One of the most astonishingly innovative games of the last year is also one of the most unassuming. Anthony Burch sings the praises of Derek Yu's Spelunky.

As indie gaming has exploded in growth over the past few years, so too have the identity defining questions confronting this nascent movement. Have indie developers exploited a clever hole in the market? Or are they artists dedicated to the ethos of indie through thick and thin?

Greg Costikyan famously called for a revolution in the game industry at the 2005 Game Developers Conference. But when he tried to lead the charge with his own online games portal, he quickly found himself on the sidelines. Jared Newman investigates the closure of Manifesto Games.

In the battle for the time and attention of the gaming public, the odds are pretty stacked against the little guys. But indie developers may have a crucial advantage over the majors: the ability to explore new gameplay ideas in a matter of hours, not months. Jordan Deam speaks with the Experimental Gameplay Project's Kyle Gabler and Kyle Gray about the benefits of rapid prototyping.