LOOT Interactive:Indie games at E3 – by Dylan Chatterjee
June 2015, LOOT Interactive is an indie publisher that had several of their games on display at E3 this year and they all have their own niche that they fill. Indie games in general are very different than more mainstream gaming experiences, mainly because they don’t get the massive budget that ‘AAA’ games like Call of Duty get so they have to rely on things other than intense cinematic action sequences and incredibly lifelike, motion-captured animation. LOOT’s games do this very well and they all use different and unique art styles that are impressive in their own ways and not only work for the games but enhance the entire gaming experience for their games.
Whispering Willow is a story driven adventure/puzzle game, Back to Bed is a puzzle game that takes inspiration from the works of M.C. Escher, and Velocibox is a very fast paced and addictive endless runner game. All three of these games are currently available on Steam but have been remastered and optimized for rerelease on PS4 this summer.
Whispering Willow is a classic adventure game, the basic story is that you are a young girl, Elena Elkhorn, looking for your missing father in a supposedly haunted mansion. The twist of the game is that you have an amulet that allows you to enter a spirit form in which you can interact with other spirits and also use the ability to enter rooms your corporeal form cannot, allowing you to solve many of the games puzzles to progress. Not all of the spirits you meet are friendly in this game however, and sometimes you will have to solve puzzles in a hurry or else face the wrath of some terrible ghouls. The game has a hand drawn art style that is gorgeous to look at and fits the game very well, the gameplay was fun and had enough mechanics to be interesting but not so many that a player would get stuck on the puzzles and disrupt the flow of the story. Story is where this game shines, the story is very well written from the gameplay presented and was good enough to win Casual Connect’s Best Story for the Indie category of games in 2014.
Whispering Willows Screenshot
Whispering Willow is currently available on Steam and Ouya and the newly remastered version will be released on PS4 and PS Vita June 30th, 2015.
Back to Bed is a very whimsical puzzle game that is heavily inspired by M.C. Escher’s artwork and each level clearly reflects that. In the game you are a dog like creature named Subob and you guide a sleepwalker named Bob through dreamlike levels by blocking his path to direct him towards his bed so he can sleep peacefully. As the levels go on they add in more mechanics and get increasingly difficult to solve. The art style is one of this games strongest points, every level is like a work of art come to life and features reality bending aspects that enhance the gameplay. There are 30 unique puzzles and then a ‘Nightmare Mode’ which the developers said will truly test your mettle. The levels available to play were earlier on in the game so they were fairly basic but they were still very fun and visually captivating. Back to Bed is currently available on Steam, iOS, and Android and will be coming to PS3, PS4, and PS Vita this summer.
Back to Bed Screenshot
Velocibox is a twitch reaction, fast paced endless runner game in which you are a box that is speeding towards obstacles that you must navigate by sliding side to side, onto walls, or even flipping over and inverting the screen, all while trying to collect enough blocks to advance to the next level. If you hit an obstacle the game ends and you try again on the same level, its highly addictive yet extremely frustrating in a fantastic way. At first it seems impossible but you eventually catch on and your reaction time starts to adapt, but every level is unique and has a different twist, some require you to constantly slide from wall to wall, others are only navigable if you flip constantly, others need you to do a challenging mix of both depending on what lies ahead, it’s a very fun experience. The game has a very minimalistic art style that changes color with each level to keep from getting stale or wearing on your eyes. Velocibox is currently available on Steam and over computer services and is coming to PS4 and PS Vita this summer.
Velocibox Screenshot
LOOT’s games are all very different but all very promising within their own genres. If you’re a fan of indie games and can appreciate the work that goes into creating these stories and unique experiences then these games just might be for you. These three titles were all developed using a Unity Workflow.
