Leap: A Dragon's Adventure soars its way to the Big Indie Pitch crown
Discover all the indie games pitched at our most recent digital Big Indie Pitch
The mobile games industry has long been known for all of the unique and different independent games that can be found around every corner within the various app stores. From the likes of Florence to former Big Indie Pitch winners like What The Golf!?, we’ve seen many go from breakout hit to stardom. Nevertheless, with the potential next big thing hidden behind every corner, it can sometimes be somewhat hard to discover that next indie gem.
Well, this problem is exactly why we set up our regular international competition for indie developers, The Big Indie Pitch, around 8 years ago. From San Francisco to Hong Kong and everywhere in between, we currently run around 20 of these global events a year in order to showcase all the amazing new indie games in development. Of course, there are prizes and international recognition, but the reward is the chance to show all of you readers some of the latest games in development.
After two years, it's nearly time for us to return to hosting live pitches. However, our digital pitches aren't going anywhere. In fact, we have several planned for 2022, as our digital pitches have allowed us to place the spotlight on so many amazing games, all of which were covered right here on Pocket Gamer, so whilst we obviously can’t wait to get back on the road, we were understandably excited to continue highlighting the best indie games in development through our next digital Big Indie Pitch.
Much like with our previous digital pitches, the demand for our next digital pitches was as high as ever, with 12 of the most exciting developers battling it out for the crown. Nevertheless, three games rose to the top, with Portuguese developer Rikzu Game’ Leap: A Dragon's Adventure being crowned the winner.
Of course, Leap, as you already know, was the winner, but we always award prizes for the top three. So read on to not only find out more about Leap but also our runners-up from our January Digital Big Indie Pitch (Mobile Edition).
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1st Place - Leap: A Dragon's Adventure by Rikzu Games
In this relaxing adventure, players control a cute dragon as they travel across beautiful environments and discover everything that has to offer. Of course, it won't all be clear skies though, as there will be a variety of challenges and obstacles to overcome across a variety of diverse environments.
The game promises to maintain its relaxing vibe thanks to the adorable Dragon Leap, the beautiful and colourful environments, and a soothing soundtrack that features tracks inspired by the lands you are exploring.
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2nd Place - Minion Mash! by War Bear Games
Minion Mash! is a real-time squad-based strategy game that also features a sprinkling of rogue-lite elements. Within the game, players step into the shoes of an alchemist capable of commanding an army of elemental minions before powering head-first into a variety of dungeons in order to collect the treasures within.
Of course, these elemental minions can be used to defend yourself and take down the dangerous enemies within. However, they can also be used to manipulate the environment to your advantage, but they are also necessary to solve puzzles and collect rewards. Finally, with dungeons being selected randomly, alongside highly customisable loadout options, Minion Mash! promises to be a game that is both unique and tailored to each individual player.
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3rd Place - Museum Magnate by Three Dragons
Museum Magnate is a tycoon-style free-to-play game in which players must build, maintain, and then grow their very own museum. Whilst players have complete freedom to create any kind of museum they want, they must still successfully manage it and make sure it resonates with a general public clamouring for rare and interesting artefacts.
As such, within Museum Magnate players are also able to head out on minigame excavations in order to secure these rare artefacts. What's more, player's will also have to make sure they have a skilled and qualified team who can look after the museum whilst they are away discovering lost treasures.
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Mr. Traffic by Dumpling
Mr. Traffic is a brand new one-touch arcade game from former Big Indie Pitch winner Dumpling. Inspired by Chinese traffic conductors, in this game players must tap the cars in order to musically conduct the traffic and avoid car accidents. Of course, this might sound simple, but when the cars turn into Dinosaurs and Ghosts, and procedurally generated traffic events start to take place, the difficulty swiftly starts to increase.
