2010 the was a great year for singleplayer indie releases, its difficult to list only five. To be nominated for an award in Best Singleplayer Indie projects need to have been updated significantly during 2010 and have a Singleplayer portion. Here are the Editors of IndieDB's and our judges top selection of 2010.
Minecraft
is a sandbox construction game. It involves players creating and destroying various types of blocks in a three dimensional environment. The player takes an avatar that can destroy or create blocks, forming fantastic structures, creations and artwork across the various multiplayer servers in creative mode, or fending off zombies, skeletons, spiders and creepers in survival, indev/infdev or Minecraft Alpha game-modes.
Limbo
is a 2D sidescroller, incorporating a physics system that governs environmental objects and the player character. The player guides an unnamed boy through dangerous environments and traps while searching for the boy's sister. The developer built the game's puzzles expecting the player to fail before finding the correct solution.
Super Meat Boy
take on the role of a small animated cube of meat named Meat Boy who must save his girlfriend, Bandage Girl, from the evil Dr. Fetus. Players must use sharp reflexes to guide Meat Boy to the end of each level, using his wall clinging ability, while avoiding buzzsaws, salt, and other various death bringing obstacles. The game will contain about 350 levels, which are split across various chapters.
VVVVVV
is a 2D puzzle platform video game, built using Adobe Flash for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS. Featuring a gravity flipping game mechanic, the game was developed by Terry Cavanagh and was released in 2010 alongside an online demo.
Amnesia: The Dark Descent
puts you in the shoes of Daniel as he wakes up in a desolate castle, barely remembering anything about his past. Exploring the eerie pathways, you must also take part of Daniel's troubled memories. The horror does not only come from the outside, but from the inside as well. A disturbing odyssey into the dark corners of the human mind awaits. A sound of dragging feet? Or is your mind playing tricks on you?
I love Minecraft and it deserves the recognition, but: "To be nominated for an award in Best Singleplayer Indie projects need to have been updated significantly during 2010 and be Singleplayer only."
"...be Singleplayer only."
Minecraft has a multiplayer mode.
Quick, edit description! But love the list none the less. Honestly a difficult one to choose just one for me.
It may have a Multiplayer, but it is still under development and plays almost exactly like singleplayer, but multiple people happen to be in the same world.
Unfortunately, pointing this out just makes you look like a ****. :\
...then why was Minecraft a nominee for "Best Multiplayer Indie"? (See Indiedb.com)
Thanks for pointing that out, made the changes to reflect the new rules for the awards (literally taken from the MOTY 09 SP requirements).
You should not be changing the rules after having chosen a winner. That's an incredibly poor way to run a competition.
Ah no, all I said was the top writing was taken from the 2009 MOTY award page, not that the rules were changed "just now".
Before someone complaints about, that in the video minecraft is told as an alpha:
The video was made 90% before beta, so its alpha there.
well.. i own all of this games.. exept Limbo, but i have to say: I like Amnesia much more than Minecraft, Amnesia is REALLY scary and just so innovative... well... anyways
Congrats!
I was hoping for Amnesia, but Minecraft is definitely a worthy winner.
in fact, all of these games are.
Super Meat Boy more deserved this, Minecraft isn't THAT fun in single player.
I myself have thought of murdering the creators when playing SMB. especially on Cotton Alley. suffice to say, after a while, it gets to be a job, more than fun. however, that should change with the level editor.
REALLY??? Moddb just lost all respect for me....damn fanboys -_-
Like Mr.FJ said, it's not even a single player game (it is, but the main component is the online, other wise all the work you do is useless).... And yes, I do hate Minecraft from the ground up, biggest rip off of the year! Other indies deserved this title much more, especially SMB, or Amnesia.
Can't wait for real awards, with the player vote.
you sir, have lost all respect from me. fair enough, say this deserved better than that, but you do not know a thing about the game, yet you have a passion of hate towards it. multiplayer is still buggy as hell, and many, many people play and stick to singleplayer, myself included.
and I too cannot wait. if Minecraft wins, that'll be based on the community, and you will see just how wrong you are.
should ModDB pick Minecraft, of course.
then they shouldn't pick a game that is laggy and buggy as hell, and pick a game that was actually released and people can play it! And the game was in beta at the stage of voting, while all the other games have been released, and fully playable....
and so, that makes Minecraft more than worthy. If it can be this good at beta, imagine the full game.
and laggy? it's a beta. there is bound to be room for improvement.
The winner and all the nominees are great games. Congratulations to get there.
The only game i did not play yet is Minecraft. After everything i've seen and heard about it i will try to get it as fast as i can.
Eh, I don't know what to say. My fail rant seems useless. Minecraft is more multiplayer-ish than singleplayer...
not really. Multiplayer is buggy and still not 100% good. Singleplayer is much better, and handles entities better.
That vids old cus Minecraft is now in Beta and not alpha which is cus it owns!
I wish VVVVVV won.
Hard to believe that joke of a game minecraft beat both Amnesia and Meat boy.
its because ModDB staff were crying that it didn't won the Best Multiplayer Game award, so they made it win this...stupid fanboys -_-
or, just maybe, they -liked- it. god forbid they like a game over your personal choice! that would just be crazy and wrong, wouldn't it?
Minecraft won....honestly you've got to be joking me its already well know and has generated a great profit, let another dev thats probably just kicking off get some spotlight. I bet anything the editor was paid off to do this
I am a seventeen year old who is good at mapping and modelling for games, in a country with next to no game companies.
AKA I'm broke. I could not pay off the editors, even if I wanted to, which I wouldn't. that would be cheating.
Seriously quit the crying. It's called "Editor's Choice" not "Let's cry and invent conspiracy theories Choice". Cry when all the true fanboys vote for their favorite mod for this years "Player's Choice Indie of the Year" heh.
We'll see about that....
we have seen about that. predicted 100% correct.
Always with the "why do people like what I don't". quite honestly, I have played or watched each game up there, except limbo. they all deserve credit.
Though I voted myself for minecraft and not amnesia, i'd have seen amnesia for this category.
Minecraft being sandbox, you can hardly claim it as the best singleplayer though it gives a lot of what you may want from a singlerplay game.
But Amnesia just gives more of this "singleplayer experience".
I am curious to see the player's choice.
I completely agree. I think the awards should change/include a story-based award. the story is one of the many elements that make up the core of the game.
However, that being said, it is a "best singleplayer game" award, and while amnesia is a disturbing and immerse experience, Minecraft's re-playability factor is just beyond scale. every new world is a limitless map of possibility, and always different.
I personally wish amnesia had won somewhere. it's got a special place in my game preferences.
the place entitled "I will never play this game as it's way too scary, but I love watching others get scared like hell".
I've never played any of the other games but they all look fantastic. but minecraft is a truly epic and beautiful game and it deserves 1st place with all the work the team put into it! congrats!!!
so you really expect the public vote to be any different? Minecraft is one of the most popular indie games ever created and its not even fnished. not being a fanboy or nothing but thats pritty impressive
Congrats to all the contenders.
Was hoping for Amnesia since it's near and dear to me, but...oh well. Nice job, Minecraft.
(edit: whoops; for some reason comment parenting didn't work here)
Valve is independent... I assume we'll be seeing Portal 2 in the running for Indie of the Year 2011 then?
According to some, it isn't unfair to pit wealthy independent developers against others as the awards should be unbiased so I bet they would welcome both Rocksteady and Valve to the competition next year.
I expect either Arkham City or Portal 2 to take every category. :p
drat, reply-to broke again.
NoScript + Reply system = Redundant post, yet again.
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