What Are Indie Games?

Overview of Indie Games

For those individuals who love to play various games in their free time and are also avid computer users, the two concepts can easily be combined to produce a wonderful result. Playing games via a computer is a common occurrence these days. Although there are a number of popular games one can play on the computer, one genre of game that is gaining in popularity is that of Indie games.

Defining Indie Games

Indie games can be defined as those games that are created independently of any large financially backed company. Indie games are ones which often come from a relatively low budget base and many of these games are ones that are only available online. These types of games can be video games, strategy games or puzzles, for example. The wide range of categories which various Indie games fall into is quite impressive.

How Indie Games Were First Developed

Indie games developed in reaction to an already established type of gaming industry. Those who create Indie games develop games which fall into a certain category yet do not have a large financially sound company which develops them. In order for Indie games to exist, there must already be a similar genre of game in existence. For example, Indie games which fall into the category of video games were developed in the 1970s shortly after the larger companies developed the mainstream video games. The Indie games which resulted from that category came into existence after games such as Pong and Asteroids hit the market.

Reasons for Online Popularity

Indie games are mainly available via online means. There are a few different reasons for this. First, those who develop various Indie games do so at minimal costs. Since it is much less expensive to provide online accessibility to these games as opposed to marketing them and selling these games in stores, one who develops Indie games makes them largely available online. Secondly, individuals who create various Indie games make them available online since it is an easy way to get the games out to the general public and enable individuals to start playing them as quickly as possible.

Size of the Indie Game Industry

The Indie game industry is one which is growing in size. As more and more individuals begin using the Internet, there are more people who gain access to Indie games. Online accessibility to games of this type is a primary reason for the growing popularity of Indie games. Indie games are developed all over the world and it is hard to pinpoint exactly how many Indie games are currently in existence at this time.

Future of the Indie Game Industry

The Indie game industry is one which will continue to grow in the future. Due to the fact that the number of Internet users continues to grow, so will the number of people who like to play Indie games online. Therefore, the future of the Indie game industry looks quite bright.

Summary

Indie games are the result of creative and innovative minds. For those who may not have the financial backing to get their games on the consumer market, developing Indie games and making them accessible via the World Wide Web is a great way for the developer to let others see and utilize their vision.

Steve is a writer for the GrandMatrix website. GrandMatrix provides hundreds of free game downloads and online games. Play and rate the latest PC games and play thousands of puzzles, word games and online arcade games with other members.

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Soccer Practice Games - Discover Game Progression

Soccer practice games are immensely important especially in comparison to drills and it's not hard for someone like me to understand this. It's important that the kids first pay attention to acquiring the skills and polishing them so as to improve the movement along with the ball. However, as they progress with their soccer training, there are a few things that you must observe.

What works best is that kids are randomly grouped so that they get to develop their individual styles along with having fun just like we talked about before. First and foremost, the kids must get the freedom to decide on various issues concerning them and this is possible only when the size of the group is small.

Such an arrangement also ensures that the kids have more space to move about in the field, get more touches on the ball and become more accountable for their choices since there are very few players in the group.

On the other hand, make sure you initiate changes as soon as the players get comfortable playing in small groups and are improving. In soccer practice games, it's the time to initiate progressions. What this means is you tend to make the rules of the game a little more stringent, play games in larger fields, and increase the size of the group. It's time when team's overall objectives should also be catered to together with player's individual development by bringing in a more elaborate strategy.

There is something here that needs special mention. Almost all coaches take the wrong path of teaching everything in a very short time span in the hope of having trained players ahead of time. Understand that there are no shortcuts. Similar to soccer drills, there is no scope of mechanizing the process here. It must be a natural growth with time.

The designs may not work well if you expose students to competition, teach them new things early in their training, and lay a lot of emphasis on rules. This obstructs their process of learning and growth.

