The Big Indie Pitch is a regular event run by the makers of PocketGamer.biz. It gives indie developers the chance to pitch their games to industry experts and journalists in a speed-dating-styled format.

Teams get the opportunity to get valuable feedback on their games, as well as win great prizes such as promotional packages and, more importantly, the coveted Big Indie Pitch bat.

Within the Big Indie Pitch, it isn’t often that you get find a game so crazy and so different that it near unanimously walks away with the crown.

Yet that is the situation that the judges found themselves in this year, as Triband’s What The Golf? took away first place at the Big Indie Pitch at GDC 2018 in association with indieSky.

On this occasion we were joined by judges from the likes of indieSky, Flaregames, Amazon, Appodeal, and even our most successful pitcher ever in the form of FINIFUGU && friends.

All in all 14 judges sat down and analysed 25 games in a close fought competition. In fact, it was so close, that there was no third place, with two developers walking away with a joint second place prize. A first for the Big Indie Pitch.

So what is the crazy and unique What The Golf? all about? And what were the two joint second place winners? Read on to find out.

What The Golf?

Described by the developers as “the golf game for people who hate golf”, What The Golf? begins like any normal game of golf with you hitting a ball into a hole. However, from there the action begins to get crazier and crazier with players having to whack houses, cars and even yourself into the hole to win.

All in all, it’s the best kind of crazy and a game that manages to beautifully differentiate itself in what has now become a fairly crowded market.

Tiny Bubbles

Tiny Bubbles is a puzzle game set in a microscopic marine world, one in which players must organise clusters of soap bubbles, whilst also mastering the strange physics of surface tension and pressure.

It’s beautiful to look at and a tremendous amount of fun. It’s also set to offer players a massive amount of content, featuring seven different worlds with over 180 levels, each with unique goals and a variety of challenges.

Esports Saga

Esports Saga is an action online-multiplayer robot brawler crossed with a sports management sim. Imagine Football Manager in an esports setting and you’re on the right lines.

In the game players must build up a well trained capable esports team, before sending them off into battles which can then be influenced through the use of boosts before each round. There’s also a range of upgrades available to players too in order to help you take the crown.

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Upcoming BIPs include:

• Jun 12th to 14th 2018 - The Big Indie Pitch in LA 2018
• Jul 10th to 11th 2018 - The Big Indie Pitch at Develop:Brighton 2018
• Aug 3rd to 4th 2018 - The Big Indie Pitch at ChinaJoy 2018
• Aug 22nd to 23rd 2018 - The Big Indie Pitch at Gamescom 2018
• Sep 11th to 12th 2018 - The Very Big Indie Pitch at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki 2018

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