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I just wanted to let everyone on here know about the work of Jonas Kyratzes, an indie game developer who I admire very much and who's made some very intriguing little gems:

http://www.jonas-kyratzes.net/

He's currently working on a game called The Book of Living Magic which will be an adventure game. To accompany the development process, he's making a series of Making Of videos which chart not only the progress of the game but also his thoughts and experiences on being an independent game developer. The first two videos are now up.

My favourite game of his is The Infinite Ocean, a myst-like game where you explore an abandoned engineering facility, learning about an Artificial Intelligence that was constructed there. There's a lot of text but it's all incredibly thought-provoking.

Also worth looking out for are Phenomenon 32, an atmospheric platformer where you explore the remains of a bizarrely warped earth and slowly help what's left of humankind work out what happened to their planet, and You Shall Know the Truth, a political game where Jonas puts forward his own views on the Wikileaks scandal in game form. It's very effective and is an example of game activism, a compelling idea which I've not seen very much of.

He's also worth looking at simply from a game design standpoint. Part of being an indie is figuring out what will work and what won't given your resources. Jonas has been able to make incredibly effective and thought-provoking games with minimal resources. The Infinite Ocean creates its atmosphere solely with its stark (but simplistic) visuals and the text you find on monitors; the opening of Phenomenon 32 is comprised only of a photo of the earth and a series of sounds, some newly recorded and some (I believe) taken from the public domain - but the effect is utterly chilling. He is a master of how to do a lot with a little.

Anyway, I just thought I'd point him out to you. What prompted me to let you all know about him is that he's currently not doing so well financially, but I don't want you to think that this is a begging post or spam. I've been around these forums for a while so you know I'm not a bot, troll or habitual spammer. If you want to donate to him, fine - I applaud you and encourage you to give generously. But if you just want to check out his games and look at the videos (they're only 10 minutes each and you get a really intimate sense of what he's like) then that's fine too. I just wanted to spread the word about somebody who I believe should be much more well known than he is.

Wow I had forgotten about this guy. I remember playing Last Rose in a Desert Garden when it first came out. I remember bookmarking the site but soon forgetting about it.

Yes, Last Rose in a Desert Garden is worth a look. I think he's come a long way since then, though. The Infinite Ocean feels to me like a deeper version of Last Rose.