Suckerfree Games has dropped the price of its Xbox Live Indie Games cooperative multiplayer platformer Kobold's Quest. The game is now available for 80 Microsoft points ($1), down from its previous price of 240 points ($3).

Kobold's Quest is a fast-paced romp in which up to four players fight off wizards, traverse dangerous terrain, and collect...babies. Judging from the trailer above, it's basically New Super Mario Bros. Wii if Mario and friends were replaced with a lovable gang of baby-kidnapping monsters.

Suckerfree Games is currently working on the follow-up title Dungeons Episode 1: The Eye of Draconus, which the company describes as "a Golden Axe style brawler with a wicked story and an irreverent sense of humor."

[via CAG]

IGF 2012 grand prize finalist Johann Sebastian Joust now supports up to 18 players, following a successful demonstration at the Nordic Game Jam last week.

Johann Sebastian Joust is a screenless, audio-only multiplayer game in which PlayStation Move-equipped players attempt to physically jostle their opponents. As gameplay continues, the controllers become more sensitive to motion -- a player loses when the controller is pushed past its allowable movement threshold.

The game seen above featured three teams of six players each. The twist: one player on each team was a secret traitor. As you might expect, it ended spectacularly.

Nordic Game Jam additionally saw the debut of "Awkward Tarzan Grinding Game" a playable prototype from JS Joust's developers that employs a ridiculous setup involving multiple PlayStation Move controllers suspended from the ceiling.

[via @brandonnn]

Since you all seemed to enjoy our interview with the man behind the meat last week, you might get a kick out of this too. Here's an incredibly in depth interview with Ed McMillen, conducted by design3 as part of their Industry Insight series.

He talks at great length about his gaming background, how he got into making games, some of the behind the scenes goings on from the development of some of his recent games, and his and Tommy's plans for world domination.

It's honest, heartfelt, and he doesn't shy away from any topics. He's very much worth listening to.

Have ten minutes to spare? Perfect. Grab a friend, the most recent build of Blitz Meet, a few drinks and sit down for what may be the most entertaining take on Pong yet. The idea behind the game is a simple one. You're one of two knights. Your objective is to knock a great metallic ball into the wooden barrier behind your opponent. After taking a sufficient number of hits, the door will shatter and a big green monster will stomp out to make finger-food of your foe. A variety of power-ups have also been thrown in to provide a bit more spice to your life.

No, it isn't the deepest game out there but that's perfectly all right. Sometimes, all you need in life is a bit of good, wholesome fun. Download Blitz Meet here.

Intent Media's annual seafront gaming get together, Develop Conference, is gearing up for 2012. They've put out a call for developers to give presentations during the conference, and Thursday is again going to be Indie Dev Day.

Last year saw the likes of Sean Murray (Hello Games), Ben Ward (Hogrocket), Colin Anderson (Denki), Daniel Da Rocha, (Toxic Games), Andrew Smith (Spilt Milk Studios) and many more give presentations about their games and their business, and hopefully this years lineup will be just as interesting.

If you're a developer that fancies a shot at public speaking in front of your peers, the deadline for submissions is the 30th March. Go on, I dare you.

Tickets for the Indie Dev Day are currently available for £75, or a lot more for the rest of the conference too. I'll be there, so be sure to say hi.

Most of the indie world knows of IGF host and PlayNerd model Andy Schatz, creator of Monaco. Much less known is Monaco's producer and level designer, Andy Nguyen. Nguyen introduces himself here very candidly as he shares the details of how he quickly proved himself as a rookie to become involved in such a highly anticipated title. The interview also reveals how flexible Schatz is, opening himself up to constructive criticism and help on the IGF winning project that he alone started over two years ago.

The story goes that Schatz was primarily looking for testers for Monaco, and Nguyen more than stepped up to the challenge. Nguyen actually asked for an internship opportunity to learn and provide help wherever possible.

