Last Thursday, indie publishing powerhouse Devolver Digital held a special launch event at ACMI, Federation Square in Melbourne, hosted by New Game Plus TV, showcasing some of their latest line-up of independent titles. There was an impressive turnout to support these smaller games, as attendees were treated to a live Skype conference with some of the key developers, which revealed some of the challenges and rewards of working in the indie community, before an extensive hands-on session.

Twin-stick shooter/roguelike/gun-a-thon Enter the Gungeon recently launched and Dave Crooks, the game’s designer, was on hand to both discuss the reaction so far and the original inception of the game. As developers working at EA, the team left to pursue their own ideas rather than merely contributing to another design. Once the development studio Dodgeroll was formed, the task they set themselves was simple – create a game concept that literally anything could be put into.

With six team members, the idea snowballed into ‘the craziest game they could make’, eventuating in Enter the Gungeon. A focus on boss encounters, as compared to other roguelike games, also emerged as Dave was a huge fan of Metal Gear Solid‘s emphasis on unique boss battles. And, as players who have already experienced Enter the Gungeon will know, there are also many, many puns – the result of a concerted commitment to ease in as many as humanly possible.

From Coffee Powered Machine, Roque Rey Ordoñez was also part of the live Q&A to discuss their game Okhlos, scheduled for release in June. A roguelike game set in Ancient Greece with a focus on massive mobs, it’s certainly a unique title to see in action. The project is the company’s fifth title, and came about basically as an excuse to create a game with a lot of characters. Ancient Greek mythology seemed to be the perfect well to draw from, with almost no carved stone left unturned in their search for content for Okhlos.

“We have so many things to grab from the setting,” said Roque, “But we left nothing out of the game. We have 130 heroes at the moment, but we keep adding content. We don’t have a filter!”

Both Okhlos and Enter the Gungeon were playable at the ACMI’s bar after the Q&A, along with another title, Omnibus which has to be seen to be believed. Best described as Katamari‘s visual style meets Speed, the trailer alone is worth a watch.

While Okhlos has yet to be officially released, already Roque was able to discuss what he feels most proud of in the game – the mobs themselves, and the fact that every time you play they feel very different.

On feedback from Enter the Gungeon‘s launch, Dave said the most common complaint was that, “the game is too hard. Which makes us laugh!”

The insight provided into game development was met with great interest by aspiring developers in attendance, while independant game fans were delighted with the chance to try the games for themselves. Devolver Digital has a full slate of upcoming games this year, and Omnibus, Enter the Gungeon and Okhlos are all titles to watch.