The popular Develop:Brighton conference will be returning for another year next month and today organiser, Tandem Events, has announced the shortlisted videogames which will be part of the seventh Indie Showcase, four of which are virtual reality (VR) titles.
Those selected are:
- Loco Dojo (Oculus Rift) by Make Real
- SVRVIVE: The Deus Helix (HTC Vive) by SVRVIVE Studios
- ARCA (Gear VR) by Dream Reality Interactive
- Tin Hearts (Oculus Rift) by Rogue Sun
- Rocket Rumble (Android) by Small Jelly
- Abandon Ship (PC) by Fireblade Software
- Space Krieg (PC) by We Heart Dragons
- Dead End Job (PC) by Ant Workshop
- From Light (PC) by Faffinabout
Loco Dojo is a multiplayer board game in which players have to compete across 16 mini-games to make it into the Grand Temple and win. VRFocus reviewed the title a short while ago, giving it 4 stars, saying: ‘those who do decide to take the plunge will be richly rewarded with a videogame that is highly enjoyable to play and will keep them coming back for more.’
SVRVIVE: The Deus Helix is a puzzle adventure game, inspired by classics such as Myst and Riven, while Tin Hearts from Rogue Sun is all about building elaborate Rube-Goldberg machines to help a battalion of magical clockwork toy soldiers escape a series of Victorian rooms. The last VR title on the list is Dream Reality Interactive’s physics platformer ARCA, with players piloting the ‘ARCA Sphere’ through a world of shifting platforms and abstract architecture.
“Every year we’re blown away by the standard of submissions for the Indie Showcase and this year was no exception,” commented Adam Green, chairman of the selection panel in a statement. “We had over 120 games submitted this year, which is the highest number yet. Selecting the finalists from such an incredible range of diverse titles was as challenging as it was inspiring. Be sure to swing by the Indie Showcase and check them out!”
Managing director of Tandem Events, Andy Lane, added: “It’s been seven years since we launched the Indie Showcase, and the creativity displayed by all the indie developers that submit never ceases to amaze me. It’s fantastic to have Unity on board as sponsors for another year. Everyone involved is excited to see the industry reaction when they have hands-on opportunity at Develop:Brighton in a few weeks.”
All the titles will be playable at the Expo and on Thursday 13 July the overall Indie Showcase winner as chosen by the judging panel and the People’s Choice winner, as voted for by delegates through the Develop:Brighton website, will be announced.
Develop:Brighton, is a conference, expo and networking event taking place from Tuesday 11th to Thursday 13th July 2017 at the Hilton Metropole in Brighton.
For any further updates on the event, keep reading VRFocus.