Squeezing in a tiny corner in the vast expanse of the LA Convention Center’s South Hall, obscured by titans such as EA and Microsoft, was an area reserved for independent games, called IndieCade. These plucky Davids are the antitheses to the Goliaths backed by multinational corporations such as Sony and Nintendo. I always make time during E3 to check out their games. I feel, as I do with motion picture studios, that where the majors often get stuck in a rut, making derivative sequels and regurgitating stale ideas, the independents are often where you find the most cutting-edge creativity, bold concepts unsquelched by corporate groupthink.

Every year, one or two of these games stand out amongst them as potentially groundbreaking. Last year it was Miegakure and Hazard: The Journey of Life, two games I feel are still ahead of their time. This year, the game that really caught my eye was called Q.U.B. E.: Quick Understanding of Block Extrusion.

The game plays like a spiritual successor to Valve’s Portal: the player wakes up in a sterile non-descript room made of cubes. He’s armed with gloves that, when triggered by left or right mouse button, can make certain cubes either rise or fall, extrude or depress. On top of that, blocks can have different properties, some make you bounce, others trigger walls to shift or moving objects to change direction. The player must manipulate these blocks to move from one level to the next. Mechanics are simple to master, and gameplay is quite addictive.

I’d love to see the development on this game continue, and eventually get distributed, if only for the selfish reason that I want to play it myself.

Check out the gameplay trailer below: