Physics Games and Physics-Based Game Downloads

The 2007 Independent Games Festival finalists have been announced! The full lists of finalists is available on the IGF website.

Special congratulations go out to the physics games in this year’s lineup:

• Armadillo Run (nominated for Grand Prize, Design Innovation)
• Blast Miner (nominated for Technical Excellence)
• RoboBlitz (nominated for Grand Prize, Excellence in Visual Art)
• Toblo (nominated for Design Innovation)
• Toribash (nominated for Design Innovation)

I’m wrapping up the RoboBlitz review right now; it should be posted by the end of the weekend.

Cortex Command, the amazing pixel physics game from Data Realms, is really starting to come together. If you haven’t heard of the project before you should definitely check it out. I happen to be friends–and unicycling buddies–with Data himself, and had a chance to check out the latest build the other day over at his place (the epic results of which are detailed on his blog).

The project is being run in a very open fashion. Public builds are regularly posted, game design is debated in the forums, and there’s already a vibrant community of modders and fans. The most recent build is a real blast to play, particularly if you have a wired Xbox 360 controller on your PC. The new controls are worlds above the old, frustrating scheme.

Download Cortex Command Game (17.8 MB download)
[link goes to Data Realms Devlog]

The commercial version of Garry’s Mod is now available on Steam. Cost is a very reasonable $9.95, so long as you already own a Source-engine game. Haven’t heard of Garry’s Mod before? For shame!

Garry’s Mod is a physics sandbox. Unlike regular games there aren’t any predefined aims or goals. We give you the tools and leave you to play.

You spawn objects and weld them together to create your own contraptions – whether that’s a car, a rocket, a catapult or something that doesn’t have a name yet – that’s up to you.

If you’re not too great at construction – don’t worry! You can place a variety of characters in silly positions.

An example of what you can build:

Head on over to the Garry’s Mod Steam page for purchase information, or check Garry’s Mod media page here for more videos.