Tag Archives: indie

It would be easy for the elements of 'Amiss' to slip into a derivative crime drama, but instead the film crafts a mystery where overlapping narratives deepen character and widen the scope of an intimate story. This is a very assured piece of filmmaking from a pair of first-time feature directors without the eagerness or mimicry common to other debut films.

You might say that aside from the Ghostbusters and pop culture mashing that the album and song title “Crossing the Streams” references, Copy Red Leader are also crossing genre streams here and, in the process, prove that contrary to Spenglerian wisdom, crossing the streams is not “bad” but good. Very good.

When Lizabett Russo's voice is taken out of its usual folksy context and situated in an atmospheric hip-hop production as it is here, it highlights a certain chanteuse-like quality of her voice even more, and the result is seductive and intriguing.

In their clandestine plans to take over the world, Canadian geek bands have united together to form one big geek band website, GeekBands.ca, a smorgasbord of nerdy goodness that makes it quite clear Canada's Got Talent.

Indie singer-songwriter Lizabett Russo, whom we interviewed and reviewed late last year, has just put out a new single called "Forgiven," and I hope that I too may be forgiven if I again rave about this gifted musician whose work I've been a big fan of since first hearing her fine debut EP, The Traveller's Song.

With Broken Age, Tim Schafer has upheld his reputation as an innovative developer and storyteller and has delivered a beautiful work of gaming gold.

As an indie game, The Stanley Parable is excellent. The writing is sarcastic and funny and the design is simple while not feeling like a throwaway or flash game. My only hangup would perhaps be the price which is a bit steep for a game you can complete in just a few hours.

Vice Magazine recently did an interview with Zoe Quinn, designer of Depression Quest, outlining what happens during the process of getting a game green lighted on Steam. Some of the things she talks about are pretty shocking like getting phone calls of rape threats and being "raided" by male gamers (i.e. attacked en masse) on Twitter.

Papers, Please isn’t a delightful romp. It’s something far more important than that. It’s a rare example of a game that just might make you reexamine yourself and the world around you. If you give it a chance, it will get under your skin.

As he plays The Novelist, this novelist thinks about everything he’s sacrificed, the options he didn't choose, the career choices he passed on, the friends and lovers he's pushed away, the people he may have hurt over the course of his own narrative. He worries. He wonders if these decisions were right.

While people who prefer their music as predictable background noise may find the shifts in 'The Architect Becomes a Tree' unsettling, those who appreciate growth and progression in their music will find a lot to enjoy with successive plays.