G322 Video Games: An Awesome Indie Game

Have you played Papers, Please?

One of the most unusual video games of 2013, Papers, Please bills itself as a ‘Dystopian Document Thriller’ where you take on the role of an immigration officer at a border to the fictional country of Arstotzka.

It is a fantastic case study for you because it is an independent game, created by one man Lucas Pope. Pope is an ex-employee of large American developer Naughty Dog, who are famous for creating the Uncharted series, as well as recent smash hit The Last of Us. He left Naughty Dog as he wanted to develop his own games.

Papers, Please is available on digital distribution platform Steam as well as the creator’s own website (http://dukope.com/). Without developments in technology to allow digital distribution, this game would cost too much to distribute and would not successfully find the niche audience it needs. It wouldn’t make much money, and so it probably would never be made in the first place.

It is targeting a different kind of audience as it is not an action packed shooter game, but instead is more intellectually challenging.

The game has been nominated in the categories of "Best Game", "Game Design", "Game Innovation" and "Simulation Game" for the 2014 BAFTA Video Games Awards. This is a really prestigious nomination for such a small game! Watch the live stream here http://www.bafta.org/games/awards/watch-live,3664,BA.html

The awards are on 12/3/14.

Papers, Please could be an ideal case study to look at alongside Minecraft.

Read a BBC article about Papers, Please here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-26527109

Read the Wikipedia entry here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papers_please

Watch the trailer here:

And if you fancy it and have the money, pop onto Steam and buy the game. Give it a go!

Glory to Arstotzka!