Wow, this has made my day.

One of my favourite songs (+ clips) in years [<-- language warning, also scenes of thrift shops] has been parodied by a New Zealand Group and turned into a lovesong to the Steam Summer Sale (& indie games in general).

They’ve really nailed it.  They even refer to Gabe Newell as ‘grandad’.

Massive thumbs up to Viva La Dirt League for this effort.

Oh, and if the headline hasn’t made it clear already – LANGUAGE WARNING.

Via Cory @ Boing Boing.

Late last year Spanish indie game maker ‘Locomalito’  released his latest ‘big’ game…  The beautifully Ghosts n Goblins-esque Maldita Castilla.

Just prior to the game’s release, I got chatting to ‘Loco’ (real name, unknown) and he told me a bit about the inspiration he’d got from researching Spanish history, characters and landscapes.

For example, the main character is based on El Cid (immortalised in the statue below). He was a well-known Spanish hero, who inspired many myths.

Locomalito had spent some time wandering around Castille and other cities in Spain, photographing buildings and artworks that led to the game’s rather unique look.

Here you can see the obvious inspiration behind the ‘Damned Castle’ the player is seeking to enter.

Even the smallest details in the game are often directly influenced by photos the programmer/artist had taken in his journeys.

The details in the fresco below are hard to make out, but still a close match to the photo on the left.

Finally, here are a few more architecture/detail photos that Locomalito shared and you can easily see styles and details that show up throughout the game.

And of course, the sort of ghoulish adornments you see on Spanish buildings on the right, were a great inspiration for a ‘ghostly/ghoulish’ game like this…

Thanks to Locomalito for sharing these photos and thoughts with us.

If you haven’t yet played Maldita Castilla, grab your free PC download here. As the man says himself, it “pays homage to classic arcade games from 1985-1987 like Ghost’n'Goblins, Tiger Road, Black Tiger, Shinobi, Rygar and Karnov“.

Earlier this year, we celebrated the birthday of a great indie game players/makers resource with a rather popular lookback over it’s past three years.  Now, we bring you news of Simon Kaizen’s latest creation, “Pixel Prospector’s FINEST”.

PPF is a bit like a hall of fame.  Simon’s gone through the 500+ indie games on Pixel Prospector, and whittled it down to 60 amazing games.  It’s more than a simple list though, every game is showcased with a screenshot, trailer, information (developer, genre, release year, price, size).

But that’s not all, you also get the ‘official’  game description from the developer, a mini-review from Pixel Prospector, plus links to written and video reviews.

AND – Simon’s put together a pretty amazing Youtube video with snippets of the first 60 games.

The great thing about PPF is you can quickly go through it via platform or genre, and see all those ‘essential’ games that you somehow missed the first time around. It’s also a great resource when you’re trying to introduce someone to indie gaming and you just want to show them a few killer titles. (The video I linked to earlier would be ideal.)

Pixel Prospector’s FINEST promises to add 2 more ‘worthy’ games to the list each week.  If this collection is tightly curated, I can see it become a real badge of honour to be selected. Maybe the 2012 indie equivalent of the Zzap!64 ’Sizzler’?

You can explore the site yourself here:   Pixel Prospector’s FINEST

Blah blah blah “too many bundles…”  HANG ON A SEC, THIS ONE’S AWESOME!
Bundle in a Box (“the only thematic bundle around”) went all ‘adventure’ games last time, but this time it’s SPACE GAMES and it’s a CRACKER.

Pay 99 cents or more and you get 5 pretty fantastic games….

Death Ray Manta (PC/Mac)

Rob Fearon’s brand new game debuts exclusively in this bundle.  Death Ray Manta is the BEST DRM EVER.

It also happens to be an arena shooter that knows its history. From Robotron to Llamatron to Geometry Wars and on, Death Ray Manta keeps one eye on what works, what’s worked and tries to explore it all. Quickly. In a condensed few moments of pleasure. What’s more, it is a videogame about flashing lights in your face.
Very, very, pretty lights.

Space Giraffe (PC/Steam)

Jeff Minter’s Space Giraffe is pitched as “the boldest evolution of the trance-shooter”, With 200 levels of trance-tastic action, beautiful abstract graphics that respond to audio input, two remixes of the same game, and deep gameplay that rewards strategic and tactical play.

Space Giraffe is accessible enough to entertain a novice player, but also deep enough to satisfy the arcade expert.

