We are excited to announce our New Series, where we show you Indie games that were submitted to GDWC over the years that have been influenced by well-known games! Are you looking for new gems to scare you off? In this episode we are introducing our Top 5 Games inspired by Resident Evil and The Last of Us. Through this list you'll find horror vibes, environmental puzzles, strong characters who can overcome any near-death situations and zombies or some monster chasing. Keep reading to explore the depths of fear with us!

1. Alisa

Starting off with the first game on our list Alisa, which is a stylized, classic late-90s style horror-themed action adventure game set in a fantasy universe and it reminds us of PS1 era Resident Evil games. You play as an Elite Royal Agent called Alisa and you are chasing a wanted criminal, ending up in an old Victorian mansion. You try to find a way out while being haunted by materialized/mechanized doll-like humanoids.

2. MADiSON

The second game MADiSON is definitely the scariest game on our list! It is a first person psychological horror game, featuring disturbing gameplay and an unsettling and compelling narrative. You play as Luca, as you wake up in a mansion without being aware of how you ended up in that situation and the only way to end the torture is to follow the instructions of a demon.

3. At Dead Of Night

Moving on with the third game on our list, At Dead Of Night, which is part horror film, part horror game and part ghost hunt. It seamlessly blends live-action and graphics to create a unique immersive horror experience. You play Maya, a student trapped in a remote hotel run by a psychopath called Jimmy Hall. Jimmy has tied up Maya's friends and locked them in their rooms, with evil intentions. It reminds us of Resident Evil 1 on the PS1 where full-motion videos were included.

4. Not Dead Yet

Our fourth pick is Not Dead Yet, which is a 1-4 player co-op, fast-paced, rogue-lite FPS, with elements of deck-building and strategy that will test your skills in creating your own build while having to manage your resources and survive restless waves of zombies. The whole gameplay is influenced by Resident Evil's mercenary mode which has been featured in a lot of their games.

5. Zombie Simulator

Finally, the fifth game Zombie Simulator is changing things up on our list! You play as a horde of zombies, as you try to conquer the heavily defended city. You can grow your swarm of zombies, while trying to get through the waves of machine gun bullets, armored vehicles and anything you can think of that will try and stop zombies.

And there you have it! Those are our picks for the Top 5 Horror Games influenced by Resident Evil and The Last of Us. Are you brave enough to face the scary challenges you experience in these games? Check out our video and let us know what you think!

We were honored to have Autodesk as our sponsor for Student Game Award in 2021. Autodesk is a multinational software corporation that makes software products and services for the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media, education and entertainment industries. During the Student Game Award there were five finalists that won the price of an interview with Autodesk, with one of the games being Incarnation. The other four games were Astreia's Gift, Lysfangha, Postbird in Provence and There You Are.

Incarnation is a mouse-only roguelite with reverse progression. In this game you get to experience a divine entity's descent from the heavens through a series of procedurally generated levels. After each level, you must lose one of your celestial powers until you are completely transformed into a human. From intuitive controls to its unique take on pixel-art visuals, the solo game developer Idan Rooze created everything in the game by himself except for the soundtrack which was done by Amit Katzengold. Idan is a game developer from Israel and he has been making games since he was a kid. As he mentions, despite indie creators being a small community, they are exceptional at game innovations.

Incarnation gameplay

Moreover, through the interview with Autodesk, Idan is providing us with some interesting insights on Incarnation and his success during the Student Game Award. What does a solo game developer have to say to others considering submitting to GDWC and what made Idan's game so special to our judges? He also tells us more about his choice working solo opposed to a team and the pros and cons that come along with that. Find out more about it here!

Hey Game Developers! Be the First of the Four Winners of these Valco ANC Headphones!

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Answer the Developer Survey with your Game Entry at thegdwc.com for the chance to win!
Learn More about Valco's Headphones at Valco.io

On today's episode of Games from Your Countries, we head to Scandinavia to visit Sweden. The home of IKEA, Abba, Volvo, and Spotify is also home to many famous games. Some notable games developed by Swedish game studios are: Stellaris, Crusader Kings Series and Hearts of Iron series by Paradox Interactive, The Just Cause series by Avalanche Studios, Goat Simulator, Valheim and Satisfactory by Coffee Stain Studios, Battlefield Series, Mirror's Edge and Star Wars Battlefront Series by DICE, among others. Popular Indie Games from Sweden are: Hotline Miami by Dennaton Games, TABS and Clustertruck by Landfall Games, and Passpartout by Flamebait Games. And of course, we couldn't forget the best-selling indie game ever: Minecraft.

