We reached out to the minds behind these five games - which, combined, make up a full half of the total indie entries - to ask them for their feelings on being nominated to the Indie Showcase and the indie scene in general.
Yesterday, we featured Greenfly Studios and today we're catching up with Neil Glenister of 232 Studios, whose Epic Eric represents not only his team's debut game but also its first attempt at self-publishing.
Pocket Gamer: How does it feel to be a part of Develop's Indie Showcase?
Neil Glenister: It's a pretty packed genre with a great deal of competition so we've been blown away with how well the game has been received so far, both in informal playtests and at industry demos. Being shortlisted for Develop is the icing on the cake.
Bootstrapping the development of Epic Eric has been an appropriately epic undertaking, so it's really fantastic to be recognised for our work, especially as it's the first time breaking away from client projects to work on our own self-published IP.
This year, a full half of the ten games nominated in the Indie Showcase are mobile titles. Is it easier for indie games to find an audience on mobile?
Coming from a background in online (Flash) gaming one of the many benefits we've gained from transitioning to the mobile platform has been the ability to connect with a global audience with very little effort or cost.
The success of a mobile game is very much in the hands of the developer which makes it a perfect platform for self publishing.
We chose to develop Epic Eric using the Corona SDK as it enabled us to build a cross platform game for both Android and iOS markets.
Each of the five mobile games featured in the showcase offer vastly different types of gameplay. Have any of the other games in the line-up - mobile or not - caught your eye?
It's very exciting for Epic Eric to be showcased amongst some well known names and their awe-inspiring games.
We've been really impressed with both the level of creativity in what we've seen so far as well as the vast range of gameplay genres.
Icycle: On Thin Ice by Damp Gnat was the first name that jumped out at us from the line up because we're huge fans of the original game, so we can't wait to give the sequel a go.
How will being featured in the showcase impact your studio?
Were working hard to see our dream of being an independent self publishing studio come to life, but one of the hardest things for a developer in our position is publicity and getting noticed amongst the throng. Being a finalist is a really great opportunity for this.
Are you looking forward to Develop as a whole?
This will be our first year at Develop and we'll be pretty busy manning the demo at the expo, but there are some fantastic talks on so we hope there will be a chance to slip away to catch a couple of them, and of course there will be some good chats with new and old friends at the after-hours social events too.
We're looking forward to finally being able to make it to Keith Stuart's pub quiz!
