Looking for something atypical and thoughtful to play this weekend? If you've got twenty minutes or so to spare, I highly recommend checking out the latest free offering from Cardboard Computer, called Ruins (shown above). Developer Jake Elliott (A House in California) describes the project as something he developed over the past year when he needed a breather from working on other projects like the upcoming Kentucky Route Zero.

According to Elliott, Ruins is about "a dog chasing rabbits through a shadowy, dreamlike landscape." While that statement is true, it doesn't necessarily prepare players for the subtle, emotional complexity packed into the relatively brief text and music-driven experience. Discussing the specifics of the game--which is sort of a non-linear adventure--is tough to do without driving through Spoilerville, so I'll refrain. Let's just say that it's an experience I'm still thinking about, days later.

You can download free PC and Mac versions of the game from the Cardboard Computer website, and check out my full review on Indie Games Channel (linked below).

IndieCade also recently announced the thirty-six finalist games that are in contention for awards at next month's festival in Culver City, California. We rounded up the available trailers for those games, viewable in three installments on Indie Games Channel.

• IndieCade 2011 Finalists: The Trailers - Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3

• Review: Ruins by Cardboard Computer

Older gamers may remember an action-strategy title called Herzog Zwei, developed by Technosoft in 1990 for the Sega Genesis. Indie developer Carbon Games is making a fantastic-looking game called AirMech that seems to be an incredibly faithful, updated homage. Carbon had it playable at PAX 2011, and some gameplay trailers revealing over twenty-five minutes of footage, in-total. The gameplay trailers aren't official, but should give you a good idea about how it's coming along so far. On a side note, Carbon Games is comprised of many ex-core members of Titan Studios (Fat Princess).

AirMech alpha gameplay trailer - Part 1

AirMech alpha gameplay trailer - Part 2