Tiny Diggers – An iPad Construction Truck Game for Kids Age 2-5

So we’ve got Microsoft’s new XNA Community Games channel or whatever coming to Xbox Live sometime, and we’ve got Sony’s FyreEngine software kit allegedly allowing PC and PS3 development someday, and we’ve even got a new PC Gaming Alliance lacking probably the most important white knight in PC gaming today, Valve. All of these things are pretty much meaningless when you see something like Fez in action. It’s a PC game that starts out looking like a fun 2d platformer fan service with a cheerful, chirpy 8-bit-style soundtrack and then, not long into the video, turns into something that made me gape and smile at the same time.

It’s creativity like this that walled garden gaming services can only gaze longingly at and later try to sign up. We saw it with Jonathan Mak’s Everday Shooter and flOw on the PSN, and maybe one of the big three will sign up Fez for their download services. Innovation like this has been seen at retail to be sure — just try out Crush on the PSP for a similar puzzler flavor. And maybe XNA Community games will produce something like this but if Jelly Car is any indication, it’s gonna be a while.

Video from GameVideos.