Get up, get up you sleepy head, it's time, it's time to get out of bed! Why? Well, not because of any stupid responsibilities if that's what you're thinking! The weekend is almost upon us, and today also marks a very big milestone for one success story! We take a look at some upcoming indie titles, including a pair of fan-made games from two very different sources that have the potential to make a lot of gamers very, very happy.

• Daps - It's not just fun to say aloud, this little point-and-click adventure is fun to play, too! Centering around a trio of little furry critters who want nothing more than to track down the ingredients to make their favourite dish, it has a few issues with loading times and obscure solutions, but packs more than enough charm and character to keep you hooked. We're eagerly awaiting the next installment!
• Bloom Defender - Juicy Beast's simplified take on the tower defense genre proves as addictive as it is adorable! Plant trees with different powers from plucked blooms and unleash magic to help protect the mother tree from the incoming waves of corrupted spirits. With gorgeous style and easy to grasp gameplay, it's a cinch to see why this charming game won so many readers over so quickly.
• 3 Slices - Who would have thought that such a simple physics puzzle concept could prove so challenging? As the title states, you've only got three slices to attempt to hack off the target percentage of the red shape on the screen, but things quickly get tricky as you're forced to work around or within the confines of places that make you have to carefully plan ahead. The presentation is plain, but the execution is plainly elegant and fun!

Preview Alert! Earthbound is a series of remarkably quirky but also surprisingly deep JRPGs that gained most of its audience in North America with the release of the sequel in 1995 for SNES. The series' rabid fanbase has spawned a whole lot of unofficial spinoffs, including a patch that translates the third installment to English, but few offerings are regarded with as much apprehension and hope as this upcoming unofficial installment. Making the jump from several popular game making software programs to its current development in C++, the title has been in development since 2008. It'll follow a boy named Travis who gets wrapped up in global danger when people everywhere start getting abducted by masked men and hostility breaks out everywhere. You can check out the official synopsis over at the site, as well as a batch of screenshots and a handy FAQ that may answer some of the questions you probably have. No word yet on release date, but news keeps coming down the pipe, so keep your eyes peeled! Boing!

Preview Alert! If you loved the Ace Attorney games and have a soft-spot for ponies in your heart, then you might want to keep an eye squarely planted on this upcoming adventure game from Gabu, featuring everyone's favourite rebooted cartoon horsies and follows bookish unicorn Twilight Sparkle as she solves various cases around Ponyville, Phoenix-Wright style. You'll get to explore the town, track down clues, talk to all your favourite ponies, and even partner up with some of them to get help in your investigations! There's no official site currently, but there is a very extensive and updated developer blog stuffed full of everything from multiple video demos to the nitty-gritty technical stuff. (It should be noted the music and the pixel graphics are just placeholders.) What's already been revealed looks great and remarkably well done, so if you want to find out more and offer support or cupcakes, head on over!

Preview Alert! Remember 2010's visual novel simulation The Flower Shop? Well, if you are of a lady-type persuasion, or just a fan of visual novels in general, you'll be happy to hear that a spin-off featuring a female protagonist called Winter in Fairbrook is drawing very near on the horizon! It follows a girl named Natalie who winds up working at a flower shop in the town of Fairbrook on her winter break, and maybe experiences a little personal growth and romance as a result. The game will be released by the fine folks over at Winter Wolves, so keep your eyes peeled! In the meantime, you can check out the updates from Sake Visual over at their blog including a lot more details, screenshots, and gameplay videos! Who's excited? I'm excited!

Released! After years in development and a growing fanbase that has made it one of the biggest successes in indie gaming history, Minecraft 1.0 will be available today! The sandbox game that became a phenomenon even has its own convention happening right now in Las Vegas, but even if you can't be there to celebrate, fans everywhere are doing their happy dances at the computer. This does mean, of course, that if you haven't already picked it up, you'll have to pay full price now that the game is available in full, but don't let that deter you. Team Mojang has stated that they intend to keep creating and releasing content for the game as long as there's interest. With an enormous community and tons of resources online, it looks like Minecraft's future is bright! Congratulations, Mojang! You did it! (And we can't wait to see Scrolls!)

Psssst! Confused? This is our new Link Dump Friday format! For an explanation, read this if you missed it!