Freebird games is a small independent studio consisting of very few members, put together by Kan Gao to tell stories through interactive narrative and music. In 2011 Freebird studios became well known when they released the award winning game To the Moon. To the Moon is an interactive narrative driven game that has the player using very basic controls to solve puzzles so that they can fulfil a dying mans wish. It has a simple pixel art style that gives the game beautiful scenery.

However, the main reason behind my fondness for the game and the studio is how they realise the key importance of music in games. The soundtrack for To the Moon was praised worldwide with its emotional power and how it had such a large impact on the games success. One of the key aspects of Freebird games is that they are heavily focused on how music can impact the game. They charge relatively little for their games due to being an independent studio and they keep people updated on their progression in the form of a blog and news feed. A link to their website can be found below.

http://freebirdgames.com/

Upcoming indie games:

Finding paradise – Finding paradise is the sequel to the game To the Moon, developed by Free bird studios. This game coming late 2017 is probably one of the most anticipated indie titles due to the first games incredible popularity. It’s been 6 years since the last game and the anticipation for this game is incredibly high as the player base expects another masterpiece for the long wait.

Prey for the gods – This upcoming indie title is being developed by ‘No Matter Studios’ scheduled to be released late 2017. It’s considered a harsh survival game inspired by Shadow of the colossus. In the game the player must navigate a dangerous snow covered environment in which they must craft supplies and battle monstrous sized enemies much like the enemies in Shadow of the Colossus which require you to climb them just to damage them. It has an intriguing art style and the survival aspect gives it a refreshing taste and unique feel.

Perception – Deep End Games is a team consisting of former Bioshock and Dead Space developers which have banded together to create a highly anticipated game known as perception. Perception has the player navigate around an abandoned mansion as a blind woman named Cassie Thompson. The player must solve puzzles and traverse the environment by using echolocation to determine their surroundings. This is done by using a walking stick to hit the floor and determine the location of objects. However, the player is not alone in this building and they must choose sometimes on being able to see and letting the monster see them, or traversing blind. The reason this is so highly anticipated is that the mechanics are relatively new to the games as not many games have used or successfully used echolocation as a way of navigation.

Overall it would seem that the most highly anticipated indie games are ones that either have a prequel which set a high standard, or games that take a spin on popular previous titles.

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image 1:  https://www.giantbomb.com/profile/majormitch/blog/my-journey-to-the-moon/91486/