Stuart Campbell (World of Stuart) said it was “one of the best games released in 2008, at any price”.
Kieron Gillen (RPS) called it “simply one of the finest works in Minter’s long career”.

The Wreckless (PC/Mac/Desura)

The Wreckless is a single player space combat simulator reminiscent of “old school” space combat games like “Tie Fighter” and “Elite”, with a sixteen level fully voiced campaign and a simulator that lets the player create their own custom skirmishes.

The missions comprise a variety of different styles including bombing missions, dogfights against tough AI opponents and escort missions. The player can research different fighter crafts to use for each scenario, choosing different fighter/bomber combinations to compliment their own play style.

Adam Smith (RPS) called it “…very good..  the nicest surprise I’ll have all month”

Dark Scavenger (PC/ Mac/Desura)

Dark Scavenger is an adventure game that combines strategic turn-based combat with unique point-and-click mechanics. Happily, it features twisted dark humor and dozens of quirky characters.

Filling the role of a powerful space traveler, you find yourself stranded on a mysterious planet in the company of three eccentric, yet resourceful aliens. Will you adopt the problems of this world as your own or will you just save yourself?

Adam Smith of RPS said it was “Weird, creative, frayed around the edges and a little bit soiled in the middle, but rather endearingly clobbered together. I would have loved it if it came out on the Amiga ages ago and would probably still quote bits of it to an uncomprehending world.”

Armalyte (PC).

The official remake of the classic Commodore 64 shmup, with massive boss encounters and 8 tough worlds!

Gameplay has been precisely replicated on the PC thanks to involvement from the original Armalyte developers Dan Phillips and Robin Levy.
The graphics have been specially enhanced for the PC version by Trevor ‘Smila’ Storey and the game features brand new soundtracks by Chris ‘Infamous’ Bailey.

BUGGER THAT FOR A JOKE!  I’M NOT QUOTING RPS EVERY TIME!

Some blog called JustOneMoreGame said it was “A great remake of a C64 classic. Visually & sonically it ticks all the boxes, and there are many moments where the remake goes way beyond a simple ’2010 update’.  The vast majority of old-school shooter fans will love this title. “

Paying above the average price will gain you three more games AND a selection of interactive Armalyte extras.

The ‘extra’ games are:

Sol: Exodus (PC/Steam/Desura)

Suit up and take on the role of the Lieutenant Commander, ace fighter pilot and 2nd in command of the UCS Atlas, as you search for a new home, battle a mysterious
enemy, and rescue humanity from a fiery end in this visually stunning space shooter.

IGN said “It feels like a return to childhood, sitting in an oversized chair battling TIE Fighters with an X-Wing.”

Miner Wars Arena (PC/Mac/Desura)

A fast-paced arcade game inspired by the PC gaming classic, Tunneler, with state-of-the-art top-down 2.5D gameplay in a fully destructible environment.
Enjoy unlimited gameplay variations by adjusting your arena settings, playing skirmishes, fighting at tournaments and even going for some split-screen multiplayer.

GameBanana.com called it “a cute little indie game”. [And hey, how could I resist quoting a site called "GameBanana"! ]

RobotRiot (PC/Mac/Desura)

Robot Riot features 21 action packed levels, tons of enemy types, plenty of gun-turrets and epic bosses, exciting power-ups and weapon-upgrades, classic platform action with unique environmental hazards and a joyous retro style due to its 16bit era pixel art and chiptunes.

RGCD said “It gets RGCD’s seal of approval – it might not be a game for everyone, but for those of you craving a ‘new’ genuine retro gaming experience, you could do a lot worse
than RobotRiot”

And then, there’s the Armalyte Extras…

Armalyte extras (PC)

This lovely collection includes Mix-e-Load, the JukeBox containing the game’s music in what can only be described as an impressive music demo and a brilliantly interactive ‘Making Of’ about the Armalyte box art.

If that’s not enough…  you’re a bloody hard person to please.

And yet – despite being hard to please, you just become pleased at last, when you realise your ‘pay what you want’ money will partly help charity AND help fund an ‘indie dev’ fund AND help unlock extras for all buyers AND give access to exclusive content about KyttaroGames’ own upcoming game for iOS and Android AND…. if you’re one of the top 10 contributors…

OH LOOK – WHY BOTHER WITH MY PITIFUL SUMMARY – WHEN YOU CAN READ IT IN FULL ON THE BUNDLE WEBSITE….  http://bundle-in-a-box.com/

The Bundle-in-a-box SPACE bundle will last for the next 14 days only.
(“Bundles, the final frontier….“)

Wow, this just keeps looking better and better.

