All-Time Highest Rated Games Tagged 'indie, free, core' on The Great Games Experiment All-Time Highest Rated Games Tagged 'indie, free, core' on The Great Games Experiment http://www.greatgamesexperiment.com/css/logo.jpg All-Time Highest Rated Games Tagged 'indie, free, core' on The Great Games Experiment en-us Cave Story - Doukutsu Monogatari Cave Story is a freeware sidescrolling action/adventure/platformer title with leanings towards Wonderboy and recent sidescrolling Castlevania titles. You control a little amnesiac who runs around helping out these rabbit-ish creatures called Mimigas while trying to find your way out of the giant cave inside the floating island which makes up the game's setting.

This is a free game made by one man:

Pixel said,
It's been five years since I first thought to myself, "Hey, why not try making a game?" I developed Cave Story at my own pace, taking my time, and while doing so I released a few other smaller games as well.
]]> 26 Nov 2006 01:38:13 Cortex Command Mine precious gold from the deformable terrain in order to buy better weapons, digging tools, and deployable defenses. Use these assets to defend your disembodied brain and bankrupt your opponent!

Old-school 2D sidescroller pixel graphics coupled with an extremely detailed physics simulation makes for a mix of nostalgia and surprising gameplay.
]]> 12 Nov 2006 03:44:39 Quakeworld Team Fortress Team Fortress (TF or QWTF/Quakeworld TF for this specific version) was a popular multiplayer modification for id Software's "Quake". It featured teams of players choosing from 9 different classes in matches of capture the flag, VIP escort, territorial control, and many other missions.

Team Fortress 1.0 was released July 25th, 1996 for the original Quake, and the first release for QuakeWorld (v2.0) came on December 22, 1996 taking advantage of the enhanced multiplayer functionality of the new client.

It was sufficiently successful that the developers formed TeamFortress Software to then develop "Team Fortress 2" as a commercial mod for Quake II. TF would instead be rewritten for the Half-Life engine.

Over ten years later, TF still enjoys a small community of active players, and several variations on the original TF formula have helped keep peoples interest, including CustomTF, which introduced the ability to configure your own custom class by trading frags scored as cash to purchase abilities.

[adapted and extended from Wikipedia]
]]> 05 Jun 2007 11:12:49 Fedora Spade Hello there, gumshoe. Fedora Spade's the name. I'm a dick. What? No, not figuratively. The lady across the street might argue otherwise, but I digress. Anyway, I'm a detective, a homicide detective to be exact. I didn't grow up wanting to be a detective, mind you. I hated the cops & robbers game... the other kids always forced me to play the bad guy and gave me a good ass-kicking whenever I was caught. Not a very pleasant childhood memory, yeah? But that's beside the point. I wanted to be an astronaut. I just thought that it'd be neat to explore space, see? But it never happened, as you can probably tell. Math and physics... I can't say that they're my favorite subjects. Plus, watching the challenger explode into a big firework is pretty traumatizing.

So why did I become a homicide detective, you ask? Well, apparently it's the only job that's available for me here. Crime's rampant here in Lawless City, and dead bodies continue to crowd the streets. They need people to combat crime, expendable people; preferably people that aren't too bright in the head. People with a diploma in sociology, or psychology, or some other I-just-want-to-graduate-quickly major. People from third-rate universities who can't seem to find a decent job. People like me. It's dangerous work, but it sure beats flipping burgers. Or is it? I don't know... it's too late for regret now.

Anyway, gumshoe, I've had my fill of bourbon tonight, and I'm in the mood to talk. Why don't you sit tight and lend me a pair of listening ears, eh?
]]> 17 Jun 2007 09:37:15 Warning Forever Warning Forever is a special shoot 'em up. Instead of flying around, dealing with hoards of enemies, and the occasional boss, it's just you, and the boss. And every time you beat the boss, it comes back, meaner than the time before.
]]> 04 Dec 2006 11:33:56 Last Scenario Last Scenario is a game made using the popular RPGMaker XP that could possibly rival Aveyond's level of professionalism, perhaps even surpass it. Tiles, music and sound effects are standard material that is included with the package, but most of the character portraits, sprites and backgrounds seen in this release were created by the developer.

