Bytten Ernie Awards 2006

Most Original Idea That Worked

Gink in Trouble by Generation Stars

Although independent games are famed for their innovation, innovation in gameplay is not as common as variety between games. Many so-called innovative games are clones with one new idea tacked on. Few games defy categorisation but Gink in Trouble did.

The player character, Gink, was constantly falling and all you could do was steer him in an effort to keep him falling. The central game dynamic was rather fun, and this combined with the cute graphics reminded me of the classic platformer The New Zealand Story. The gameplay did suffer from a lack of variety and depth but Gink was among the most innovative games I've reviewed.

Best Graphics

Mythic Blades by Cartel Games

I've seen many impressive games over the past year. Zig was stylish and retro, and PaperBall was innovative too. War World: Tactical Combat and Tribal Trouble had top quality visuals but graphically I think both of those were beaten to the post by Mythic Blades.

Mythic Blades was a beautiful spectacle to behold. This performed well in all areas from the large and wonderfully animated characters, to the well designed selection and plot screens. It was a great shame that the gameplay wasn't as fine tuned as the graphics because games of this type are very rare in the world of independent games.

A game as large and complex as Mythic Blades deserves acclaim as an achievement for the production team. Indie games are often labours of love, with small teams working for nothing but the promise of possible sales. The indie beat-em-up is a relatively virgin genre and this only increased the commercial risk but the team didn't compromise on production values and must be applauded for that.