Lots of cute ‘game phenomena’ moments (when a character dies, they reappear “flashing” for a few seconds) with game characters (well-known & obscure) from a wide range of eras.

Plus Jane Lynch as herself. Well, actually an FPS heroine – but it’s 98% Jane.

Can’t wait.

There are some great pinball players coming to compete at Pinfest tonight…   Richard (RGR),  Scotty (Cruiserman), Rob (TIN), Mitch (DataBeast), just to name a few.

But what goes on…   in the crazed mind of a top pinball player?

JOMG flipped a few questions to Edy Stevens (aka Dedrok) as he helped setup the machines for this weekend…

Edy Stevens. Pro pinball player.

JOMG:   So Edy, the comp’s on tonight.  Which 3 machines are you most confident on in competition? How far can you get on them?

Hmm…. All depends how it feels / plays on the day. Could be any machine, I don’t really care when it comes to the comp, just “step up and hit it”.

 What’s your history at other pinball competitions?

I’ve had a couple of wins, but I’m happy to consistantly be in the ‘top 8′.

What are your tips for ‘average’ players who’d like to improve their skills?

Find out what way to play best suits you , trap and shoot or flowing play, then practice. Learn the basics; trap, pass and catch shots and practice them.

What’s your best story about playing a game when you were ‘on fire’?

I recently had a theory on how to get big points on TOTAN (Tales of The Arabian Nights). Tried it out on the Virtual Cab and got 4B+, so went into Pizza N Pinball to play the one in there to test the theory, and rolled it (1Billion) on my 1st ball. Theory checked out, but just fell short of 2Billion. 

Some of the games to be featured at Pinfest

Which machine/mode often kicks your butt or intimidates you if it comes up in a comp?

Anything or Mode on AC/DC

What machines do you have at home?

Machines at home ….. TOTAN, Sopranos, Monopoly, LOTR, Guns N Roses, Tommy Pinball Wizard, Frankenstein, Star Trek 25th Anniversary, TMNT, Comet, Gorgar, Time Warp, Lost World, Harlem Globe Trotters, Playboy, Evel Kinevel, Cosmic Princess, Sinbad and DEDPIN (Virtual Cab).  Also a Fish Tales, Hook and WWF floating about somwhere.

Fave pinball ever?

I never really have a favorite , but after having my Judge Dredd for 12 years and recently moving it on to some mates that desperatly wanted one, it would have to be classed as my all time fav, I do miss it so.

Thanks for your time Dedrok.

Edy Stevens is one of the many generous pinball owners who’ve supplied machines to Pinfest. See him in the competition tonight, at Caves Beachside Hotel.

December 2011.

After months of work, Chris and Dom Slevin opened their dream business, Pizza n Pinball, in Broadmeadow. (A Newcastle suburb, 2 hours north of Sydney)  The brothers combining their skills in takeaway food, pinball maintenance and of course their love of the silverball. The word was put out via arcade forums, a Facebook page was set up, and the customers started to walk in.

One of those initial customers… was Robert Denton.

Interior, Pizza n Pinball January 2012

Rob’s a keen pinball player – competed at a few competitions – and mates with a few of the local Novocastrian pinball fans. He’s also well-known as the President of the Cardiff Northlakes Chamber of Commerce, and a prominent anti-graffiti campaigner. Soon after Rob visited Pizza n Pinball, he had dinner with his mate, Bill. Talk turned to the subject of pinball and Rob suggested Bill could hold a pinball expo at ‘his place’. And no, I don’t mean his house.

Bill Saddington is a well-known businessman in the Newcastle area. His surname adorns a huge hardware supply business (and its fifty distinctive blue vehicles are a constant presence on local roads). He’s also one of the owners of a large entertainment venue south of Newcastle; the Caves Beachside Hotel. It’s only a few years old, and as potential locations go for a pinball expo, it is world class… if not world-beating. Luckily for local pinball fans – Bill’s answer was “yes”.  But it would take time and a lot of organisation.

June 2012

Pizza n Pinball had been trading for over 18 months; Dom and Chris had built up quite a few ‘regulars’, started to grow the ‘function’ side of the business and held some big pinball events. But they were blisfully unaware of a fateful dinner that happenned so long ago…  in the first weeks of their opening. That was about to change.

