Crikey indeed.

The inaugural year of the Fantastic Arcade arm of the rapidly growing film fest is looking good. The number of notable indie developers in attendance is pretty astounding. Get a taste of what’s offered by playing Garden Gnome Carnage, but, trust me, that’s just a drop in the bucket. The bucket of awesome gameness.

There’s a gnome, a building, and a bungee cord connecting the two. What do you control? The building. (It’s on wheels, of course.) That’s not the only WTF element to the game, throw exploding bricks and yourself at Santa’s minions in an effort to delay X-mas while cats and princesses aid your mission. The effect is a mixture of humor, sensory overload, violence, and quick-play fun, which makes it a perfect pairing for the Fantastic Fest. You can get a day pass to the Fantastic Arcade for $10 and play this and scads of other games on the cutting edge of design and play.

Click here to play Garden Gnome Carnage.

This article appears in September 17 • 2010.

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

SUPPORT US

James graduated from Columbia University in 2000 and moved to Austin a year later. Ever since, he has followed the arts and video game scene in ATX, editing and writing stories for the Chronicle along the way. Over his more than 20 years with the paper he has climbed the "corporate" ladder from lowly intern to managing editor.