We stopped by the IndieCade at E3 2012 to see what’s new in the world of independent games and stumbled across this soon-to-be gem: Prom Week. This teenage angst, mildly ironic version of The Sims is being developed by the University of California at Santa Cruz, giving you the keys to the kingdom when it comes to improving (or ruining) the week leading up to… the Senior Prom.

Released in February for Facebook, Prom Week certainly satisfies any craving you might have for vicariously rewriting your high school experience. The simple point-and-click interface puts the dialogue at the center, giving you dozens of ways to play God with their fragile young lives. We certainly enjoyed our playthrough, manipulating the friendships, romances, and general self-esteem of a handful of seventeen-year-old prom-goers. But don’t expect this game to replace your Angry Birds addiction unless you’re generally predisposed to sim-type games.

We couldn’t really tell at times whether the game was taking itself seriously or being intentionally silly and, we suspect, most of enjoyment came out of a mix of the two. To get a sense of exactly what we experienced, check out our hands-on in the video below. Or just go try it out for yourself for free on Facebook.

Video Review