After enjoying Moonpod’s Mr. Robot, I downloaded Starscape, their other acclaimed independent game. Starscape is in an entirely different genre. Unlike the puzzle adventure Mr. Robot, Starscape is about space mining and ship building. The shipbuilding element is reminiscent of Homeworld, but is presented in a highly stylized way. The entire game is simple in design but never to a fault; it captures the essence of a casual game, where it is easy to play, but hard to master.

The game is presented in a unique style. The cutscenes and characters are styled in a hybrid of 90’s cartoons and anime. The colors are bright but not garish and the people are attractive without looking impossibly beautiful. The non-people elements (mainly outside the ship) are mostly ships in space. The ships look great, as does space. The game takes place on a 2D plane, but the backdrop looked so great that it fooled me at first – I thought that I was on a 3D plane.

The gameplay feels polished like Mr. Robot, but I had a few issues with the controls. The initial ship you control to mine resources was a slightly difficult to steer. Pressing left or right on the directional keys would cause it to make a wide turn. I missed the subtlety of a mouse for movement, as I prefer to follow more refined paths, even in space. The controls didn’t become much of a problem until I had to shoot other ships. Then it became a little bit challenging to aim. Also, I found myself constantly mixing up the keys. Instead of a default return key or spacebar to fire, the keys Q and W were used to fire, while E was a tractor beam. I found myself shooting the resources that I wanted to mine, as I would get the keys mixed up. While the key controls are customizable in the menus, I always try to follow the designers’ original plan, as it is often done for a reason. However, I would have to disagree with the designers in this case, as I felt the controls were often counterintuitive.

Outside of the controls, the game was fairly straightforward. Mining was simple and fun. Like Mr. Robot, the amount of text was perfect – just enough to get you the important information without being overwhelming. There is also a fantastic ship customization component, where you work to build elements for ships, such as a bridge, engines, and cannons. There is a large resource management element here, where you distribute the resources you mine according to your goals. This type of customization has never been my favorite part of games, but there is certainly a large audience of gamers who thrive on it.

Starscape is an interesting independent game. I would recommend Mr. Robot before Starscape, but they are both polished experiences. They both have low system requirements and a free demo, making them highly accessible to a variety of gamers. The unique style of Starscape makes it fun and it is certainly an engaging game.  

Independent games have received a lot of attention lately, especially since the wildly popular Portal was developed from student project Narbacular Drop. However, the term “independent game” is no more than a label and it reveals little about the quality of a game. Some games have been hastily created in two weeks for a school project, while others have been in development with a small team of professionals for over a year.

As a student of game design, I’m always looking for new and interesting games to play. While console experiences can be fantastic, independent and casual games often have more creative freedom. With the exception of a few titles, such as Half Life 2: The Orange Box, most publishers are more conservative. Xbox Live and the upcoming Wii Ware are beginning to change the field, but indie games can serve as a valuable inspiration for breaking out of established gameplay patterns.

Recently, I heard that Moonpod Games had been getting many positive reviews for their indie games, so I downloaded Mr. Robot. I didn’t know what to expect, but I found a polished, satisfying experience.

From the beginning, Mr. Robot is a charming game. The characters are simple in design but convey personality through clever dialogue. The main character, Asimov (or 1138), shows his eagerness to achieve his dream of becoming an important robot. His lady friend, Zelda, leaves no doubts as to her relation to Asimov when she uses terms such as “cutie” and “honey.” Before the tutorial is over, many of the main characters are revealed and their relations to your character are painlessly established. The story is well written and never wastes your time with needless dialogue.

The gameplay is solid and polished. Much of the game involves moving around in an isometric environment on board the main ship. Controls include clicking the left mouse button and dragging (so Asimov follows) or using the arrow keys. The isometric perspective can make jumping a little more complicated in some cases but it is fairly simple after getting used to it. Machines elements, such as lifts, respond quickly and feel like an organic part of the ship. There is also a decent map, which, although small, reveals important information at a glance. My only complaint regarding design is that Asimov is sometimes hard to pick out when left idle on a screen, as he blends in with many of the other robots.

There are many puzzle elements, such as moving boxes around to create a certain type of formation. At first, the puzzles can seem slightly simplistic, but the game is more fun since you can move ahead quickly. In one simple puzzle, I did get stuck (by blocking myself in) but there was a reset option readily available. This type of feature reflects the thought the developers put into the game; they kept the player in mind, since players are bound to make mistakes.

Mr. Robot is an excellent independent game experience. While it does have a few flaws, the game feels incredibly polished and is full of character. It has many references to sci-fi pop culture, from Asimov’s name and number (1138) to the supercomputer HEL-9000 (like HAL). While it may seem simple at first, elements such as the combat system allow for more complex game experiences. Mr. Robot excels most in its character and charm, distinguishing it from other games and making it a uniquely satisfying game.