Escape Goat creator Ian Stocker talks development, troubles with XBLA and the importance of IndieGameStand

Indie developers are awesome and everyday more and more release creative games that might go completely unnoticed to the general public. Escape Goat, for many, is one of these games. Creator of the absurdly titled but nonetheless awesome puzzle-platformer,Ian Stocker, sits down with us to discuss the origins of his game, what the future holds and why indie games like his can thrive from IndieGameStand.

Ian Stocker interview

There's a lot to love about a game that commits to a story behind why a double-jumping, puzzle-solving, mouse-loving goat is trapped within an infernal prison. Besides the premise, the controls are tight, the music is awesome and the price, at least for now, is whatever you feel its worth. Alright, puzzle-platforming and retro visuals aren't exactly the most original when it comes to indie development, but the way Ian goes about crafting the game is what makes it truly stand out.

Escape Goat showcase with commentary from Ian Stocker

Created from inside jokes and his own personal game-jam, after Soul Caster II, Ian began inadvertently creating his own physics engine. As time stretched on, he knew he had something special and creative in the making. Admittedly, Ian states in the interview that the name, Escape Goat sprang up due to him hearing the word scapegoat as escape goat and giving in to the hilarity, made a game about it. That though, is the perfect example of the creative mentality of contemporary indie developers.

While Escape Goat alone is worth your time to check out, it's more importantly involved in spear-heading an initiative from the brand new website IndieGameStand. As the launch game, every single indie title featured on IndieGameStand is 'pay what you want' and that's never going to change. This website gives games like Escape Goat a chance to gain more exposure at the cost of what gamers feel its worth, making it a low-risk, high-reward scenario.

Turns out that goats don't like electricity.

So what are you waiting for? You can even head over to his website to try the game in your browser and hell, while you're at it, vote for it on Steam Greenlight. Oh and just sayin', if he gets to 9,000 sold we all get that red goat he was talking about in the interview. Make it happen people.
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