Videogames Lead to Behavioral Addiction Mike Tyson’s Paparazzi Punch-Out!! Video GameStop Buys Majority Stake in Video Game Digital Distributor Jolt Miyamoto: 3D Isn’t Everything Are You A Video Game Junkie With Mad Writing Skills? Write For Ripten NFL Super Bowl Champion Steelers Connect with Soldiers in Iraq for Guitar Hero Competition

With the popularization of indie titles over the past couple of years, many people have taken a stance of elitism regarding indie games. With both feet in their mouth, they’ll say that independently developed games are nonpareil to others, and pretty much say “If you’re not indie, f*ck you.” Mega64 took note of this- and turned it into yet another hilarious video.

Mega64 was hired to make two promos for the Independent Games Festival Awards at GDC, and the video you see above was one of them. The Mega64 crew went around punching those dumb Halo lovers, and stupid Madden fans. Ugh- they make me sick! Everyone knows that you’re supposed to only play indie games! If I see you with a laptop playing anything other than World of Goo, I WILL END YOU!

Ah, the RTS. Once a staple of strategy games, the genre’s been flooded with spinoffs, remakes, and more Age of Empires, Command and Conquer, and Warhammer releases than you can count. How are developers supposed to add vitality to a dwingling genre? With 20th-century mustachio dictator Josef Stalin and an extraterrestrial army, of course!

Independent developer Mezmer Games recently announced Stalin vs. Martians, a PC RTS which they themselves describe as “both masterfully trashy and absolutely over-the-top.” In the game, you control WWII-era USSR as they defend Earth from the Martian Invasion of 1942. With a dancing Stalin, some insane Russian techno, and fun-looking gameplay, Stalin vs. Martians looks like it’ll be loads of fun when it hits “all major digital distribution services” in April. Hit the jump for some screenshots, as well as the press release.

Read more…

There’s always more than one side to an image, Super Paper Mario showed us that. That was just step one, however. Polytron’s Fez is taking that innovation to a whole new level. It’s showing us that there’s WAY more than one side to any image. It also shows us rotation is a hella lot of fun.

Check out the trailer at the jump. Be amazed. Read more…

Shacknews reports that Stardock’s distribution platform Impulse has updated with a Braid listing. The date of the game’s release is listed at March 31, but Stardock’s Mike Crassweller has noted in the comments at Shacknews that that is a placeholder date; we could see it at any time in March. The game is listed at $14.95.

Jonathan Blow, the game’s creator, has mentioned that the game may also be coming to Steam- “[Valve] are interested in putting the game up.” The game is likely to cost $19.95 across both platforms. After Soulja Boy’s expertly crafted review of the 360 version, I’m certainly looking forward to this.

I’m a fan of indie game Plain Sight. Developed by UK-based Beatnik games, the game is delightfully destructive and superbly simple. Now I’m done with the alliteration, I direct you here. The open beta of the game is finally here, much to my delight. Indie fans and anyone who has a decent enough PC are urged to try it out; I’m rooting on this one being a hit. The game is tentatively set for release in “Q1 2009″ and will cost in the region of $10, according to their site.

What the ding-dally is Plain Sight, you ask? Well, dear reader, just take a seat and I’ll run you through it. Before the Eurogamer Expo, I had no idea about this game either, but after discovering and playing this gem I’m sure more people need to know about it.

The game is developed by six Londoners collectively known as Beatnik Games, and will be available at the start of 2009 on PC and later Xbox 360. I’m sure what you really want to know is what the fuss is about- hit the jump for the full preview. Read more…

Petri Purho, of Crayon Physics Deluxe fame, brings us this happy tidbit as part of his Kloonigames blog, where he makes a game a month. Read more…

Fez was one of this year’s notable IGF standouts.

The 11th IGF kicks off submissions today, giving you until November to tweak your sweet indie game into something we’ll be talking about for months after you win that $20,000 Seumas McNally Grand Prize.

Finalists will be announced January 5 and playable on GDC show floor. Prizes in a variety of categories will be awarded on March 25 in a ceremony paired with the Game Developers Choice Awards. Check out this year’s winners here.

Oh, puppies! I’ll save you from the evil lip balm and the nasty scientists! I’ll climb mountains and parachute off cliffs for you! But Rescue: The Beagles, by nenad, comes highly recommended (as 1st place in TIGSource’s Procedural Generation Competition and from me) not only because it’s adorable, not only because of the audio-visual nostalgia wave, but also because it’s just really fun. The controls are tight in a way that makes every death feel like a player error. Read more…

This happy asteroid is on my team now

This game is seriously tripped out when you zoom way in and watch the plants grow. “Is it growing? I think so. I can’t tell. Is it getting bigger? It might be,” and then the little fireworks go off.

The game Dyson, by Alex May, Rudolf Kremers, and Brian Grainger for TIGSource’s Procedural Generation Competition, is a slick and pretty, real-time strategy game about colonizing an asteroid belt. Although your minions look like fruit flies, they are actually tiny mining machines that attack the eggy looking rocks like a pack of winged sperm. Read more…

This week TIGSource announced the results of their latest TIGER Assault, the Procedural Generation Competition, so I’m taking a look at the top three! The theme was obviously “Procedural Generation,” which devs were instructed to define as they liked, but with the implication of “’random’ content (like graphics or levels).” Third place goes to…

Read more…

Host Andy Schatz said of the indie game development scene, “The weather here is just fine,” and added that being an indie developer is not (always) just another stop on the road to the big time.

To prove it, he presented awards for the finest indie games of last year as selected by a jury of game industry greats. Check out the full list of winners after the jump! Read more…