Following Freeware: June 2017 releases

Adventure Jam 2017

Early in May, adventure game designers were given a tough challenge: they had just two weeks to create a game from scratch for Adventure Jam 2017. Even with such a short timeframe, and four luminaries of the indie adventure scene judging the results, more than a few intrepid developers were up to the task. An astounding 121 games were entered for the competition, narrowed down in June to a final list of 12 nominee finalists and 2 award winners, detailed below. Additional information and download links to each can be found on the Adventure Jam awards page. For those wishing to sample everything the competition had to offer, there is plenty more where those came from in the complete list of entries.

Developer’s Choice Award: Peridium by Powerhoof

It started with blindness. One by one the crew members got it. But that was not all, oh no. They were then taken over by a mysterious ethereal entity that turned them into mindless beings capable of horrible things. Only Dr. James Turner has survived, and in a closed-off room in the polar research facility, he opposes the entity while planning his escape. But his efforts are hindered by one of his possessed colleagues, who bangs on the door and is trying to get in. Will the entity get Turner too, or can he escape and inform the world of what has happened here before it is too late?

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Powerhoof’s Peridium was made in only a week, but the team has put together a remarkable game. The room’s pixel art is filled with monitors and cupboards and other stuff needed for research. The use of color is limited to mostly hues of blue with the occasional grey and brown object thrown in. Despite the simplicity of the graphics, however, everything you need to finish the game is recognizable and there is no need for pixel hunting. The audio is excellent, with Turner having a wonderfully growly voice that fits his appearance. The other characters are only ever heard speaking from the other side of the door. Gameplay is accompanied by a rather gloomy tune that gets gloomier the further you progress. The numerous sound effects, from a radio crackling to the opening and closing of cupboards, are very accurate. A handy explanation of the point-and-click interface is shown during the first few minutes, and the few puzzles are fairly simple but well-integrated. There are two endings: a bad one and a worse one. Thanks to the save function it’s not necessary to replay the whole game to see both endings, though since the game quits after saving you have to start it up again to continue.

Colossal Leap Award: Shadow of Naught by hassan golshan

Two young men and one young woman, their fates intertwined. On the surface their words and actions appear to be straightforward. But their shadows reveal what is really going on in their innermost thoughts, which represents a much sadder tale than the one they show to the outside world.

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