The C key is used for most interactions and menu selections. Press the X key to access the inventory screen or to cancel any choices. A medium length RPG with over a thousand rooms, side quests, a unique spellcard system and even a collectible board game, it's quite unlikely that any fan would complete this production in a couple of sittings

(from Indy Gamer)
]]> 26 Jun 2007 12:16:14 Hurrican Hurrican is a freeware jump and shoot game created by Poke53280 that is based on the Turrican game series. Blast your way through nine action-packed levels filled with different enemies and powerups.
]]> 24 Jun 2007 04:37:39 Slouching Towards Bedlam Enter a steampunk adventure set in a London that might have been. The year is 1885. Bedlam Hospital still stands in Moorsfield, a decaying shell used to house the poor and the hopeless. Steam-driven mechanical wonders roam the streets. Gear-wheeled analytical engines spin out reams of thought onto punched paper tapes.

And in the darkness - in the alleys and the side shops - hide secrets.
]]> 11 Feb 2007 12:49:30 Noctis Noctis is a unique space exploration game where you explore the universe in your space ship, the Stardrifter. While there is no set goal in the game, you can travel around as much as you want, cataloging celestial bodies, visiting planets and moons and even exploring them if they have landscape which can be landed on.
]]> 10 Feb 2007 02:32:07 Toy Robo Please try it and then let me know what you think :)

Toy Robo is an Action-Adventure Shooter that requires quick hands and engaging strategy. You play as Toy Robo, a robot action figure on the side of good. Your goal is to rid the world of evil toys which appear only at night. You will do this in Arena style combat using your Blaster and Energy sword. To help you along your way, you can equip several types of batteries, each with different combat effects and
bonuses.

This game was developed as an entry to the gamedev.net 4e4 contest which required that it encorporate at least 2 of the following four elements (elements of which ALL games are apparently made of): pirates, ninjas, robots and zombies.

I opted for robots and zombies because robots are easy to model and zombies are easy to animate ^_^

The contest had a 6 month time limit, so I wanted to make sure I didn't bite off more then I could chew. In the end I came in 2nd out of at least 20 - the 1st place finisher was developed by 5 people! so even though I didn't win I felt like the game did very well and the process was rewarding.

Belowe are a few screen shots and the game download.
]]> 23 Jan 2007 10:40:46 Mars Miner Have you ever dreamed to play Bomberman-like game with modern graphics and sound? Now you have a chance to do it with Mars Miner - a game that has all qualities of a classic time proved gameplay on a completely new level!

The hero finds himself on Mars. Now his primary objective is to stay alive and find his way back to Earth through an abandoned Martian mine and a laboratory. A variety of hideous and crafty monsters are lurking on the way. Each of them is extremely dangerous, but when they hunt together, they are a real hazard, owing to the unique AI.

Players who like dynamic games will enjoy playing Mars Miner. The game will be interesting to all categories of players, from beginners to experienced arcade players. Superior graphics together with excellent music background create a fascinating atmosphere. You'll want to get immersed in this world again and again.

An excellent Story mode and an almost unlimited Survival won't let you get bored!
]]> 17 Mar 2007 02:29:05 Jumper: Redux Jumper: Redux is a remake of the original Jumper. In it, you must guide Ogmo, a failed secret experiment, out of the abandoned lab he has found himself in.

Features the complete original game (all 7 sectors of it) with completely redone visuals, as well as a brand-new full-length set of more devious level designs for the truly hardcore.

Plus, you can challange up to 3 friends in a 4-player online race mode through any of the single-player sectors (TCP/IP or LAN connection).
]]> 20 Feb 2007 10:52:32 Zatacka Zatacka, also known as Achtung, die Kurve!, is a freeware, multiplayer DOS computer game that supports from two-player up to six-player gaming.

The game bears some resemblance to the game Snake, though in Zatacka the main goal is to make your opponent hit the wall, his kurve or your kurve. As a result, the game resembles closely to the famous Light Cycle of the 1982 movie Tron. You control the kurve by only two buttons: one makes the snake turn left; the other, right. Although the game has primitive graphics, the gameplay is considered very good and the game is loved by many fans worldwide.

There's a strategic and tactical depth that goes unmatched in the small-games-to-play-on-a-break gaming world. Even though the simplicity is striking (anyone can play it) there are an infinite amount of tactics that can be applied in this game.

It takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to master! Be warned though - it's addicting!
]]> 23 Feb 2007 01:06:02 FlightGear The FlightGear flight simulator project is an open-source, multi-platform, cooperative flight simulator development project. The goal of the FlightGear project is to create a sophisticated flight simulator framework for use in research or academic environments, for the development and pursuit of other interesting flight simulation ideas, and as an end-user application.
]]> 10 Feb 2007 09:48:50 Jumper Two Jumper Two is the sequel to Jumper (obviously), and continues the story of Ogmo, the horrible experiment gone wrong, as he attempts to evade capture by various forces which want him for various reasons.