As the players make a move from small batches to large ones, they should understand the purpose behind devising the games. It is important to understand how to put the team's interests first than yours and using your skills to make the team win.

In this phase along with games, it is also crucial to hold important meetings and discussions. Keep in mind that the players now understand the game and its techniques. So it would be a capital mistake to undermine their assessment skills in soccer exercises. When you give them an opportunity to take decisions and respect them, they feel happy and more responsible. The games should now challenge their thoughts about how to win matches. When the players think themselves as a team and not as individual players, you have succeeded in your job as a coach.

Now make good use of this learning in your plan. Soccer practice games are the best tools to make the kids learn soccer and so you must choose them creatively. Become a part of our youth soccer coaching community to learn more about various games and strategies that go with it.

Andre Botelho is the author of "The Expert Youth Soccer Coaching Guide" and he's a recognized expert in the subject of Soccer coaching drills. Learn how to explode your players' skills and make training fun in less than 29 days! Download your free youth soccer coaching guide at: http://www.soccerdrillstips.com. Youth Soccer Practice Drills.

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Party Games: Great Games to Make Your Party a Success!

No matter the age of the participants, or the type of party you have, party games add fun to the festivities, and allow guests to become acquainted with each other. Just be sure the party games are age appropriate, and appropriate for the type party you are planning.

Adult parties can be just as full of fun and festivity as children's parties the party games are just a little different. For example, a fun game for married couples is "The Not So Newlywed Game." In this game, the women are given a questionnaire, and asked to answer questions like, "Where did you and your spouse go on your first date?" "What would your wife like better, chocolate or vanilla?" are just silly questions that get plenty of laughs, when the husbands answer.

Another entertaining game for both adults and kids, is the "egg game" Everyone is shown a bowl of eggs, told that all the eggs, except one, are hard boiled. One egg in the basket, you tell them, is raw. Each person smashes an egg on their foreheads until someone finds the raw egg. In reality, there is no raw egg, but the real fun is seeing the last person with the last egg. Will they break it against their forehead? If they do, they win a prize.

While most games are just really silly, and people think it is difficult to come up with new ideas, the truth is, it is the company you keep that makes the games fun. It is the laughter shared that makes friendships what they are. Whether your games are original or just homemade takes on old favorite trivia games, or painted colored circles on sheets of plastic, getting the participants all tangled up trying to stay on the right colors, party games do indeed add life to every party!

Mrs. Party... Gail Leino is the internet's leading authority on selecting the best possible party supplies, using proper etiquette and manners while also teaching organizational skills and fun facts. Free Party Games to help complete your event.

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Pirate Party Games - Homemade Games to Make Your Pirate Party Go With a Swing

No Pirate Birthday Party would be complete without some great Pirate Party Games. There are plenty of ready made options from party supply outlets, but sometimes it's more fun to make your own.

 

One excellent Pirate party Game is called X Marks The Spot and it is really easy to put together. Simply get a large flip chart sized piece of paper and draw a Treasure Map onto it. make it as detailed as you wish, but make sure that you draw a Treasure Chest somewhere on the map.  Blindfold your party guests, one at a time, using a bandanna, and spin them around four or five times. Move them toward the Treasure Map and get them to mark an X, using a marker pen,  where they think the treasure chest is. Mark each party guests initials on their X so that you know which x belongs to whom. Whoever has the X that is the closest to the Treasure Chest ,after everyone has had a go, is the winner and gets their own treasure!

 

Another easy homemade pirate party game is called Buried Treasure. To make this game, you need some glass beads or similar jewels (2 jewels for each guest plus 5 extra). Bury them in a sandpit (the Treasure Island) and split your guests into teams (maximum of 6 per team). Place one bucket for each team 10 paces from the sandpit. Line up the teams behind the buckets. One pirate from each team must race to the Treasure Island (sandpit) and find ONE piece of treasure. They then take it back and drop it in their bucket. Only then can the next pirate on their team run to search for another piece of treasure. The winner can either be the first team that gets two jewels each, or the team that has the most jewels after a specific time (say 5 minutes). You can play this game a number of times, and it is always a great hit.

