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Epic's ruination of Bandcamp may have disastrous effects on the indie music scene
Has Epic gutted one of indie artists' best assets?
The music industry isn't exactly kind to upcoming groups and artists; breaking into such a competitive market can be a challenge even for the incredibly talented. This also obstructs fan engagement in terms of monetary support; it's hard to network when nobody can find your address. Bandcamp is the indie music cave of wonders, an app with countless artists selling their work and merch directly to fans. It's a haven for independent music creators, who can post, share, and generally sell their content, with the site taking a 15% cut of each sale — pretty reasonable.
Android offers millions of apps, and while the Play Store makes it easy to find them if you know their name, yet discovery is still a pain point. This can result in plenty of the best Android apps never getting noticed simply because the market is flooded. Since we here at AP are immersed in everything Android every single day, we gathered some of the lesser-known apps to highlight standouts you may have otherwise missed on your favorite Android phone. So if you are sick of using the same old apps and are itching for something fresh or out of left field, then today's roundup of the best indie apps you've never heard of should cover your needs and then some.
Shuttle Music Player returns with a complete app rewrite and a snazzy new interface
For those of us who don't love streaming services
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Local audio players have become a bit of a niche app category, with streaming services taking over most of the market. But that's also an opportunity — many beautiful players have been created in recent years, like Phonograph, Plexamp, and more. One of the older apps on the market is Shuttle, first launched all the way back in 2012, and it's been getting a little long in the tooth. But following an extensive beta phase, its developer has now finally released the stable version of the follow-up — S2 Music Player.
Baba is You was one of the best games of 2019, but if you have yet to play it, it's finally coming to Android and iOS. A clever puzzle game where you win by changing the rules, it's a perfect fit for smartphones, and it's out on the Play Store right now.
Mind Leak shows you the stupid face you make when you doomscroll
Helping you snap out of it with the power of self-awareness
You're probably familiar with Digital Wellbeing and the likes from other manufacturers, but these tools are generally pretty restrictive. They set hard limits on how long you can use an app, and if you do happen to have to access an app that you've restricted, you'll have to jump into system settings first. For those who just need a nudge to be more mindful with their time, the newly released Mind Leak app might be the better tool. It monitors your app usage and shows you a lovely live view of your face or memes to remind you that you probably have better things to do than doomscrolling on Twitter or mindlessly swiping through TikTok.
Promising Google Keep alternative Bundled Notes is exiting beta
Coming with tons of UI tweaks and the first few translations
We first went hands-on with Bundled Notes back in May when it was still in beta, and in the meantime, a lot has changed. Developer Xavier Tobin launched a web app, added Kanban boards for project management, fixed tons of bugs, fine-tuned the UI, and made sure the experience feels rounded out. Today, the Indie app finally launches as version 1.0, complete with a new logo and the first few translations.
Hands-on with Taskito, a to-do app that does things a little differently
A supercharged alternative to the agenda view in Google Calendar
If you search the Play Store for to-do apps, there's an endless sea of results, and many offers have similar approaches to task management: Most apps essentially let you create a checklist of tasks. Often, they're sorted by time or priority, and many apps are capable of integrating with your calendar, but all in all, a lot of the services are similar. The relatively fresh 2019 indie app Taskito is going for a different approach that reminds me of a supercharged version of the agenda view in Google Calendar.
You may recall Game Dev Story, a mobile game where you had to create and manage your own game company. It is still popular, but it has largely stayed unchanged since it arrived on the Play Store in 2010. Game Dev Tycoon is a similar title, first released in 2012 for the PC and published on Steam in 2013. Greenheart Games, the studio behind the game, has announced that an Android version is coming in January 2018.
Back in August, RunGunJumpGun arrived on Steam for Windows and Mac. The game is an incredibly difficult platformer with a "gravity-defying weapon," which you use to both shoot and fly. You have to fire the weapon downwards to propel upwards, while occasionally firing the weapon forward to blast through walls and other obstructions.
Welcome to the latest entry in our Bonus Round series, wherein we tell you all about the new Android games of the day that we couldn't get to during our regular news rounds. Consider this a quick update for the dedicated gamers who can't wait for our bi-weekly roundups, and don't want to wade through a whole day's worth of news just to get their pixelated fix. Today we've got a unique head-smashing platformer, another Kairosoft management sim, a classic WWI dogfighter, a minimal lane-based strategy game, an interesting text-based interrogation title, a game where you eat people and smash paintings, and an anime-inspired badminton game. Without further ado:
Welcome to the latest entry in our Bonus Round series, wherein we tell you all about the new Android games of the day that we couldn't get to during our regular news rounds. Consider this a quick update for the dedicated gamers who can't wait for our bi-weekly roundups, and don't want to wade through a whole day's worth of news just to get their pixelated fix. Today we've got an interestingly ancient racing game, a tug-of-war tower defense title, and a game that I wouldn't play in front of my grandma. Without further ado:
Oh, not another physics puzzler. What is it this time? Bridge building? Water? Birds?! It's more upset birds, isn't it? No, this is something... different. Incredipede is a game with a simple premise – get the fruit and get to the exit. The way you get there is bizarre and interesting, and sometimes strangely beautiful. In each stage, the Incredipede transforms itself into a new organism to cope with the challenges presented by the level. You just need to figure out how it works.
Hero of Many is a side-scrolling game featuring that silhouette style that so many indie games love these days. You play as a glowing nucleus of energy, leading a "swarm of water beings" around, fighting bad, black water thingies. They are definitely not sperm cells.
Going Indie: The Story Of Independent Android Game Development From Concept To Completion
One of the great things about Android's ecosystem is the number of indie developers who are able to enter the market successfully, providing a great product
One of the great things about Android's ecosystem is the number of indie developers who are able to enter the market successfully, providing a great product and inspiring would-be developers to join in. For many though, Android development in general is a mysterious topic. How an app or game goes from an idea to an entry in the Play Store is unknown, but (thankfully) not unknowable.