Our modern world is constantly driven by innovation and invention, and it’s exciting to see that such a practice isn’t just restricted to industry research. Here are three indie titles that feature new control methods for play, as proof that creativity is still alive and kicking in this overly-saturated world of games.

Audiosurf by Dylan Fitterer
Audiosurf is the winner of the Audio Excellence awards at the 11^th annual Independent Games Festival. The general idea is that the game will take any song in your MP3 collection (which you downloaded 100% legally from iTunes, of course), and transform the music levels into a roller-coaster looking ride which changes and adapts to your musical mood and beat. The idea is cool and the implementation better. If you’re not addicted in the first 30 seconds, it is because you have no soul. Sorry, someone had to tell you.

If for no other reason than to have an excuse to kick back, drink a beer and wander through your music collection, this game is a great deal. And in true indie style, it’s only $10. Come on, you spend more than that on a couple of frappucinos at Starbucks. You can’t even pick up a used CD for that anymore, or buy enough gas to get you from Seattle to Portland. Seriously, it’s ten bucks. Drop the dime and play the game.

The Wonderful End of the World by Dejobaan Games
“You can’t save the whole world. It’s going to be eaten by a mythological demon with the head of a fish. But as a puppet that absorbs all it touches, you can try to rescue as much of Earth’s greatness as you can before the end arrives.”

That’s not a game intro, that’s just poetry. The game, as you have probably guessed, is a blatant Katamari Damacy rip, but that’s okay. Some games were made to be ripped off, and that one hasn’t been ripped nearly enough just yet. Certainly not on PC. The controls are strong, the graphics are pretty good, and at the end of the day, it’s a great mechanic with a beautiful, surreal tone about it.

But don’t let me keep talking, let’s let the developers say it for themselves: “Steal some sweets from the candy store, where gummi fish swim in a blueberry river; visit a surrealist library to find that the words have literally leapt out of their books; and explore the Megalopolis, where you’ll watch a lively end-of-the-world parade and then gobble it up before making your way to grab the tallest skyscraper ever built.”

You had me at “gummi fish in a blueberry river”, Dejobaan. You had me at gummi fish.

StarDrone by Orb Games
You are going to hate the first 30 seconds of the play, which, sadly, is death to a casual game. However, we strongly encourage you to persevere past that. Finish the first level, and you’ll start to see the beauty of one of the most interesting movement mechanics ever created. Essentially, you whip yourself around a number of objects in space, by attaching a force field to them, and spinning yourself around them. While doing this, you have to avoid the bad things and collect the good things.

That’s the whole game, but that’s more than enough to power dozens of interesting levels. The sound is solid, the graphics are fun, and the gameplay is completely addictive. The longer you play, the longer you will want to play. No, scratch that, the longer you will NEED to play. If you can make it past level 5 and then put it down willingly, you’ve got more willpower than we do. By a long shot. Seriously, go try and see if we lie.