 

Other homemade games you can play include Pirate Treasure Hunt (hide a chest with chocolate coins), Sink The Pirate Ship and Pirate Treasure Toss.

When it is time to go home, give each guest a balloon cutlass. Modeling balloons are available in most toy stores and are a big hit with kids under nine. Just make sure that you do not give them out before home time, otherwise your party is not the only thing that will go with a bang!

Lori has been planning events and parties for over 15 years. She's organised and hosted everything from high profile celebratory events with over 400 guests, to home based family parties for her three children. Need more great Pirate Birthday Party ideas, then check out Pirate Birthday Party ideas, and for party ideas for all occasions take a look at http://www.find-party-ideas.com

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Free Games For the Young

There are literally hundreds of sites online providing thousands of free online games for young children. Most of us would tend to think of free online games to be like arcade games, full of adventure and violence not appropriate for young children. However, free games available on the internet now come in a great variety appropriate for young children of all ages, from toddlers to preschoolers, school age children and teens. Parents can also indulge and have lots of fun playing free online games with their children.

Type of Games

Free games on the internet tend to be based around age groups and game types.

For toddlers there are games involving colors, shapes and interactive free games that work on their co-ordination. There are also active games that get them working on their hand-eye co-ordination as well as games involving animals which always get them interested.

For preschoolers, free online games might involve active animation / cartoon figures and interactive, online puzzle games to help these kids grasp concepts of language, math, music and social behavior e.g. right and wrong. Games involve crafts - i.e. art and building basic stuff are also popular in this age group.

For school age children, games will have increase complexity and may include online puzzle games, games involving math, music, language / word comprehension, spelling and vocabulary related free games.

For old children in their teens, brain teasers, Sudoku and other number games, language games, complex puzzle games, reasoning games bring bit more challenges for their inquisitive minds. Teenage children might also start getting into animation and video games involve problem solving, virtual reality adventures and other active games.

For all age groups, free online games come under some of these basic categories:

1. Co-ordination, online puzzle games which test hand-eye and brain co-ordination skills

2. Craft games which indulge children in art and craft making

3. Free puzzle games which include jig saw puzzles, mazes and word puzzles

4. Music games which involve tunes, music instruments and singing

5. Math games including word and number games related to mathematics

6. Problem solving games which indulge gamers to solve presented problems through skill and learning

7. Word/language related games may include scrabble, spelling and vocabulary games

8. Picture / coloring games which are for younger children helping to develop association with color, photos and pictures.

9. Adventure/simulation games include animated and active adventuring learning games that tend to be longer, interactive and simulate real life challenges or adventures.

10. Intuition / reasoning games which may include brain teasers and mind development games

11. Physical activities which are online games that get gamers to carry out physical tasks and activities

Many of these online games are played on the computer through keyboard, mouse, touch and voice commands. There are also many popular free online games that are printable so can be downloaded and printed on paper to be played away from the computer.

Benefit of Free Games

Free online games for the young offers many benefits:

- Developing language skills in young brains as young minds learn sounds, pronunciation and phonics much easier than older brains

- Increase hand-eye co-ordination with games that involve activities

- Help young gamers learn concepts such as language, music, colors, math and social behavior through a fun process. Younger gamers learn faster when they enjoy the process

- Provides release for young children to have fun in a non-pressure environment to remove tensions and reduce hyperactivity

- Build attention span and ability to focus in young kids

- Develop essential math and spelling, vocabulary skills from an early age

- Encourage artistic endeavor and craft appreciation in children so that this is carried through their lives.

- Build confidence/ self esteem as young gamers succeed and get good at things

- Increase creativity, intuition and life skills

- Improve vital problem solving skills for school, work and life

- Add to young children's life knowledge base

As young minds and bodies are developing, giving them mental and physical stimulation through games is vital to develop neuron networks in their brains. This early neuron network development helps boost learning and problems solving ability later in life.

