We don't often post about Kickstarter stuff, but lately three separate vaguely related projects have caught my eye. Just for the sake of clarification, I'm not posting these to encourage anyone to contribute to the projects (unless you feel compelled to, of course) but rather, to raise awareness of awesome indie game stuff in the works that I think both iOS gamers and developers will appreciate. With that out of the way, behind door number one we've got Star Command:

We've had our eye on Star Command for quite a while now between our initial unveiling and the release of additional screenshots. In a nutshell, War Balloon Games is taking the casual simulation gameplay formula that Kairosoft has seen so much success with and applying in to a totally native iOS game… Instead of, err, a weird and obvious port of a mobile phone game. It sounds like it has some serious potential too, as the above trailer has succeeded in getting me totally excited for the game.

Door number two reveals Venus Patrol:

If you're not familiar with Offworld, you really should be. It's a video game site that focuses more on the whole "games as art" thing, covering various indie games, projects, and studios that often get passed over by the more "mainstream" gaming press. Initially ran by Brandon Boyer, Offworld really hit its stride under his command from 2008 to 2009. Since then he's gone on to become Chairman of the Independent Games Festival as well as one of the three founding members of Austin-based indie collective Juegos Rancheros.

Venus Patrol aims to pick up where Offworld left off in providing analysis of the creative culture of video games with the hopes of showing a "wider creative world" that there's so much more to video games. If you're into swag, the bonuses the Venus Patrol backers get are a indie swag hound's dream come true with contributions from:

• Wallpapers by Keita Takahashi, creator of Katamari Damacy
• Minecraft skins from Pendleton Ward, creator of Adventure Time
• Four exclusive games from Canabalt creator Adam Atomic, Vlambeer, Superbrothers, and Johann Sebastian Joust
• A unreleased Sword & Sworcery 7" vinyl EP composed by Scientific American
• Various other physical swag like 'zines, trading cards, embroidered patches, and more.

And last, but certainly not least, behind door number three is IndieCade 2011 Conference Videos:

I've heard so many good things about the IndieCade event, but like most people out there, I haven't been able to make it to one yet. IndieCade has been referred to as the "Sundance of videogames" and features talks, sessions, and workshops from some incredibly huge names in the indie game development scene. There's art exhibits, and tons of playable games, both upcoming, already released, and massive-scale real world games. If their KickStarter project gets off the ground, this year's entire event will be documented and viewable online so you can check out all the potentially inspirational and thought-provoking content found at the event from the comfort of your home.

For more crazy projects, head over to KickStarter yourself. There's absolutely no shortage of great ideas with tons of potential (and usually very entertaining videos to go along with them).

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