Innovation for innovation's sake is a most tiring concept, though many still believe that anything new is by definition great and exciting. Well, Nazis were pretty new back in the 1930s and we all know where that went... Anyway. Point is I usually prefer the subtle kind of innovation that doesn't scream new game mechanic and instead decides to focus on refining concepts and ideas, and apparently that's exactly what Cheap Drunk Games are trying to achieve with Alone In The Park. It will, you see, be a most intriguing text/graphic-adventure hybrid starring a misanthropic gamer forced to embark on a real life quest and I'm definitely (deeply too) excited. Must have been that brilliantly sarcastic song in the trailer.

Alone In The Park will be released on the 15th of June for iPad, Mac, Windows and Linux.

It seems like barely a week goes by these days when there isn't some new indie-based announcement from the Sony camp -- and today is no different, as the PlayStation Mobile development license has been waived.

Originally, those developers who wanted to release games via PS Mobile for PS Vita and PlayStation-certified mobile devices were required to pay an annual fee of $99.

From today, the Publisher License Fee for PS Mobile has been removed, meaning that any developer can now potentially release a game for the PS Vita for free.

Note that PlayStation Mobile is a C# platform that runs code on a virtual machine, providing direct binary compatibility across a range of devices. No doubt the number of titles being released for the platform will see a significant boost once Unity supports it.

Oddballs, a physics-puzzler for iOS by Graham Davis of Velvety Couch Games was a labor of love to create. Over the span of two years Graham kept his day job but spent every weekend, every evening, and every lunch hour working on this game. Over the course of 80+ levels, you control three different Oddballs: one bounces, one floats and the other is made of heavy metal. Use the right one at the right time to solve each physics puzzle. You can get the game for iOS here. Be sure to send @velvetycouch some words of encouragement for reaching the finish line!

Outside of Metal Gear Solid 3, No One Lives Forever and the Harry Tipper missions in the Timesplitters series, 50s/60s spy missions are not a common video game-setting. Dynamighty hopes to capitalize on this absence with CounterSpy, a side-scrolling take on Cold War-era espionage.

The tradition of developer rants at GDC continues, with 2013's edition including OUYA head of developer relations Kellee Santiago, Eidos turned indie dev Anna Marsh, and Chris Hecker sharing what they feel is wrong with the industry.

Courtesy of the GDC Vault, this free, hour-long panel shows Santiago suggesting a Renaissance-like approach to help better and richer games to be made by people who could otherwise not afford to do so. Lady Shotgun's Marsh encourages more pre-production efforts to avoid crunch and says developers should experience life outside games to avoid otherwise incestuous ideas.

For all the hothead rants, including Chris Hecker's now famous wordless rant, check out the free video after the jump.

Devine Lu Linvega (Aliceffekt) has just released the Android version to his cryptic point-and-click adventure game Hiversaires, which is also on sale for iOS devices, for $3. Without any text or maps to cue players in, pen and paper may be the best bet to navigate this dark labyrinth.

Heroine Dusk, a browser game by Flare developer Clint Bellanger, looks to be on its way toward soulful ultra-retro RPG perfection. The low-rez graphics are incredibly simple, in a good way: It even works on mobile!

[by Jana Reinhardt]

The German Game Days

Every year in the last week of April, Berlin celebrates games with an indie festival, business meet-up, specials and a retro games market at the Computer Games Museum, and the Computer Games Award Lara.

Icy Venture is a puzzle game made by a Jordanian game developer Hazim AlHanbal about a cube of ice trying to find the best way to reach his home and collect as many snowflakes as he can.

Video streaming by Ustream

[by Leigh Alexander]

The personal games movement is providing an important, exciting new avenue for expression and a new understanding of design, many believe. At the Different Games conference in New York this weekend, four panelists presented on the theme of personal game-making and why it matters to them.