With no skills to speak, with a finance degree instead of a computer science degree, one may wonder how he got Schatz's attention. Nguyen shares, "I spent 3 months writing a cover letter, and a 'game analysis' of Zuma Blitz, a Facebook game that had recently come out at the time. It had a lot of opportunities for me to talk about: scoring, mechanics, aesthetic, and Facebook as a platform."

Nguyen describes the callback from Schatz as very surreal. "Remember, at this time I had no idea who Andy Schatz was nor that Monaco was the IGF 2010 winner (although I knew of the IGF results from 2009 and prior)." Nguyen says he was nervous, but very excited, that he finally had the chance at the life he had always wanted.

"So when my chance began, Schatz simply had intentions of having me play the game once, and answer a few questions. It was a simple playtest and nothing more." For this, Nguyen used FRAPS to record his playtest, and then he went over the video and added his own commentary about what he observed. "It was VERY critical. I was definitely scared. I had no experience, no proof of any sort of credibility to my name, and yet I was making very harsh criticisms on his design choices."

Recettear publisher Carpe Fulgur has released an English localization of Fortune Summoners, a polished effort from Japanese doujin developer Lizsoft.

Fortune Summoners is a side-scrolling action-RPG that cites gameplay inspiration from the 16-bit era. The game boasts a 25-hour main storyline, and includes plenty of post-game content and sidequests for players to explore afterward. I picked up a Wanderers From Ys vibe from what I've seen of the game so far -- the party-based combat is quite intriguing!

Fortune Summoners is regularly priced at $19.99, but is available for $14.99 during its launch week. An updated demo version can be downloaded here or via Steam.

After launching for the Xbox Live Indie Games service last year, MonsterJail Games' exploration-based platformer (and occasional trivia quiz) LaserCat is now available for Windows PCs.

LaserCat is a multi-screen adventure game inspired by classic European computer titles like Jet Set Willy, though MonsterJail assures that it's a more casual experience than its often brutally difficult forebears. The game otherwise sticks to traditions that longtime genre fans will appreciate; it even gives each individual room a witty title, which is no small feat, considering that there are 225 screens in all.

LaserCat is priced at $1.

Porpentine's Nostrils of Flesh And Clay is a tantalizing work of interactive fiction. Have you ever wanted to know what life is like as a crooked olfactory detective, as someone capable of detecting larceny with a single sniff? Well, now's your chance. If there's anything that can be said about Nostrils of Flesh And Clay, it's the fact that the imagery is absolutely delightful. Porpentine has done an amazing job at crafting the world here. Erogaters? Freeze baths? Saintly lepers with silvery voices? Gloop-encrusted ATMs that spit out directions? You'll find them all here.

You can check out Nostrils of Flesh & Clay here.

This week on "Best Of Indie Games," we take a look at some of the top independent PC Flash/downloadable titles released over this last week.

The delights in this edition include a racing game for the Xbox Live Indie Games service, a 2010 IGF Student Showcase winner, a horizontally scrolling 'RPG shooter', plus a unique action-oriented roguelike that should be of interest to fans of the genre.

Here's some recent highlights from IndieGames.com:

Game Pick: 'Ocean Drive Challenge' (need1D, commercial indie)
"While the Xbox Live Indie Games service has no shortage of racing games, need1D's Ocean Drive Challenge tackles a rarely-explored niche, citing inspiration from Sega's OutRun and other classic arcade titles."

Game Pick: 'Quarrel' (Denki, commercial indie)
"After having wowed mobile gamers on iOS, and impressing BAFTA Scotland enough for them to award it their best game of 2011 award, Denki's linguistic strategy game Quarrel has made the leap from mobile to console, receiving an XBLA release last week."

Game Pick: 'Puddle' (ENJMIN, commercial indie)
"In Puddle, players tilt the playfield to guide a puddle of fluid through various themed environments, including a garden, a foundry, and the human body. Each level features a number of obstacles that must be overcome using friction, gravity, and the unique physical properties of the fluid."