a pretty full fledged physics simulation, nothing is faked or fudged. (well nothing major)

There is some clipping issues, which is a byproduct of the way our physics simulation is run over the network - but something we have some ideas to fix. In any case I have not found that they detract very much from having fun in the game. I'm pretty happy with what we have achieved so far with the resources we have. I hope you get to try out the beta or we release some newer videos with more gameplay to change your mind!

been playing a lot of AOEII lately. (when I actually have a few hours to spare)

yea, it is a rock rendition of waltzing matilda which is an austrailian (I think) folk song. I really love the folk song so when I discovered this rock version I had to use it somehow.

this is not entirely related to the game per say, but it gives me an excuse to bump this thread! Brian got some Zero Gear t shirts for his b-day. Brian not pictured in photo!

you have a sharp eye sir! 

We have been keeping very busy as usual - spending a lot of time dealing with some nasty memory issues and other non-glamorous things. But to keep our spirits up we started on a new game mode, check out the screenshot and maybe you will be able to guess what it is!

I entered our game Zero Gear

If I could choose a mission statement for what I think the IGF should represent, it would be:

"The IGF exists to celebrate and reward independent games whose design and creation reflect an end in itself. Games created for the enjoyment or perceived importance of the individual authors, free from the motives or direct influence of others."

yea, not a very concise or sexy mission statement 

it seems like a lot of people think that there should be some sort of profit cap to qualify the submitting studio.

If the studio the game comes from makes over X in profit per year then it should not qualify.

That is the only way to separate out everyones example of Valve and Epic and other guys as being technically independent.

maybe it should be called the F.C.I.G.F. (Financially Challenged Independent Game Festival)

So what happens when a previous qualifier does well with their game and starts bringing in over the X amount of profit? Is the F.C.I.G.F now punishing success - or should that entrant just be happy they have found success and let the torch go on to other developers?

new blog post

been pretty silent over the last week because we have had our heads down furiously pounding keyboards in order to get a build ready for IGF submission. After some very late nights and many eye drops later we have emerged victorious with a build to submit. We made it! Woo!

Along with the submission I have been working on an awesome game manual to submit along with it, you can check it out if you want.


This milestone also marks the start of our closed beta, and although we initially have a limited amount of keys we hope to expand it as we get further in development. If you have a dedicated windows server on a fast connection and are interested in keeping up a ZG server for us, there might be a key for you - drop me a note.

as always, you can keep up with the latest by being in our Steam Group (and you can also just help us climb up the list of games by joining )

why is it that the amount of huge bugs found correspond directly to the amount of time left before the deadline?   

All the games that I want to make are based around sand-boxy ideas and consist of emergent/reactive game play - so it is pretty easy for the design process.

We always start off with a basic idea of the elements we want to be mixed together, i.e. we know we want it to be multiplayer, have X, Y, and Z, etc - then from there we would just start putting those pieces in place and point them in the general direction we want to go in. From there it is all testing and throwing out what doesn't work and going further along with the stuff that does work.

We usually have a lot of specific ideas for the design that we either put in place once the framework gets built up enough to support it, or it just gets left by the wayside if we don't end up going down that path.

I find that being able to be "nimble"  in your development is really leveraging the strength of having very limited resources. If you have your epic design chiseled in stone tablets from the of of a mountain, it is pretty hard to switch around chunks of your design in order to follow the most efficient design choices possible.

small update, we now have one of these new-fangled "Official Game Groups" on steam - you can join it / check it out here: http://steamcommunity.com/games/zerogear

Also, I took some new screenshots last night, I replaced the old ones on our media page here: http://myzerogear.com/media.html

lets see, I left the apartment for the first time today in a week - which made me realize I haven't put on pants IN A WEEK.

ENTER OR DIE   

Here is a video of a playtest we had last night of our new game mode, it was a lot of fun!