You'll have to get Ogmo through 60 of the most devious single-screen platformer stage designs ever in his quest for freedom, using the various kinds of jumps at your disposal.

Also included is the Jumper Two Editor v4.06, which lets you create your own 10-stage 'Sectors' with a variety of game objects, some of which exclusive to the editor, and even lets you edit the game physics!
]]> 19 Feb 2007 11:52:14 Harmotion

Game Overview:

Harmotion is an effects intensive player vs. player, top down 2D classic shooter (aka shmup). You face the opponent from the bottom of the screen and the objective is to outlast him/her in a short space fight. Each fight will be a one of a kind collaboration between the two opponents; a collaboration of sound and colors.

]]> 25 Mar 2007 04:22:49 Beyond the Red Line Beyond the Red Line is a stand-alone total conversion for the award-winning Freespace 2 released by Volition and Interplay for the PC. It is based on the popular new tv-show Battlestar Galactica. No, not the one from the 70s.
The game is made by the fans, for the fans.
]]> 08 Jun 2007 02:05:54 Scorched Earth Scorched Earth was a popular shareware computer game from the PC-DOS era, originally written by Wendell Hicken, in which tanks do turn-based battle in two-dimensional terrain, with each player adjusting the angle and power of his or her tank turret before each shot. Despite the simple premise (and very simple graphics, by modern standards) the game is still playable, and some find it quite addictive.
]]> 26 Jan 2007 06:46:39 Bontago Bontago is a single or multiplayer 3d real-time strategy/puzzle game. By stacking blocks each player increses their area of influence, and can build closer and closer to the goal in the middle of each level.
]]> 03 Dec 2006 10:02:40 NERO Neuro-Evolving Robotic Operatives, or NERO for short, is a unique computer game that lets you play with adapting intelligent agents hands-on. Evolve your own robot army by tuning their artificial brains for challenging tasks, then pit them against your friends' teams in online competitions!
]]> 10 Dec 2006 05:23:36 Digger Digger was released by Windmill Software in 1983, popular in the era of the IBM PC with a CGA graphics card and monitor. Digger was resurrected by Andrew Jenner in 1998, when he reverse engineered it to run using VGA on fast Pentium based computers. The source code of the remastered version was released under the GPL with permission of the original author Rob Sleath.
]]> 24 Dec 2006 02:53:39 Empyreal Nocturne Empyreal Nocturne is a 3D aerial action game in which you combat enormous flying monsters by commanding a legion of birds.

Each flying monster, called Hydra, is a series of nodes connected together. You must defeat each weak point node to destroy the entire monster.

The design of the game is influenced by "Shadow of the Colossus". You battle enormous creatures that initially appear to be insurmountable. It is also partially inspired by "Rez" in the sense that they are both non-traditional, abstract shooter games.
]]> 11 May 2007 03:13:53 Acidbomb Acidbomb is a fifty level puzzle game where you must find the pistons used to trigger a bomb and defuse them before time runs out. There are many bombs scattered around the world, from biological bombs that have hair-sensitive triggers to napalm bombs that are exploding at the seams, to nuclear warheads that have challenged even the highest trained bomb defusal agent.
]]> 22 Feb 2007 07:56:20 Dark Oberon Dark Oberon is an open source real-time strategy game similar to Warcraft II released under GPL. It has got unique graphics - textures created from shots of real models made out of plasticine!
]]> 10 Jan 2007 03:12:53 Danger from the Deep Danger from the Deep is a World War II german submarine simulator. The goal is to make a simulation game with strong emphasis on strategy and realism, that never the less is interesting to play.

While the game can be downloaded and played, it should be noted that the game is still in an early development stage.
]]> 13 Feb 2007 08:08:23 PySCUMM Engine PySCUMM is a module package to develop graphical adventures similar to the made with SCUMM 8.1.0, with this version LucasArts produced games titles like 'The Curse of Monkey Island'.

PySCUMM use PyGame framework (SDL) as render, but will support multi-render SDL display compatible.

PySCUMM is multiplatform, easy and fast! :)
]]> 12 Feb 2007 02:50:07 RoidRage WIP Asteroids inspired vector style title.

