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First ever two-time winner of the Big Indie Pitch crowned in Prague

Check out all 20 entrants from the Big Indie Pitch at White Nights Prague 2018

First ever two-time winner of the Big Indie Pitch crowned in Prague
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Hot off the heels of our bumper edition flagship Very Big Indie Pitch at Pocket Gamer Connects London in January, The Big Indie Pitch has been back on the road again, this time travelling to the Czech Republic in order to host The Big Indie Pitch at White Nights Prague 2018.

This wasn’t just any old pitch though, as not only did many of the judges comment that this was arguably the closest pitch we’ve ever seen, but also because one developer set a record as the most successful developer in the history of the Big Indie Pitch.

You see, not content with winning in London, FINIFUGU && friends came back again, this time with a different game in Nood Climbrs and walked away once again as champion. In doing so though, they became not only the only developer to ever wear the Big Indie Pitch crown twice with two different games, but also the first developer to win back-to-back Big Indie Pitch titles.

Of course, Nood Climbrs wasn’t the only highlight of The Big Indie Pitch at White Nights Prague, with a plethora of exciting games showcase, all of which can be seen below. Trust us, this is definitely one round up you’ll want to take notice of.

First place: Nood Climbrs

  • By: FINIFUGU && friends

Nood Climbrs is an endless, physics-based, runner for mobile devices inspired by sport climbing where you play as a naked, noodle-limbed humanoid travelling on a colourful climbing wall. On the ascent you collect and customise your character with hilariously coloured thongs, bras, hairstyles, tattoos and all sorts of risque accessories.

All in all, Nood Climbrs offers players a massive amount of replay-ability through its unique level-design and casual pick up and play gameplay. Nood Climbrs may still be in the early stages of development, but it’s already one to keep your eyes on.

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Second place: Candy Patrol
  • By: Orbital Knight

In Candy Patrol players must enter a highly-polished and visually-impressive world full of sweet lollipops and colourful monsters who are trying to devour as much of the tasty world as possible. This is where you come in, as through your role within an elite candy defence unit entitled "Candy Patrol", you must keep the lollipops safe and shoot any monster trying to take a bite out of them.

In order to achieve this, players will be armored with a supersonic slingshot and high-tech gadgets in order to fight their way through more than 300 stages across 10 worlds in order to stop the monsters from devouring everything. There’s a variety of ways to play, massive boss battles, and even a Pokemon inspired collect-em-all mechanic.

Third place: Steampunk Idle Spinner

  • By: Airapport

Imagine building your own contraption within a psychedelic steampunk world, and you’re somewhere to understanding Steampunk Idle Spinner. The game’s uniqueness doesn’t end with its premise though, as developer Airapport has also taken the idle clicker and given it a unique twist, and I mean that quite literally.

Currently the game has 4 steampunk worlds, in every of them the player starts from a small machine, spins a cogwheel, earns money, then builds new gear, and grows bigger and bigger. From there the craziness really begins, and players can expect to see zeppelins, airship pirates, tesla guns, power crystals, windmills, mines, railroads and even gremlins within these worlds.

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Honourable Mention: .Projekt
  • By: Kyrylo Kuzyk

Described by the developer as a little bit like taking a geometry lesson, but in a much more fun and relaxing way, .Projekt is one of the most unique puzzle games we’ve seen, and that’s not easy in today’s crowded market.

Through an incredibly polished level of presentation .Projekt tasks players with recreating the 3D block shape that would create the shadowed images they see before them. It sounds difficult, but it’s actually highly intuitive, challenging without ever being frustrating, and quite frankly, an awful lot of fun.

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Rebuilders
  • By: Gerald Reitschmied

Set in a future ridden by a cataclysmic, industrially triggered climate change, Rebuilders sees humanity in a position where it must rebuild sustainably and try to survive. Within this highly customisable game players are able to design their own characters and vehicles. All of which can then be put to battle within realtime multiplayer battles which include gameplay that is something of a cross between a MOBA and a tower defence title.

Aside from compelling player driven gameplay, Rebuilders also plans to make the game as social as possible by creating real world challenges that promote the game’s message of creating a sustainable world. Did I mention that it’s highly polished and great to play too?