Bill Saddington still wanted to get that ‘pinball expo’ idea up and running at last. So he contacted AMD (an Aussie distributor of latest-release pinball machines) in the hope of getting some help to make the event a reality. They gave him a name and a number, for someone who could help. Chris Slevin.

“Ring, ring….   ring, ring…..“

Now, before Chris answers that phone, I’d better point something out for our non-pinball-expo-experienced readers. Pinball events are often held in ‘average’ venues; somewhere affordable, maybe a little bit tired, but a place that does the job. Caves Beachside Hotel doesn’t meet any of those descriptions. Have a look at the photo below.

Exterior, Caves Beachside Hotel

“Ring, ring….   ring, ring…..“

Chris Slevin remembers the call quite well. “It was mid July. Bill called and asked if I’d like to hold a pinball expo at his place. I instantly agreed, as you would. Then – he said it was in 8 weeks time!” Eight! Chris got to work. He and brother Dom advertised a volunteers meeting via the Aussie Arcade forum, and ten people showed up. The Newcastle Pinball Association was formed and the team set to work on gathering machines, organising promotions and so on.

The Slevin boys have been to a number of pinball events before – good and bad – and tried to use that experience to their advantage. “The biggest lesson was to have machines that WORK.” suggests Chris. Variety is also the key. “A mix of different era machines makes for the best lineup – so people play eras they normally don’t have access to.“

Some of the games to be featured at Pinfest

As the weeks rolled by, more and more pieces of the Pinfest puzzle slid into place. The number of pledged pinball machines hit 50, including a recent AC/DC model that will be playable as part of the national AC/DC competition. Chris thinks the lineup will be a real crowd-pleaser. “To have the latest machine X-men machine will be good, to give people the chance to see and play it. But I love that there will be something from the 60′s, 70′s, 80′s, 90′s to now for the public to play because it gives the whole family something they remember.“

The inaugaural Pinfest Caves Beach will include commercial stands (pinball books, parts, etc) and on Saturday night from 6.30, there’ll be an open tournament which is also on the IFPA calender.  This afternoon, as this post goes live, the last of the 50 machines will be moved into place – ready for the crowds tomorrow.

More games to be featured at Pinfest

So what’s Chris Slevin’s message for visitors who might not have played pinball in a while….?  “Come along and relive a misspent youth! (laughs)  This is a chance to see and play a range of pinball machine from all eras and you will fall back in love with the silverball.“

Pinfest will run 10-5 tomorrow and 10-4 Sunday at Caves Beachside Hotel.  2 hours north of Sydney.

Yes, you might have heard whispers about this one, but J-OMG has been digging a bit deeper to get you all the juicy details.

The inaugural PINFEST Pinball Festival will happen on Saturday September 8th and Sunday September 9th at the spectacular Caves Beach Hotel complex. Entry will be $10, with most proceeds going to the ‘SIDS for kids’ foundation.

There’ll be 50 (!) pinball machines available to play, ranging from Chicago Coin’s 1962 rarity “All Star Baseball” to Stern’s newly-released “X Men” pinball. The latter is likely to be the first time most Aussies get to play the game. And unlike some events, where the games are ‘there to be sold’ (and in variable condition), this is a BYO/enthusiast’s festival, so the machines are likely to be top-notch.

I’m sure you have a tonne of questions, and I’ve been interviewing everyone involved to get you answers. In the meantime, I’ve received the OK to share the official event poster, by Tim of Pinball Restoration.

(click above for fullsize view)

Pinfest 2012 will be a great introduction (re-introduction) to the hobby, with all attendees being given a booklet that explains the basics (buying your first pinball, selling, getting repairs done).  There’ll be a competition for the more skilled amongst us, plus machines, parts and merchandise for sale.

More details soon, in a much larger J-OMG exclusive.

Hmm, there are far too many ‘sleeps’ till September 8th…

These days, the number of great freeware games being released is staggering. But finding such games – let alone narrowing them down to styles or preferred platform – is a challenge. This week three years ago, somebody launched their answer to the problem. In the years that followed they also became an incredible help to would-be game makers.

But let’s not jump too far ahead in our story…

Simon Kaizen first became known in the TIGSource indie game forums in late 2008, as the creator of the ‘promisingly good freeware games in development‘ thread. (It’s been read a quarter of a million times in the four years since.) Soon, Simon went a step further, making a series of Youtube compilations that served as brilliant ‘samplers’ of indie games. Titles like ‘93 free arena shooters in 10 Minutes‘ give you a pretty good idea. And on July 30, 2009 he launched a site to even more effectively showcase the best freeware games to the world.