When learning a new system the first thing you do is remake a classic. When I wanted to do hardware accelerated glowy vectors I turned to one of the greatest (and also most remade) games of them all asteroids.

RoidRage isn't going to be a clone of asteroids but a game in the style of asteroids, with powerups and more enemy types for starters.

Currently undergoing development.
]]> 27 Feb 2007 11:02:32 Bridge Builder Bridge Builder is a game where you build bridges. In each level you have a limited budget to buy materials with, materials with which you have to build a bridge which will hold a train passing over it.
]]> 25 Dec 2006 01:58:32 Last Dawn Last Dawn is a survival game about surviving in a zombie infested world. Taking place from a side-on perspective the game features many elements of both platform and action games. The game focuses around the day/night cycle, hence the name, where the player scavenges supplies during the day when zombies are less common, then returns to base at night to defend from the zombie hordes. This game was made for the 2007 Nullarbor game development competition.
]]> 20 Jun 2007 10:32:07 Rthegame R is a twisted psycho-philosophical platform/puzzle/action/adventure game created from Michal Marcinkowski's discussions with Dolny sometime in 2004 and 2005. The game is not finished and never will be.
There are whole sections of the game not done, missing graphics,animations, sounds, maps and cutscenes. However the game is complete in its design and is fully playable from beginning to end.
So don't worry about the missing maps, it'll just make you finish the game faster and enjoy the magnificent ending.
]]> 22 Feb 2007 03:55:04 Ray-Hound In Ray-Hound you control a space ship in a circular arena where you have to survive for as long as possible and eliminate all turrets that keep shooting on you. Unfortunately you don't have a gun yourself, so instead you capture the shots the turrets fire at you and use their own shots againts the turrets

Ray-Hound is created by Hikoza Ohkubo, creator of Warning Forever.
]]> 08 Feb 2007 01:37:01 .kkrieger A really, really, really tiny first-person shooter, at least when it comes to download size, being under 100kB.

The game features a number of different textures, enemies and weapons.
]]> 04 Dec 2006 06:33:02 Age of Time "Barbie horse adventure" is a fair description. Except you can kill the horses. And other people. And arrest people and beat them while they are in jail. And blow them up with dynamite.

It's a persistent online fantasy action game.
]]> 10 Oct 2006 02:52:07 Scorched 3D Scorched 3D is a game based on the classic DOS game Scorched Earth. Scorched 3D adds amongst other new features a 3D island environment and LAN and internet play.

The gameplay remains much like in the original game. Aiming towards a certain opponent is earily done with the A button, and after that the aiming with angle and power is exactly as in Scorched Earth. However, some weapons will react differently when landing due to the three dimensional terrain.
]]> 13 Feb 2007 01:38:57 Pogo Sticker This is certainly not an average platformer! This is what you get when you make a "Jump'n'Run" game, but leave out the Run. It's all jumping from start to beginning, and you aren't allowed to stop bouncing around.

Funky physics, stylish graphics, catchy music and bunch of weird levels to say it short.
]]> 07 Feb 2007 10:00:40 Zombie Panic Zombie survival mod for Half-Life.
]]> 29 Apr 2007 12:28:56 Darkest Island Darkest Island is the story of a man named Daniel who wakes up in a bloody hospital bed on a remote island with no knowledge of how he got there. A girl's voice echoes in his mind, begging for him to come and rescue her, and promising to help him get off the island. Daniel finds that this hospital is actually a research facility, and the inhabitants are no longer human. These zombie-like creatures are not the only enemies that Daniel makes. Soon he has armed soldiers hunting him as well. The story of the facility unfolds as Daniel makes his way into the dark center of the island.
]]> 12 Feb 2007 02:07:22 Tactics 100 Live Very awesome rpg based game where you control your army against the actual live person who is also connected to the particular flash game from their own computer. Take turns and attack each other to determine the winner in this awesome game. Enjoy Tactics 100 Live game
]]> 26 Jun 2007 07:57:02 Mechatron 2154 Mechatron 2154 is like Robotron on steroids, with awesome new 3-D inspired visuals, new sounds, a custom level editor, and includes both offline and online high-score systems. The game plays damn-near arcade perfect because we used the actual AI from the original Robotron arcade ROM set! This is the definitive Robotron remake you've got to play!
]]> 25 Jun 2007 05:00:25 Zen bondage In Zen Bondage you cover blocks of wood shaped like various animals with rope. You have a limited amount of rope to cover the block in, which you do by twisting and turning the figure.
]]> 03 Dec 2006 09:45:00 Egoboo Egoboo is a top down rpg in the spirit of Nethack and other games of the Roguelike genre. It uses Open GL graphics and will have randomly generated maps and customizable characters. The objective of the project is to bring the fun and depth of roguelike gameplay, kicking and screaming, into the third dimension. It is still in development, but is at a playable state.
]]> 14 Mar 2007 10:06:20 Operation Cleaner 2 Cleaner is a game where you run a demolition firm. You decide how much explosives and equipment you use, how much workers and bulldozers you need to run the firm. Everything costs, and you get money by leveling different kinds of buildings. You may select buildings from a list of offers.
]]> 31 Dec 2006 09:52:06 Euclidean Crisis Euclidean Crisis is a multiplayer real-time strategy game played using a touchscreen stylus and voice commands. The game can also be played with a mouse.

