Back when the Summer of Arcade program first started, I didn't really have much awareness of what an "indie" game is or could be, and I tended to stick to AAA games.
However, Microsoft managed to gin up a lot of hype around these smaller games with this Summer of Arcade initiative. Releasing an annual wave of five radically different, yet cohesively-branded & well-curated experiences was a genius move, because if you really enjoyed one of the games, it encouraged you try some of the others as well. Plus, the added incentive of potentially winning Microsoft Points, a Gold subscription, or even a new console if you bought all the games for that season made it almost like a Battle Pass in our current lingo. It also might just be me being a weirdo, but the fact that it was a summer-themed event means that now I associate those games with really warm, positive experiences. Being on summer vacation, getting a break from the heat by retreating to my cool basement and hopping online with a bunch of my friends from school to try out Castle Crashers or whatever else was out. Good times :)
That of course also brings me to the most important thing: the games. So many of the Summer of Arcade games are so goddamn iconic and some of the all-time great indie experiences:
2008 gave us Braid and Castle Crashers
2009 had MvC 2, Shadow Complex, Splosion Man, TMNT, and Trials HD
2010 had LIMBO and Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
2011 introduced one of the motherfucking GOATs with Bastion, alongside Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet
2012 brought us Dust: An Elysian Tail and Deadlight
2013 wrapped things up with Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
It ignited a passion for indies within me, along with many of my friends. It felt like indies getting their big debut on the world stage. It was a joyful celebration of all these wildly talented creators and the amazing things that can be made when you stop focusing as much on AAA production values and strict bottom lines, and it was awesome to see everyone from one-man teams like Jonathan Blow to big publishers like Konami, Capcom, and Square Enix all taking part.
As fond as I am of games like Gears of War, Halo 3, Alan Wake, etc. in many ways it's the Summer of Arcade that I look back upon most fondly from my Xbox 360 days, and I hope that Microsoft revives it next generation.
However, Microsoft managed to gin up a lot of hype around these smaller games with this Summer of Arcade initiative. Releasing an annual wave of five radically different, yet cohesively-branded & well-curated experiences was a genius move, because if you really enjoyed one of the games, it encouraged you try some of the others as well. Plus, the added incentive of potentially winning Microsoft Points, a Gold subscription, or even a new console if you bought all the games for that season made it almost like a Battle Pass in our current lingo. It also might just be me being a weirdo, but the fact that it was a summer-themed event means that now I associate those games with really warm, positive experiences. Being on summer vacation, getting a break from the heat by retreating to my cool basement and hopping online with a bunch of my friends from school to try out Castle Crashers or whatever else was out. Good times :)
That of course also brings me to the most important thing: the games. So many of the Summer of Arcade games are so goddamn iconic and some of the all-time great indie experiences:
2008 gave us Braid and Castle Crashers
2009 had MvC 2, Shadow Complex, Splosion Man, TMNT, and Trials HD
2010 had LIMBO and Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
2011 introduced one of the motherfucking GOATs with Bastion, alongside Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet
2012 brought us Dust: An Elysian Tail and Deadlight
2013 wrapped things up with Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
It ignited a passion for indies within me, along with many of my friends. It felt like indies getting their big debut on the world stage. It was a joyful celebration of all these wildly talented creators and the amazing things that can be made when you stop focusing as much on AAA production values and strict bottom lines, and it was awesome to see everyone from one-man teams like Jonathan Blow to big publishers like Konami, Capcom, and Square Enix all taking part.
As fond as I am of games like Gears of War, Halo 3, Alan Wake, etc. in many ways it's the Summer of Arcade that I look back upon most fondly from my Xbox 360 days, and I hope that Microsoft revives it next generation.
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