Top 11 Games from Sweden
Moose Around by Vamoose
How We Know We're Alive by Motvind Studios
Dungeon Core by Talismanic Entertainment
Grand mountain Adventure by Toppluva
S.U.M Slay Uncool Monsters by Doomster Entertainment
Darkbolt by Overflow
Robobeat by Simon Fredholm
Usurper Soulbound by Caspian Interactive
Big Boy Boxing by Soupmaster Games
KreatureKind by Valiant Game Studio
Post Void by Y/CJ/Y

SifeFX is hosting a Houdini Game Jam from June 17th to 24th, 2022!

This is a great opportunity to showcase your game development skills and get the recognition you deserve. There are various prices such as software licenses, free training, resources, and much more!

Interested? You can learn more HERE!

In this week's episode of Games from Your Countries, we head to this South-West Pacific country, New Zealand. This beautiful country is known for its landscapes, wine, rugby, the Maori people, and even many video games. Fan-favorite games from New Zealand are The tower defense game series Bloons TD, The ARPG game Path of Exile, and indie games such as the Poly Bridge series or Mini Motorways.

Top 10 Games from New Zealand
Into the Dark by Esenthel
Frame of Mind by [SAMPLE TEXT] Studios ltd
Operation STEEL by Undermog Games
Battlecruisers by Mecha Weka
Before We Leave by Balancing Monkey Games
Ready or Not by VOID Interactive
39 Days to Mars by It's Anecdotal
Reverie by Rainbite
Samsara by Marker Limited
Seedlings by Bardsley Creative

The Top 10 Games of June have been revealed!

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In the first place is COGNAC by Aditya Gaurav, a developer working on a game that they hope is a revolutionary breakthrough in multiplayer game mechanics in the industry. This online multiplayer PvP TDM game is made using PhotoScan technology mixed with Synthetic Data. The game has multiple different characters with a wide range of abilities that function well with the in game mechanics. Congrats to Aditya Gaurav! 

"Cognac is an online multiplayer TDM game with photo-realistic maps created using real-life environments. Cognac is playable on any PC from bottom to up."

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In second is Sharks vs Mermaids by Cluck Eye Tea, a solo game developer from the USA. In this underwater game, you take control of a group of mermaids trying to defend the treasures of Atlantis. Get a hold of those cannons and blast away at the sharks.

"Fin or flipper? You decide as you take control of the mermaid army and defend the treasures of Atlantis from deadly sharks and an army of whacky fish."

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Third in the ranking is Westwood Shadows by RedSoup, a game studio from Cyprus. In this first-person shooter horror game, you take control of Peter Bennet a police detective and try to solve the mysteries of his abandoned hometown.

"Reality… Reality is subjective. One day you're a small-town cop, the next your world turns upside down. You think you're out on another patrol, but it's actually an endless, living nightmare. I know. I live it every day."

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	4th Rocket Rumble by PixelNAUTS  "Rocket Rumble is a party racing brawler for up to 4 players! Join a charming cast of animals in rocket suits as they smash, bash, and race their way through procedurally generated obstacle courses!"
	5th Burn Me Alive 2 by ASD Studios "Burn Me Alive 2 - A psychological action horror game set in Tennessee, 1977. The story revolves around Henry and his struggles with loss and grief, but prepare yourself for an ending that you never imagined!"
	6th The Lone Blade by Opia Games "Punished by the gods, the greedy one was locked up in the blade, his ascent will be his redemption"
	7th ARUM by One Sugar Please Studio "Live the adventure of a half-woman, half-flower creature stranded in a dreamlike world where exploration will be the key word."
	8th Quasimorphosis: Exordium by MgnmScrptmDvs "Start an esoteric war in space. Let the two worlds tremble."
	9th Rainbow Yggdrasil by Otorakobo Inc. "Auto-generated dungeons, the greatest feature of roguelike game, will invite you to an infinite labyrinth of Yggdrasil."
	10th Arabilis: Super Harvest by Tim Overvliet "Arabilis: Super Harvest combines farming , puzzle matching and roguelike elements into one unique arcade highscore chasing experience."

