Anino joins int'l indie game development tilt

FILIPINO game development firm Anino Games has submitted an entry to the annual Indie Game Developers Showcase, an international contest that awards the skills of independent video game makers. Anino's entry is a PC game called Word Archery, a word game where players form words by shooting floating letters in bubbles using a weapon called Word Archer. The letters are spread out and wordsmiths should be able to complete complex words. Weapons such as fire arrows and word bombs allow you to get rid of obstacles popping up with increasing difficulty. A demo version of the game is available on the Indie Game Developers Showcase site. About 80 entries are already available on the site, all of which are playable demos. Ten of these entries will be chosen as semifinalists through online voting. The contest has several categories, including Overall Game and Casual Game, with each having grand prize winners, finalists and semifinalists. Prizes vary from a high-end computer, security software and Apple iPod nanos. Winners will be announced at the Austin Game Developers Conference in September. In 2004, Anino won an award in the Independent Games Festival for the PC game Anito: Defend a Land Enraged, while Anino Mobile won in the International Mobile Gaming Awards for Anima Wars. In a statement, Anino Entertainment president Niel Dagondon said that while the company has become a full-fledged game development company, it would still develop for independent competitions. “We have not forgotten our roots and will continue to develop and supply independent games… that continue to lead the way in terms of experimenting with new game designs, concepts and innovations where mainstream games dare not tread,” Dagondon said. “We wanted to see if we could design a casual game that people will enjoy,” Paraluman Cruz, Word Archery's producer, added in a press statement. "We're offering it for free so we can find out what players' reactions are. That's also why we joined the Indie Game Showcase."