Sheep

Today's favorite of the Gamasutra weekly indie game pick is Sheep, a game where you are a sheepdog herding sheep! Well, sort of.

See, in this situation, the sheep chase the dog instead of the other way around.

Regardless, I found it had a few nice little twists on game mechanics that I'm used to. For example, the rams will hurt you if they touch you, so you have to keep away from them. But you are still leading them, so you can't let any of them die by falling into water or getting caught by the wolf.

I don't think I'd ever played a game before where you have to preserve and keep safe the thing that is chasing and trying to hurt you. I'd like to explore that idea further!

There are a few quirky things about the game, such as the difficulty ramping being a little sporadic (I found the hardest levels to be sprinkled throughout, rather than each level being more difficult than the last). Regardless, I found the interaction to be fresh and fun, and the music was nice in all of its midi-ness.

It's very short, so give it a try!