Players control a diverse team of units on a two-dimensional battlefield, and must destroy their opponents' energy cores while protecting their own. Players tell units where to go by drawing out paths, and give orders using special gestures and voice activated commands. The game is rendered in a retro aesthetic featuring simple shapes (hence the origin of the title) in a world with colorful, psychedelic visual effects synced to the music.
]]> 07 Feb 2007 01:02:18 EndEffector EndEffector is a side scrolling shoot 'em up created by members of the Kyoto University Micro Computer Club. It is a classic shmup where you battle waves of enemies before taking on an end boss.
]]> 10 Feb 2007 07:18:14 Book and Volume
Your pager tickles you awake.

Upstairs in the house of your childhood, in your room, and it must be time for school because -- no, it's the weekend, you remember, but your alarm is going off anyway. You should have been awake already. You're going to miss the bus. Your mother climbs in the window. You're dreaming.

You're a grown-up: It opens to you again, a sluggish window summoned by a mouse click. Waking up now in your own apartment, your new apartment. Your pager is buzzing and vibrating both, serious. It is in fact the weekend, but you're not in elementary school. No one is crawling in through the window. You're a system administrator for nWare. Waking up urgently, here in nTopia.
]]> 10 Feb 2007 05:40:41 Tapestry It is a symbol and a tool. It is your past and your future. It is all things, in time. You, Timothy Hunter, have lived, and like all things mortal you have died. But the aftermath of that lifetime is anything but simple...

Faced with creatures beyond your ken, the fruition of whose inscrutible motives hinge on your decisions, what will you do? Will you face who and what you once were? Or will you try to change things for the better? Or the worse?
]]> 11 Feb 2007 01:42:23 Whom The Telling Changed
The people had always gathered on moonless nights to hear the stories, since the time of their ancestors' ancestors. The heat of the fire and the glow in the storyteller's eyes made the past present, and the path to the future clear. The power in the telling was immense, subtle, divine. What man would dare subvert it?
]]> 12 Feb 2007 01:29:03 Sonic Invaders
In the beginning of the 22nd century alien invaders attacked the earth, but they were not as we imagined. The most effective way of defense was by using sonic pulses. Defensive turrets were placed on the surface of the earth to counter their attack.

The war was lost, but this is the story of that war.
]]> 13 Feb 2007 04:40:27 Starport Galactic Empires Starport: Galactic Empires is a competitive massively multiplayer game for Windows PCs. Your life in the Starport universe begins near Earth where you will be the captain of a new merchant vessel. By gaining funds and experience you can upgrade your ship and your standing as the game progresses. Haul valuable cargo and transport passengers through space to begin working your way up in the game world.

In Starport, greater reward means greater risk. You'll need to equip your ship to handle it. During your progress, you'll engage in combat with other players, planetary defense platforms, space-anchored gun turrets and other hostiles. From traditional projectile weapons and smart-missles to exotic energy weapons, you'll have a good selection of firepower from which to choose.

You might choose to claim a world by starting a colony on it. Keep these colonies defended, keep the colonists who reside there happy, and they can become valuable strongholds.

Later, you might chose to roam the galaxy as a pirate and invade and take over the colonies of others. You might also choose to spend your warp fuel on exploration, where you might find powerful artifacts of alien technology or valuable information. In time, you could own a large empire of colonies and earn many experience points which will put you in the top of the rankings.
]]> 13 Apr 2007 09:07:54 BZFlag BZFlag is a free multiplayer multiplatform 3D tank battle game. The name stands for Battle Zone capture Flag.
]]> 03 Dec 2006 09:27:06