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amok: mm, to me the core of Bastion is to generic to be considered experimental, the rest is just bells and whistles.
Yes, that is more or less exactly what I said ;-)
amok, I'm not sure if you missed my edit on post 14, about a game called FRACT OSC. The genre is not very innovative right now ('first person puzzler' seems to be the new '2D platformer') but apparently music plays an important part of gameplay, and that is still not very common. Maybe not one for the list, but sure one to keep on the metaphorical radar.
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amok: mm, to me the core of Bastion is to generic to be considered experimental, the rest is just bells and whistles.
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Wishbone: Yes, that is more or less exactly what I said ;-)
ah, yes, I am agreeing with you. Just more or less thinking out loud (if it is even possible to do so in a forum). Still trying to figure out what qualifies or not.
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YogSo: amok, I'm not sure if you missed my edit on post 14, about a game called FRACT OSC. The genre is not very innovative right now ('first person puzzler' seems to be the new '2D platformer') but apparently music plays an important part of gameplay, and that is still not very common. Maybe not one for the list, but sure one to keep on the metaphorical radar.
Thank you - yes, I missed it... It looks interesting (I signed up as beta tester, lets see what they say)
Post edited June 27, 2012 by amok
I've thought about an old, non-indie 'experimental' game: Galapagos: Mendel's Escape. The mechanics are interesting, because you can't directly control Mendel (the four-legged creature from the title): it always walks non-stop in a straight like unless he bumps into a wall or other obstacle. The objective is to guide Mendel to the end of each full-of-dangers level, coaching it to turn left or right (clicking on each side of Mendel) and interacting with buttons/levers in the environment to activate/deactivate force-fields, traps, doors, etc. Another interesting feature is that, allegedly, Mendel "learns" as you guide it succesfully, so he becomes more intelligent at evading lethal traps. I never experienced that myself, maybe because it also gets 'damaged' everytime it dies and respawns at the last checkpoint. And since the game quickly becomes a frustrating exercise in trial and error... :-P

And of course, thinking about "learning" digital creatures has reminded me of the Creatures saga, with all that "digital DNA" stuff they had.
Post edited June 27, 2012 by YogSo
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YogSo: I've thought about an old, non-indie 'experimental' game: Galapagos: Mendel's Escape. The mechanics are interesting, because you can't directly control Mendel (the four-legged creature from the title): it always walks non-stop in a straight like unless he bumps into a wall or other obstacle. The objective is to guide Mendel to the end of each full-of-dangers level, coaching it to turn left or right (clicking on each side of Mendel) and interacting with buttons/levers in the environment to activate/deactivate force-fields, traps, doors, etc. Another interesting feature is that, allegedly, Mendel "learns" as you guide it succesfully, so he becomes more intelligent at evading lethal traps. I never experienced that myself, maybe because it also gets 'damaged' everytime it dies and respawns at the last checkpoint. And since the game quickly becomes a frustrating exercise in trial and error... :-P

And of course, thinking about "learning" digital creatures has reminded me of the Creatures saga, with all that "digital DNA" stuff they had.
Galapagos sounds interesting. it seems like some of its DNA is in Experiment 112 (can only control the environment, guide a NPC), I would like to try it at some point if it can be chased down. The frustrating bits make it sound a little like a 3D version of Sleepwalker from the Amiga.

hmm, Creatures yes, I am a bit on the fence on that one yet. I have only played one of them a long time ago, meant to get them again at some point but there are always something else in the way, so I can not say anything about it so far. I know it is quite cheap at DotEmu so maybe... It goes on the list for now as a reminder.

By the way, I have just downloaded the demo for "Against the wall" again and had a go, it has to be one of the most peaceful and meditative games I have played recently. Hope he do not screw up the sound when it get implemented.
I had a debate with myself, which I think I lost, and concluded that I may be in a muddle with distinctions of innovative and experimental, getting more into it will lead to a very slippery slope. I will therefore try to keep experimental games on, but remove the ones I consider to be merely (hah) innovative. Removed from the list (for now) is:

Creatures (Life simulation)
Gravity Bone (Puzzle, Exploration, First Person Narrative?)
Lemmings (Mechanics, Graphics)
Narbacular Drop (Inspiration for Portal, Puzzle)

I am still considering if Experiment 112 and Proun should stay or go, also added a few more that came to mind.
Shameless bump on the weekend for some exposure, in the vain hope I will find some more contenders. The list have frown slightly also.
A game for your consideration, amok:

Mondo Medicals, by Cactus. It can be downloaded . I played it some time ago and found it weirdly interesting, though I wouldn't be able to explain why. It's a first person puzzler with a black & white visual style that can get hard in the eyes after a while. Here's a(n annoying) [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40mHUw9DV4A]video walkthrough.
Post edited July 02, 2012 by YogSo
Thanks, I do like a game that openly lie to the player.
There was a very cool little clever non-game game disguised as a game (and that had fooled a lot of people before the twist was discovered), called "chaser", by a certain Conor Carpenter, at www.shadestorm.com. Unfortunately it may be offline now. I don't know why. Maybe you can still find it somewhere. It totally fits this thread's category.
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Telika: There was a very cool little clever non-game game disguised as a game (and that had fooled a lot of people before the twist was discovered), called "chaser", by a certain Conor Carpenter, at www.shadestorm.com. Unfortunately it may be offline now. I don't know why. Maybe you can still find it somewhere. It totally fits this thread's category.
Thanks, I found it at http://playthisthing.com/chaser. It is interesting, and more fun then it should be. Good metaphor for something...
The list have expanded a little, and I try to see if there is anyone who feel a desperate need to contribute or have any comments (i.e shameless dump)
You may want to add this to the list.
How about The Sense of Connectedness (Freeware) and Inside A Star-filled Sky (both standalone)?
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Leroux: How about The Sense of Connectedness (Freeware) and Inside A Star-filled Sky (both standalone)?
Than you very much for The Sense of Connectedness, did not know about that one. It was interesting. I liked the idea very much.

I was wondering about Inside a star-filled sky but in the end decided against it. Is it really an experimental game? To me it just feels a little bit to much like just another shooter with a bit of a twist... It is good, but I am not sure how experimental/alternative it really is as a game.
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Telika: You may want to add this to the list.
Thank you very much, that was quite good.
Post edited July 11, 2012 by amok