Comments on: 3 Indie Games That Aren’t All That Indie

By: roop sharma

roop sharma — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 07:20:31 +0000

Saltmarch Media is organizing India Game Developer Summit Event in Bangalore. This Summit will be a boost for the Game Developing Industries. It covers the topics like Online Gaming, Gaming Business, Gaming Career, Making Money in Gaming, Audio in Gaming, Mobile Gaming and Adobe Flash Platform and has 1 day workshop at the end as well. Any one attending this event?

By: Snirkel

Snirkel — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 14:43:48 +0000

Just wanted to add a lil bit on Geoff’s edit. If you feel offended by an article, take a deep breath, then go out for a walk and have a think on what the article is talking about. Then post a comment.

I don’t necessarily agree to all that Geoff is saying here, but it sure raises some questions on indie being in the state of development, in publishing or if it is just a feel to the game, much like the industry of todays “indie” pop music, distributed with an image by sublabels to major corporations.

By: Barts

Barts — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 13:00:40 +0000

I just wanted to say that I agree wholeheartedly with the opinion presented in the above article. I was asking myself the very same question – how can we call a 200K USD game with a major marketing behind it Indie? I know Indie comes from “independent”, but still.

Same for Castle Crashers, it’s not exactly something done by a bunch of guys scraping time between regular day work and family duties.

As much as I think these are delightful games, I wouldn’t exactly qualify them as Indie.

By: marcelo

marcelo — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 19:12:57 +0000

guys, dont be dumb

indie = not supported by a big company/studio

it is just like in the movies. many “independent” movies go to sundance, and are not supported by the big traditional studios like MGM etc, but that doesnt mean there is not big money supporting them.

that is it.

By: MartinNieves

MartinNieves — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 13:06:19 +0000

Geoff, you’re everything that is abhorrent in the indie scene. You’re looking at it at a very narrow, not to mention, a business perspective instead of the honest intent of the devs to just make a game they want.

My definition of a true indie game is with their no non-sense, I’ll do whatever the f*ck I want attitude in realizing their creative vision, regardless of monetary assistance. You cannot get more genuine or INDIE than that.

By: Kaworu Nagisa

Kaworu Nagisa — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 06:00:40 +0000

It’s 5:50 in the morning but I got to say I really enjoyed your article, Geoff. It is one of these interesting subjects that should not divide people but rather encourage them to gain another perspective, another point of view. Indie aesthetics, indie development, indie publishing, they all make sense on their own.
Personally I really like your division, it makes me appreciate “indie games” as something from A to Z done by the makers, with all of their sweat and love. But it doesn’t stop me at telling major gamers “hey, it’s Braid and it’s a great example of how good indie games can be”. So I believe it can work together and co-exist quite peacefully
And last but not least, what I found most precious, the article made me rise a question to myself. If I would ever release a game such good/popular/known/etc. as Braid, for instance, would I agree to Microsoft become my publisher (which at this very point I perceive as taking a short cut, choosing an easier way) or would I decide to do it entirely by myself. And it makes my day so thanks for that *thumbsup*.

By: Mitch Kennedy

Mitch Kennedy — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 22:17:20 +0000

Whoa wait, these games are still independently produced. It is within the independently-funded environment where creative decisions can be made without the third-party financial contributors dictating the development.

By: Ntero

Ntero — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 21:51:30 +0000

Another note:

Before getting Microsoft as your publisher, you need to hit at least something close to Alpha. You need something to show off, and proof you can get it onto the Xbox 360 Hardware, which until then you are not allowed to see how, or recieve devkits. For an initial game, this means you have no devkits, and no support.

By the time Microsoft is accepted as a publisher (or even the request is made), the game is in such a complete state, it’s release is inevitable. The only question that remains how exactly it will be released.

By: Ntero

Ntero — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 21:47:37 +0000

It should be important to note, that for every single XBLA title, if you do not have an existing publisher, Microsoft becomes your publisher. This is done before the certification process, but after the initial approval of your game to be on XBLA.

They do not provide even remotely close to the same benefits of a standard publisher, and that critique of these games seems to be ignoring this fact.

By: Brad

Brad — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 20:13:49 +0000

It seems wrong to measure “indie-ness” only in so few ways. The thing everybody seems to be missing is the impetus for these games. Almost every indie game developer are making games for the sake of the game itself.

Braid is a fantastic example of this. Braid is so unique in every way, it’s obvious Jon Blow made it to fit his tastes and his vision. Only later did he attempt to generate revenue from it. The economics of Braid are very secondary to the ideas that Blow wanted to express with the game.

Castle Crashers/Alien Hominid are modeled after older styles of gameplay because the Bohemoth guys loved those older games, Capcom beat-em-ups and Metal Slug sidescrollers, respectively. These games wouldn’t be as popular or successful as they are now if Bohemoth didn’t fully grok these styles and, I dare say, love them.

I’m toeing the line of calling these games art because of the sheer amount of personal style that indie games tend to have. Indie games are almost inextricably connected to one or a few autuers that aren’t simply directors or designers, but graphical artists and coders as well.

The whole reason I follow the scene is because of the uniqueness of the community’s output, and the personalities tied to it. When one of these games get published it is a joyous thing, because the devs are being rewarded for doing something they love, instead of chasing dollars.