ID@Xbox is the Xbox One’s and Microsoft’s Indie Development program that gives developers a free developers kit for the Xbox One as well as allowing them to self publish on the console. During Microsoft’s Conference yesterday at E3, they talked a little about ID@Xbox before showing a very hectic montage of a ton of Indie Games that are coming to the Xbox One, some of them extremely familiar.
One of these games, Threes, is currently on phones and is a simple game where you match numbers and attempt to get a high score. It’s fun and addictive, as well as being really easy to play. What wasn’t shown in the montage at the conference, but was later released in it’s own trailer, was the fact that this game is coming to the Xbox One with a snap feature. This might have you thinking that it would be normal, as all Xbox One games can do this. Only, the snap for Threes is for the smaller section of screen, not the main one.
As you can see, this feature would be incredibly handy for when you’re waiting for your friends to enter a game, or just waiting for matchmaking to happen. Even if you’re just watching TV and some adverts come on, you could snap Threes and just pass the time. It’s a fantastic idea, that I’m actually incredibly excited for. It’s great to see independent developers coming up with ideas like this for the Xbox One, using it’s features to the fullest.
The first big announcement, of course, during the Indie Games section was another game from the creators of Limbo. Inside, launching on the Xbox One first, looks to be similar in tone to Limbo, but in a vastly different setting. Gone are the monotone black and white visuals, and here we have a more 3D-esque landscape, with some colour propped in too. The character you play, seemingly another kid, is in a much more industrial environment, and there seems to be scientists around too.
There’s little known about the story, and from the trailer there’s little you can gather to have any clues about what’s actually going on, and that’s the way it should stay. The great thing about Play Dead is the fact that their stories are so brutal and effective without having much dialogue or knowledge about what’s actually going on in the game until you’re playing it. It’s something great to look forward to, and will hopefully not fall under itself because of the critical and commercial acclaim that Limbo had delivered to the developer.
Then, of course, we have games like Grave, which has previously been discussed here, a survival horror that looks equally fun as it looks creepy. Mighty No. 9, a Japanese side-scrolling action game, attempts to take all the best aspects from the 8 and 16-bit eras of gaming and boosts them with modern technology to make a fun game that plays with your nostalgia. There’s plenty here to be excited for, and even seeing something like Plague Inc, that has a lot of traction on PC, and seems to be quite popular, is very exciting for the Xbox One. We’re a bit spoiled for choice now, especially once all these games start to get released on a more regular basis, much like the weekly releases of the Xbox 360’s Arcade.
These are just some of my thoughts about the Indies at Xbox, but it’s just a small piece of the pie. There’s a ton more to ingest and it’ll take a while yet to get through all these trailers just to find out what’s coming out when, what’s new, what’s been seen before and what’s been enhanced for the Xbox One. No matter what though, it’s excellent for developers, and that’s what’s important. Be sure to check out our continued E3 coverage.
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