IndieGame: The Games

Three games were mentioned in the movie IndieGame: Braid, Super Meat Boy, and Fez. Braid was only mentioned at the beginning, but appeared to be a typical fantasy/adventure. In the movie, Braid is the exemplary "successful indie game", selling just over 10,000 copies on the day of release. Super Meat Boy is the adventure of the titular protagonist, who attempts to save his girlfriend by traversing a maze full of dangers, mostly spinning saws. The twist: Meat Boy is 'not just a guy made of steaks...he has no skin'. (Quote from the game developers in the movie). As he climbs and jumps, Meat Boy leaves a trail of red particles that mark his progress; if he dies to a saw, that saw will remain red and "bloody" even after he respawns. The experience appears extremely painful, and is used as a motivation for Meat Boy to rescue his girlfriend, because she is made of bandages. The developers are quoted as saying 'she completes him, both metaphorically and literally'. I can see the intended purpose here, but I personally find the idea of a skinless protagonist disgusting.
Fez, on the other hand, is described as 'a stop-and-smell-the-roses kind of game...there's no boss fight...it's meant to be a relaxing gameplay' by its developer, speaking at a convention he attended despite a falling-out with one co-developer. The protagonist of Fez is a small white stick figure with a wide head, traversing what first appears to be the typical side-scroller environment...until he receives a cube-shaped fez and gains the power of three dimensions. With this power, Fez's protagonist can turn corners and access the other sides of the previously flat-looking towers (though the overall graphics still mostly show two dimensions). A big fan of relaxing gameplay, I much prefer Fez over Super Meat Boy (and probably also over Braid--not sure because of lack of footage and description).