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For more information about the Monthly Top 10, click here!

Cognac, a multiplayer shooter, developed by Aditya Gaurav, is becoming the first Indian game with both Photorealism and Metaverse. According to his words, the game incorporates realistic environments, and the gameplay feels close to real life. Maps are designed by taking references and inspiration from monuments, abstract thoughts, abandoned areas, and old areas. The game also features a mix of cyberpunk environments with a synthetic retro feel.

Cognac runs well even on low-budget PCs because it is greatly optimized. Aditya promises it gives plus 60 fps on 720p on low integrated graphics. Aditya is also preparing for cognac to run at 60fps 1080p on integrated APUs without degrading any quality of maps. He hopes, that it will be done soon. The game also includes unique features such as real-time changing weather, day simulation, night simulation, sun and moon cycles, etc. Aditya says It is one of the best features that a metaverse game should include.

Apart from being a feature hub, the game introduces 4 characters, 8 weapons, and some accessories for use in-game. The game is still in continuous development, so Aditya wishes it'll be more upgraded by the time it comes out on Steam.

The game will be launched first for Windows in a near future, and Aditya is looking forward to expanding it to other platforms after receiving enough feedback. Before that you can get more information from their GDWC page, and LinkedIn. Cognac is also open to funding and on this matter, you can contact Aditya at adityagaurav@knowasiak.com 

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Are you a game developer? Get your news posted to GDWC newsletters, website, or other social media here!

Brytenwalda Studios, the developers of Beyond Mankind, want to reflect a bit on their studio's past and the journey that has taken them to where they stand today. They believe it can inspire other people to pursue what they want to do. Brytenwalda Studios is a studio full of talented people that love history and imagining how life would be in a different time than ours so that they can bring it to reality through games and tell engaging and complex stories. But it took a lot of work for them to get where they are now.

It all started with the Iberia: Total War mod, a mod for the game Rome: Total War. That's where part of their core team started out in the world of video games. After this first adventure, these very same people took an interest in Mount & Blade Warband, and eventually assembled a bigger team to work on the very popular Brytenwalda mod.

The mod became huge and gained a lot of traction, eventually catching the attention of the company that developed the game, which decided to give the team a chance to make an official DLC for the game. With this, Brytenwalda Studios was born, and what started as a hobby turned into a business venture. The result of this was the Viking Conquest DLC. It had a rocky launch, but the studio was able to solve all the issues the DLC had and garnered a lot of positive reviews and support from the community. It is still being played nowadays.

Once the project was finished, Brytenwalda set out to release their first own IP, Beyond Mankind. This time, instead of focusing on the past, they opted for a sci-fi and post-apocalyptic setting. After a small delay, the studio released the game on Steam and has achieved important milestones with the game since then, including releasing it on Linux and making it playable on SteamDeck. They've learned a lot through the process of developing their own IP and self-publishing a game and will continue to grow from this.

Check out Beyond Mankind: The Awakening here!

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Suggest articles about your Games, Releases, or other Achievements. It is for the past or current GDWC contestants, and teams appearing in the GDWC Public Listing. Get your article to the GDWC News here!

In this week's episode of Games from Your Countries, we journey north to "the land of a thousand lakes", Finland. The home of Santa Claus and The GDWC, Finland is famous for saunas, high-quality education, Nokia, and being the happiest country in the world. Finland is also well known in the world of gaming. With massive studios such as Supercell the developers of Clash of Clans, Sulake the developers of Habbo Hotel, Remedy Entertainment the developers of the Alan Wake, Max Payne, and Control, Housemarque the developers behind Returnal, and of course Rovio the developers of the Angry Birds series. Besides big-name studios, Finland has indie games such as Hill Climb Racing, Javelin Masters, and the Lakeview Cabin Collection.

Top 11 Games from Finland
Fat Bear Week by Team Fat Bears
Taphouse VR by Catland
Janitor Bleeds by Korpus
Tyrant's Realm by TORA Group
Dreamscript by Script Deprived
Puddle Knights by Lockpickle
NoReload Heroes by Stupid Stupid Games ltd
MindSeize by Kamina Dimension
Claybook by Claybook Team
Children of the Eclipse by Nutfarm Games
Iron Danger by Action Squad Studios