Angelo & Deemon: One Hell of a Quest
  • By: Specialbit

One night Death made a mistake and came to a blogger named Angelo. Now he’s decided to make great blog and Angelo must write it. Even worse, Angelo must travel through Hell and back in order to get it done.

This is the premise of what looks to be an incredibly promising upcoming point and click adventure title. From the start the game hits the right notes when it comes to what fans of the genre expect, with beautiful nods to its forebearers, a comedy infused storyline, and great presentation. As such, this is definitely one to watch as it gets closer and closer to a full release.

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WesTurn
  • By: Mouse Memories

WesTurn is a fast turn-based multiplayer game set in the wild west. One in which players manage their own gang of varied characters and compete in highly tactical wild west style shootouts where each player plans their next moves at the same time as their opponent.

As such, players must second guess their own opponent at every turn, and try and outwit them into a winning position. All in all it’s an incredibly unique gameplay mechanic, one that is simple to understand but hard to master. Rather than a battle of strength, WesTurn really challenges the player to outsmart their opponents using intelligence alone.

Monkey Bubbles Memory
  • By: Geyik Oyun

The premise of Monkey Bubbles is quite simple. As in this brain training game that focuses on psychological well being, players must simply remember the numbers that appear on screen in the correct order, and then prove the accuracy of their memory by tapping the bubbles that once held the numbers in the correct order.

By doing this players can collect a certain amount of coins, which can in turn be used in order to level up. There’s also leaderboards too so that gamers can compete with their friends.

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TrashScraper
  • By: FOOT

TrashScraper is an endless vertical platformer, in which the player must collect all of the leftover loot and trash whilst climbing a skyscraper that is slowly being encapsulated by rising water. This collected loot can then be used for purchasing upgrades and accessing the next worlds, which are located higher up on the skyscraper.

Developed as a student project, TrashScraper can be seen as similar to Doodle Jump, but with a high level of social commentary. Its well executed gameplay and presentation mean that FOOT is one up and coming developer that is worth paying attention to.

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Interactive Classics: Homer's Odyssey
  • By: Another Circus

Through Homer’s Odyssey, developer Another Circus hopes to bring classic literature to a brand new audience by adding interactive elements, engaging visuals, alongside board game and card collecting elements. The latter of which will reward readers with unique collectible cards based on their reading habits.

Overall the polish was very clear to the judges, as was the promise of bringing these classic stories to a new audience. So, if you’ve always fancied getting through some of humanity’s greatest stories but maybe haven’t had the drive before, then keep an eye out for Homer’s Odyssey.

Planet Gula
  • By: Straitjacket Entertainment

Taking the idea of bringing PC quality real time strategy to mobile platforms, Straitjacket Entertainment began development on Planet Gula. A game which looks to seamlessly blend both classic and modern gameplay with mobile sensibilities.

Overall the game is filled with personality, especially when it comes to the quirky cast of characters. The game also presents lots of interesting ideas within the gameplay, such as the ability to stop players who try to win by brute force. The game may still be in the early stages of development, but there’s already enough for RTS fans to pay attention to.

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2 Minutes In Space
  • By: Rarepixels

"For some people, the sky’s the limit. For others, it’s just the beginning". This is the motto by which Rarepixels stood by when creating 2 Minutes In Space, as they wanted to create a game that appealed to that curiosity to explore the reaches of the unknown that exists in so many of us.

As such, on starting the game players are offered one of 9 different space ships equipped with lasers, guns or laser cannons, before being made to head for one of three expansive destinations: the Orion Nebula, the Asteroid Belts or the Moon. From here players must utilise everything in their arsenal, alongside a range of special abilities in order to keep their exploration mission alive.

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Private Line
  • By: Code Sword

Private Line tells a story about an ordinary man in totalitarian state named Sowoke Respublica in the middle of 20th century. Starting off working as a quality officer in state Telecommunication Bureau, which supposes to provide telephone connection for Sowoke citizens, but instead masquerades as tool for societal spying and censorship, the player will find themselves involved in a story that details ten years of a dystopian state and life of common people in it.