Pixel Prospector site, July 30, 2009

Pixel Prospector launched with approximately 90 freeware games in its database. If you’re familiar with indie games, you’ll have no difficulty guessing which genre covered 2/3rds of the entries. (For anyone else, see the 2nd box in the screenshot above!) But then a site such as this can only reflect the games being created, and Pixel Prospector was an immediate hit. Feedback via indie game forums was enthusiastic; Spelunky creator Derek Yu said the site “Looks fantastic“.

In the 3 years since launching, Pixel Prospector’s database has grown to over 500 games, 2/3rds of which of freeware. The database is searchable via genre, game engine and platform. Each title accompanied by a Youtube trailer, description and a number of useful links, so you get a great ‘taste’ before you download/buy. And over 70% of the games are ‘completed’ titles, ready to play/purchase now. Shmup developer William ‘the2bears.com’ Swaney says “It’s not easy to navigate through all the indie games that are going on these days. There’s a lot more available – and in the works – and PP makes keeping track of things incredibly easy. I love looking through what’s referenced, especially with the emphasis on the developers’ stories.“

If fans of indie games had previously struggled with finding good games to play, then would-be game devs faced an exponentially more difficult challenge. How do you make a game? Which engine to use? How do you find an artist to do the graphics? How do you promote your new game? There are a million questions to ask and previously very few websites attempted to cover all the basics in one place.

In July 2011, Pixel Prospector unveiled their indie resources section. It’s dominated by ‘big lists’ such as “The Big List Of Video Game Documentaries“, “The Big List Of Pixel Art Tutorials“, “The Big List of Indie Game Marketing” & “The Big List Of Game making tools“.  To call the information on offer ‘comprehensive’ would be a massive understatement.

Jonatan “Cactus” Söderström (Clean Asia, Burn the Trash, etc) says the PP resource is “cool“. Robert “Oddbob” Fearon (SYNSO, Retroremakes.com) says “There’s a lot of resources out there for people who want to learn to code, but what there isn’t much of – is honest-to-goodness practical advice for people outside of certain communities. I wish I’d had that sort of resource around when I first started making games instead of the gaping internet void I had to make do with.” Animation Career Review.com included PP in its ’50 Essential Websites Every Aspiring Gaming Professional Should Know’. And Mike Rose (indiegames.com, 250 Indie Games You Must Play) says “I always point indie devs in the direction of PP when they ask me for pretty much anything – marketing, research, community, etc. I know I personally visit every so often to make sure I’m up-to-date with all the best sources, so it’s great for me too!“

The third part of Pixel Prospector’s offering brings us back to Simon Kaizen’s first contribution to indie gaming – Youtube compilation of freeware games. Each one jams game after game in a smorgasbord of gaming goodness, that’s mesmorising. Oh, and don’t worry if you find yourself grabbing a pen to take notes on which games to download next. EVERYONE does that. Rock Paper Shotgun’s Jim Rossignol refers to the clip 235 free indie games in 10 minutes as “epic” and Pixel Prospector as an “indie hero“.

And the PP site has plenty more content on the way with a huge Marketing Guide for Indie Developers ’95% complete’ and the release earlier today of their latest Youtube clip, 44 Free Indie Games In 4 Minutes (Multiplayer Edition).

So, happy 3rd birthday Pixel Prospector. When I finally free up enough time to get back to making my own indie game (Ahem, sorry) – I know where I’ll be heading first for practical advice.

Final words today go to Robert Fearon. “What Simon does is pretty great. And of course, there’s his tireless dedication to putting the word out about things. He’s one of the good guys and (indie game devs) need all the good guys we can get.”

Guest post by Andrew Marshall…

Retro gamers have a massive reason to visit Melbourne with the opening of the Game Masters exhibition at ACMI. The follow up to the hugely successful Game On (with over 148,000 visitors in 2008), Game Masters aims to introduce the public to the Gods of gaming. Taking its cues from the auteur theory of film criticism, over 30 video game designers are profiled, with over 125 fully playable games. A stroll through the gallery space is indeed an appointment with gaming genius.

Yu Suzuki creations Hang On, Out Run & Virtua Fighter.