Nevertheless, thanks to these crazy events alongside the fun and simple gameplay, Dumpling has ensured that not only is failure fun, but you'll be wanting to jump instantly back into the action. What's more, with leaderboards, achievements, the ability to tilt the device to explore and much more planned, there's more than enough to keep players conducting until their musical masterpiece is a reality.
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Run Prop, Run! by PlayTogether Studio
Run Prop, Run! is a multiplayer inspired by both the well-known children's game of hide and seek alongside the classic Prop Hunt mod in which players must disguise themselves as a background object in order to avoid being discovered by the hunter. As you can imagine, this allows for a massive amount of unpredictability and comedic escapades, something compounded by the fact that up to 13 players can play at the same time.
What's more, as each Prop gets caught, they themself become a hunter, meaning that there are increasingly fewer places for those remaining to hide. Nevertheless, PlayTogether has made sure that the game is evenly balanced. Not only does each Prop have the ability to transform into any object in the stage, but the game will also include a variety of gameplay mechanics in order to increase strategic play.
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Ploppy Pairs by Michael Temper
Inspired by the classic game of pairs, Ploppy Pairs is a game with children in mine, and as such is focused on simple gameplay with modern design choices. One such design choice includes the use of symbols instead of text, thus allowing the game to be enjoyed by people of all ages from across the whole world.
Aside from the gameplay though, Ploppy Pairs’ main feature is the SharePlay functionality, which gives players the opportunity to connect and play with friends and family at any time. With a variety of themes and cards, alongside the goal of adding to these over time, the developer hopes to make Ploppy pairs a long-lasting experience that children can safely enjoy whenever and wherever they desire.
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Kagenazo by Adam Guedhami
In this unique puzzle game, players must use all 360 degrees alongside a variety of viewpoints and perspectives in order to manipulate a 3D cube. This is done ultimately with the goal of filling the gaps, and in turn, creating the correct shadow shapes.
Developed with mobile developers in mind, NewGen has put a lot of thought into the control mechanics and the way the game is presented. What’s more, the game additionally includes not only solo gameplay but also multiplayer-focused challenge modes for those who have mastered the gameplay.
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Kevin Toms Football New Manager by Kevin Toms
Inspired by the original game from 40 years ago, Kevin Toms Football New Manager is a pick-up and play football management game that hopes to continue the trend of being fun and addictive. Ultimately invoking that “one more match” that any fan of sports games will know all too well.
Designed from the ground up for iOS and Android, with a blend of retro and modern design choices, Kevin Toms Football New Manager promises to be always easy to play, filled with fast progress, and completely customisable. What’s more, it was recently successfully funded on Kickstarter too.
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Soccer Chess by Cereal Games
Soccer Chess is exactly what it says on the tin. It’s a strategy filled tactical turn-based experience all centred on what if every move on a football pitch played out in the same manner as a game of Chess.
As with Chess, each player has a different set of skills and abilities for players to utilise, and strategy involves perfecting that blend of offence and defence. Of course, Soccer Chess isn’t just about the gameplay though, as there is a wealth of customisation and multiplayer matchmaking features.
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CoronaR0 by Kayo Games
As you might imagine from the title, CoronaR0 is a game set within a hospital and themed on the Covid pandemic. Of course, unlike the real pandemic, this game takes on more of a casual theme and embodies mechanics traditionally found within hospital management games, albeit with a focus on mobile sensibilities.
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Taelmoor by Delve Bros
Taelmoor is a cooperative narrative adventure game that blends a physical board game and pieces with a free scan-and-play mobile app. Once set up, players work together to explore dungeons, converse with the locals, and fight off enemies.
The mobile app works by allowing players to scan unique QR codes found on objects, in turn bringing the world of Taelmoor to life in front of everyone’s eyes.
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Fitment by Glossbird
Fitment is a fitness app crossed with a mobile game that allows for micro-workouts anytime, anywhere. Utilising a unique coaching system, alongside virtual fitbuddies and ways to connect with your friends, Fitment hopes to motivate players to move for a few minutes a day via snack-size workouts.
