Here is something that came in the other day:
Apparently an Xbox Live Indie game where you control a cute but weapon-wielding Squirrel or Bieber and shoot yourself through hordes of enemies in the most violent fashion. Apperently the game even comes in a retro low-fi look not unlike Enviro-Bear 2000.
To be honest, I would usually completely disregard that kind of game. It seems to rely heavily on the contrast between the cute protagonist and the over-the-top splatter effects. I would find this hilarious when I was 13. Two things happened. Either I grew up or that horse has been beaten to death (Conker’s Bad Fur Day? Happy Tree Friends?). Perhaps both.
But there are two good reasons why the game is worth a second look in spite of this.
First, the game has been made by So So Dev Games. The game they made previously was called GET TO THA CHOPPA!!1. It was a super simplistic Canabalt-esque game that built it’s entire premise on the pop culture reference. It caught my eye because of it’s refreshing simplicity and rough, punk-rock execution. It obviously a riff on I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MBIES 1N IT!!!1. But I thought it could be the beginning of the Xbox Live Indie Games channel slowly generating it’s own style and identity. The fascinating thing is that it’s not doing it by denying the questionable quality of some of the games posted on there. Instead, both games embrace the rough look and infantile premises as a deliberate choice. It reminds me of the approach of film directors like Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino did. I’m curious to see where Fluffy fits into this development.
The second reason is that the music for Fluffy was done by none other than Martin Straka. He is the mastermind behind the music of my very own game, TRAUMA. He also did the music for games like Spirits, Understanding Games and Mr. Bounce. I know Martin for quite some time now. He is a talented musician and a good friend. I’m interested to see what he did with Fluffy.
Fluffy is not out yet but should be in the next few days. Surprisingly, I found myself looking forward to it for the reasons above.