As with all good things, access to free online games and free online puzzles should be limited so that young kids are not 'overloaded' with information and do not become addicted to free games and miss out on important physical exercise as well as beneficial physical social interaction with other children.

Importantly, parents should be involved with their children when playing these free online games to develop fun competition and boost family interaction and social dynamics. This will lead to a happier and more fulfilling family life for children and adults alike.

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Enter the World of Real Online Games: Online Games That Rule the Internet!

Entertainment has seen the biggest supporter in online gaming. Since when gaming actually came to use, it was always a two player scenario where two would compete against each other. After all, games were meant to be competitive. Then someone came up with the idea of multiplayer games and soon we had scores of gamers competing against each other. In a typical setup, there were two teams which had some number of people on each side competing (read: killing) against each other in a virtual scenario. When the internet came along, it provided just the perfect platform for gamers to play and compete against each other. With internet reaching homes across the world, the gamer does not have to leave his chair at home even!

How to Setup a Multi Player System?

All they have to do is to create an online profile, install the game of their choice, use the in-built internet multiplayer option to search for other players and then join a match or even host a match of their own! The internet was first used for communication and then for killing time. It was not that operating systems did not have default games but it was more fun to play against a 'real' opponent online than to play against just the computer. Somehow, the prospect of playing against an 'unknown but real' person is so overwhelming that we can't seem to have enough of online gaming!

What about online Websites that have Games?

For those of you who do not want to waste precious storage on installing multiple games and online gaming, they can take heart from the fact that there are quite a handful of websites that provide great online gaming that promises to keep you hooked onto them for hours at end! There are arrays of game categories to choose from ranging from sports to RPGs and even puzzles. In short, there is no dearth of games or categories to play online. The internet has been a revolution of sorts for online gambling. Suddenly there was a spurt in gambling based websites than any other category of online games. Websites had been created that replicated the best casinos of the real world and almost every such website made a lot of money in the name of Las Vegas! It was a different matter that some of the websites were fraudulent and were soon taken off the internet but overall, these provided the entertainment starved populace with some serious value for money entertainment.

The rise of the internet combined with the rise of such websites fueled the online gaming industry and today it has become a market that cannot be compared to anything else that has an online presence! Even social networking sites are providing users with the ultimate online multiplayer gaming experience. Sites have mushroomed that help website builders to include addictive games on their sites and that is expected to grow further in near future.

Visit realmonlinegames.com to find real online games.

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Hedbanz Game - A Game With a Simple Idea And Excellent Execution

Hedbanz Game is designed to increase the deductive reasoning skills of kids ages 6 years old and up. The idea behind this game is actually pretty simple. Players will need to answer (the quicker the better) of one single question "Who Am I?"

Before the game started, players will be provided with headbands (six headbands for a maximum 6 multi-players game), 74 cards, 24 chips and sand-clock timer. Firstly, each player will be given three chips. After that, they will draw a card and put it in the headbands, without having to see it first. As such, all other players but you know what is drawn in your card (there are three categories; animal, food and common object). The same thing goes for other players in the game. You will then have to guess the picture in the card by doing some wild guesses within the specified time (using sand-clock timer as the stopwatch). You will lose one chip by guessing the right picture and will win the game once all three chips are taken. Whoever records the fastest time to lose three chips will win the Hedbanz Game.

Although the main idea is simple, the execution is pretty outstanding. Who would have thought of using headbands to keep your cards from being seen by the others or using sand-clock timer to set the time? We can only say kudos to the manufacturer for creating this interesting and unique Hedbanz Game.

So parents, now you have an excellent toy to divert your kids' attention from video games. Whether or not you will make good use of this toy is yours to decide.

Hedbanz
Hedbanz Game

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