Featuring 28 levels split scross 4 acts with differing gameplay and focuses, Private Line is a game that focuses on storyline and narrative, whilst being fun and challenging to play at the same time.

Great Master Of Dragon
  • By: NeverLab

Looking to seamlessly blend fighting with collectible card mechanics, Great Master of Dragon is a colourful and action packed game based where the player will have to use brute force, strategy, and even a little bit of luck to win.

During the game, the characters accumulate experience and learn new techniques. The player's task is to correctly draw up his deck of skills before the battle, and then quickly apply them during the battle. All in all it’s a game that promises a lot of potential, especially when it comes to the PvP multiplayer elements.

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Ricky Runner
  • By: Contra Concept

Ricky Runner is a third person action platformer infused with physics based puzzles and an awful lot of charm. Built for the Nintendo Switch, Ricky Runner is quite frankly, absolutely gorgeous to look at, filled with great graphics, a charming world, and cute characters. All of which make it a perfect game for both families and fans of the platforming genre.

Of course, that’s not all though, as it also features precise and satisfying platforming gameplay that features tight, intuitive and easy to understand controls, alongside unique gameplay elements, such a befriending animal buddies which can help you on your quest. Those with a Switch should definitely mark this as one to watch.

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Tap to Unbox
  • By: Impala Development

Set inside an idle universe where boxes fall from the sky, and where everybody including unicorns and aliens must unbox in order to to save the world from chaos and disorder, Tap To Unbox sees the player take on the role of The Chosen One. A person chosen by the prophecy as the one who will clean the world of these frustrating boxes.

As such players must simply find boxes, open them, collect their insides, and then repeat. Each box contains a range of pop culture collectibles that can be used across the game’s various other modes, including mini games and character customisation. The developers see this a something akin to Unboxing Therapy, which sounds quite nice when you consider the conversations the industry is usually having about Loot Boxes.

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What The Hen!
  • By: Charged Monkey

Inspired by Saturday morning cartoons, Charged Monkey’s have created a game that brings collectible card mechanics, PvP duelling and line defence action to gamers, through wacky comedy, freshly painted cartoony visuals, and toilet humour.

This is isn’t just an empty promise either, as the judges commented not only on the excellent polish, but also the engaging and enjoyable gameplay. For those who are looking for their games to have a bit more life and personality to them, preferably on the wackier side, then What The Hen! could be the game you’re looking for.

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Psyche
  • By: Cappuccino

Psyche is a semi-text adventure game that puts you into the shoes of a detective who is utilising a virtual computer in order to solve a range of homicide cases through the use of unique applications. These applications include search engines, analysis and cryptography programs, maps and even police department databases, all ensuring varied and interesting gameplay.

That’s not all though, as this adventure game also includes beautifully hand-drawn art, an engrossing story and mindful puzzles.

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Greedy Bunnies
  • By: Zagrava Games

Bored of Match-3s? Well how about a Match 2? Yes it may sound silly, but Greedy Bunnies proves that less really can be more on this occasion. Although, the game does offer more than 200 handcrafted puzzles, alongside a beautifully presented world, so don’t go thinking the developers are offering less on all fronts.

Nevertheless, the judges unanimously agreed that the match 2 was a nice touch, and a mechanic that worked really well. On top of this, the game also features a great pacing to ensure that no gamer is left behind, alongside a highly intuitive endless mode. For those looking for a change of pace, but not something too different, then this really could be a winner.

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Dream Soccer
  • By: Kix Games

Dream Soccer is an intuitive game that looks to shake up the existing way we play football games on mobile devices. Utilising a unique and intuitive swiping mechanic, in Dream Soccer players have full control not only on how they kick the ball, but also in terms of how they intercept it.

That’s not all though, as Kix Games have also put an awful lot of work into the presentation of the game too, with Dream Soccer featuring simple and appealing cartoonish graphics and an engrossing story. There’s even the promise of PvP multiplayer and a range of minigames in the final build too.


Sophia Aubrey Drake
Sophia Aubrey Drake
A lifelong gamer with a fanatical love of all things Nintendo and Japan. So much so that she's written a thesis on one and lived in the other. She's also currently on a quest to catch every last Pokemon.