Indiecade East was a blast! For those who don't know, Indiecade is a festival of independent games with a quirky array of workshops, lectures, contests, and parties.
GIL's artist in residence Kaho Abe ran her awesome physical game Hit Me at IndieCade East's Night Games Exhibit. GIL's director Katherine Isbister and Kaho were on a panel Sunday on developing physical games.
Both Kaho and Phoenix Perry were finalists in Indiecade's PSVita game jam. Phoenix's team made Crystallon: Players complete puzzles by matching three geometric shapes that will increase exponentially as they are repeatedly combined. Kaho's team created Don't Wake the Bear, a multiplayer game designed to be played using one Vita. Don't Wake the Bear has players pass the handheld between one another similar to the Hot Potato game. Players can add objects around the sleeping bear to make it more difficult for other players to pass the Vita without waking him, or can stuff cotton in his ears or giving him a tranquilizer to keep him asleep. Both titles will be showcased at this years GDC.
For more on Indiecade East:
http://www.indiecade.com/2013/east_info/
http://www.polygon.com/2013/2/20/4001950/playstation-mobile-game-jam-indiecade-east-2013