WiiWare Truths

To hear Nintendo of America talk about WiiWare, you'd think that it is the greatest thing sliced bread. But when you look beyond the press release and listen closely to what company officials are saying it becomes apparent that small independent developers are going to have a hard time getting on the Wii anytime soon. So, while "the search for the next ingeniously groundbreaking video game has begun," chances are it won't come from small developers with no cash to invest. Delving into the language of Nintendo's initial announcement on WiiWare, it mentions small independent development team with "small budgets," which leads us to the million dollar question: What do you need to develop a WiiWare title?

You need to get tools from Nintendo. Perhaps I'm speculating, but I don't think that there will be a special kit just for WiiWare developers that cost less than the same kit that big time developers are using. Also, getting a development kit requires that you or your team are hit makers with some decent titles under your belt. Whether or not this requirement will be lifted remains to be seen.

Finally there's the whole process of getting your game rated. I honestly don't know a lot about the process but it's an added step that small casual and indie developers are not intimate with for sure.

My point is WiiWare is great news for small teams of developers with some money and a decent laundry list of hits. Companies like EA, Activison, Ubisoft, Capcom, etc will certainly benefit from the whole WiiWare concept,. but the little guys will be shut out. People that make games like the ones you will read about below probably don't have a snowball's chance in hell of ever seeing a title published on WiiWare.

In closing I hope that I am completely wrong about this. I hope someone from Nintendo or some developer using a Wii development kit tells me I have my head up my ass. But I honestly think that won't happen.

Now onward and upward to this week's indie game picks..

Update: I was completely wrong and I am completely delighted. GarageGames announced this morning that it is providing a development suite for Wii. You can read about it at www.garagegames.com ! We'll have more on this very soon!

Sixty Seconds With...

While sifting through Starock's TotalGaming.net, I happened upon this simple little game called Word Wars . In this game you build words in Scrabble-like fashion for points. But these points don't get added to some silly score - they are used to hit your AI controlled opponent in the face and do some hit point damage. You win the game by building the longest words you cam by using special letter power-ups and the good old alphabet to in turn do as much damage as you can in a turn. Word Wars is very simplistic, not particularly flashy but a great amount of fun. It's definitely worth checking out the demo and a purchase.

Lighthouse Lunacy , available at Manifesto Games, is a simple puzzle platformer with a unique story to tell and a unique character that is quirky, weird and funny. In the game you play Fred, a videogame mascot who runs around on platforms around a lighthouse doing crazy things to solve puzzles. But what really sets this game apart from the rest is its humor, which is told delivered through the game mascot Fred and the shadowy game developer that resides somewhere at the top of the tower. You can grab the demo and try it for yourself at Manifesto Games.

DevestationZone Troopers is yet another game I stumbled upon while looking through TotalGaming.net. In this third-person shooter 'em up you take on the role of a particularly talented Blue Star Alliance trooper who must tackle a myriad of combat missions on the planet Ardanis. The game divides the action up, by letting you select what you want to tackle, loading up on weapons and then heading off to the location in your ship. The action starts with a mini-air battle game where you avoid mines, debris and collect credits before hitting the landing zone and battle hoards of aliens.

Besides the action, which is fast-paced and unusually messy, the greatest thing about this game is the destructible environment. When most games use this on a feature lists, it means you can break a crate, but in DevestationZone Troopers you can actually destroy the environment to create routes and shortcuts to key points on a given map. And even the demo has a lot of meat to it, so those interested in buying the game get a decent taste of what it is all about. DevestationZone Troopers is worth a look and at the end of the day worth plunking some cash down on.

I ran across 8 Kingdoms while sifting through Sourceforge this weekend, and what really caught my eye was the art style it uses. While being simple it borders on being cute. In this fantasy themed real-time strategy game for Windows and Linux you construct buildings, recruit units (infantry, mounted units, mages, catapults, etc.), attack enemies or help allies. Other key features include unit experience, siege warfare, an economic model, single and multiplayer play, a map editor and much more. If you want to have some simple RTS fun, 8 Kingdoms is worth a look.