As you descend the staircase into ACMI’s subterranean cavern of delights, you enter the first of Game Masters’ three themed areas, Arcade Heroes. This area is a loving homage to the darkened arcades of the late 70’s and early 80’s. The classics of the genre are all represented, with all time classic cabinets like Pac Man, Space Invaders and Donkey Kong all present. However, by focussing on specific developers, the curators have managed to also include some more obscure machines along with the classics. For example, when profiling Masanobu Endo, we see examples of not only seminal vertically scrolling shoot ‘em up Xevious, but also includes his action RPG Tower of Druaga. This machine was never released outside of Japan, and was only made available for western audiences in the third Namco Museum compilation for the Playstation.

All the machines in the opening section are restored to pristine condition, with original cabinets, art and instruction cards all on display. The only minor gripe is that the arcade section seems smaller that of the Game On exhibition (2008). However any disappointment is overridden by the overall high quality of the selection included.

Moving out of the dim arcade, you emerge, blinking, into the well lit and attractive Game Changers section. This central section represents the real meat and potatoes of the exhibit, and it is here that the idea of profiling the “Gods of Gaming” really shines. Rather than organising everything chronologically, each set of games is grouped together by the developer that produced them. In some cases this means an individual (Hideo Kojima, Will Wright, Fumito Ueda) whilst in others the output of an entire studio is considered (Blizzard, Nintendo, TT Games).

The individual designers seem a better fit for the Game Masters. You can really drill down into the common themes and design choices from a designer when playing several of their games in a row. This is less evident in the company based displays, and in many cases it is unclear why a single developer wasn’t chosen. Notably Shigeru Miyamoto would seem to fit the theme better than a section devoted to the whole of Nintendo. Each section has several games, alongside video pods featuring specially commissioned interviews with the various Game Masters in question. One of the highlights of this section is a full ride on arcade version of Yu Suzuki’s Hang On. [Not to mention a deluxe moving version of Out Run! -ed]

See concept art from many landmark games…

Heading towards the rear of the exhibition, you walk through a central corridor devoted purely to the works of the three Game Masters invited to the launch week, Peter Molyneux, Tim Schafer and Warren Spector. Whilst Molyneux was an unfortunate late cancellation, Schafer and Spector are both excellent additions. It is especially gratifying being able to play some of their more difficult to find and run games, such as System Shock and Full Throttle. Alongside the games are examples of ‘making of’ ephemera, such as Schafer’s infamous comic book job application to Lucasarts, and antique Mickey Mouse memorablia owned by Spector, used in the making of Epic Mickey.

The final part of the Game Changers section is devoted to the more recent ‘performance’ genre of game. Paulina Bozek is one of the few female developers featured, and is represented by a SingStar karaoke booth. Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy of Harmonix are represented by both a Rock Band jam room, and a large Dance Central 2 dance stage. Also highly recommended is a darkened room occupied with a 3D-enabled version of Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s rhythm shooter Child of Eden.

The rhythm-action genre is well represented.

After this gaming smorgasbord, you enter the final segment of Game Masters, Indies. The explosion in the Indie scene is one of the key changes to the gaming landscape since Game On moved on from Melbourne, and ACMI is very pleased to recognise this with the Indies section. After the wide open spaces of Game Changers, the Indies room feels a little cramped, but there are still many gaming gems on display. Aussie developers have taken on the world in the indie gaming space, and are well represented here. Firemint provides multiplayer thrills with a 4 player version of Real Racing 2, controllable by iPads, and HalfBrick are represented by a Fruit Ninja Kinect booth.

The colossal names in indie development are all here with Marcus ‘Notch’ Person (Minecraft), Jonathan Blow (Braid), and thatgamecompany (Journey) all on display. It is gratifying to see that some of the older ‘pre-indie-revolution’ names have also been included, with games from Eric Chahi (Another World, From Dust) and Masaya Matsuura (Parappa the Rapper) amongst those highlighted.

Double Fine’s Tim Schafer, [Victorian Premier] Ted Bailleau, Firemint’s Rob Murray & Disney Interactive/Ion Storm’s Warren Spector.

A visit to Game Masters is virtually compulsory for any fans of old school gaming thrills.

You can read more from Andrew Marshall on his blog Random Acts of Criticism and on Fairfax Media’s Screen Play.  Game Masters runs through to 28 October 2012 at ACMI, Melbourne.  

Photo credits: [1-2] Mark Gambino, [3-5] Brendan McGrath.