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The World of Indie Games

bit-tech.net — Bit-tech.net break down the world of indie games. What are the best indie games, where is the genre going and what exactly defines an indie game? By pointing to some of the best and most successful indie games in every genre, we can see how indie developers are shaping the future of the industry and changing games on both PC and console.

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cardjoe 1 year 56 days ago, made popular 1 year 55 days ago

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caddyalan, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4My question: is it plausible that a person or a small business could profit from independent games? I don't know how much demand there is. Perhaps a really appealing or accessible game might make money if it were just available for PCs. However, I suspect that a lot of games have to exist on cellphones or consoles in order to succeed.
- navitatl, on 10/10/2007, -4/+9As a hobby, it has great potential for bringing in some extra cash (I've made substantial advertising revenue on my game at www.engrishproductions.com - forgive the plug)
  But if you treat it as a 40-hour work week, you probably won't make enough to live on.
  - MeneerR, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3No reason to digg this guy down for making a plug for his own games. It's in a relevant post, and he is also answering the commenter's question.
- toxictonic, on 10/10/2007, -2/+0Welcome to indiegamer.com
- grumbel, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1If you are really good, then yes. For some hard numbers have a look at:
  http://www.gameproducer.net/2006/09/28/11316053-indie-game-sales/
- thatgirlismine, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Introversion (http://introversion.co.uk) is a good example of a full-time indie house. And then there's the two guys running Pom-Pom, which has been working with Microsoft since XBox Live debuted (http://www.pompomgames.com/). Many indie developers are getting chances to bring their work to the consoles as the mainstream embraces indie developed games and console-makers rush to sell the budget titles through their online content delivery systems.
  
  Other examples are Freeverse and the guys at Strange Flavour, Ambrosia Software....
  - moiremusic, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Another good example... Three Rings, makers of casual/MMO Puzzle Pirates and Bang Howdy. I can't find the numbers, but at one point Puzzle Pirates, which is self-published, had 1.5 million active users. And that's a subscription-based membership. I would presume there was a profit.
    
    But really, while not as successful as this, there are a lot of profitable indie developers out there.
Kier, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7Since when has one of Sega's former studios (United Game Artists, makers of Rez) been an independent game maker? Tetsuya Mizuguchi, the genius behind Rez, Space Channel 5 and more recently, Lumines, is now working with Q Entertainment, one of the best (independent) developers in the world, but that doesn't make his former work with Sega independent.
Pericle, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Defcon is an indi game, excelent! By Introversion Software.
str3ama, on 10/10/2007, -5/+6Would you consider Beyond Good & Evil an indie game? I mean it did have a big budget since it was from Ubisoft, but the game was almost completely ignored by mainstream gaming media. I'm playing the game now and I'm just really surprised that I hadn't heard of it before, and that it's not on one of those "must play" games lists.

The entire game is set in a half-life 2 like dystopian future where a small planet is continuously lied to and fed propaganda about these weird creatures that keep attacking the planet. The main character tries to figure out what's going on with the help of some stealth and camera. What amazes me is that the game has a really great atmosphere, which is something generally you find in many indie games (and something most major games lack, don't get me wrong there are many games that do this, but very few can make it believable).
- pathy, on 10/10/2007, -2/+4Beyond Good and Evil is such a ***** great game. I wish Ubisoft would continue the stort onwards - it was supposed to be a trilogy IIRC.
  
  I hope they do, y'know, before EA take them over and utterly destroy them.
  - str3ama, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1trilogy? really..I *spoiler* 'm on the last boss now, it's too freaking hard. The funny part about it is the game never seems to end, I thought it would be over once I sent the signal over the satellite but nope the game continues. Then I realize you have to defeat the General, and that boss fight was pretty fun although very easy..but again the game still isn't over. So I get to that last boss and it's just insane.
- TimoP, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3Of course it isn't an indie game. You don't seem to understand what the term means. And it wasn't ignored by the mainstream gaming media, but by gamers.
kelchm, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Rez was a great game.
ZombieKiss, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3List is incomplete without Mount & Blade.
- iluvgossip, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Hey Zombie, I was about to say the same thing!! For people who haven't had a chance to taste the greatness that is M&B here is a game play trailer (only 60 seconds) at http://youtube.com/watch?v=qWw4-JQOD88 and people can go download the free demo at http://www.taleworlds.com.
  
  The game is still in "Beta" but is incredibly playable. It is put together by a husband and wife team and the combat, which as you might imagine oftens involves horses, is top notch. There is a huge -- HUGE -- modder community with a wild assortment of mods including everything from a LOTR adaption, Star Wars version, Japanese feudalism, Pirates, post-apocalyptic fighting mutants (Bitter Earth) and more. If you buy it in the Beta stage you get a discounted price which is about to go up as a new update is due to drop any day.
  
  No, I don't work for Taleworlds, I'm just a huge fan. Give it a shot and there is a good chance you will be too!
- iluvgossip, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Why are you haters digging down fans sharing their love of an indie game on a thread about indie games? If you don't believe us here is an independent review:
  http://www.gamealmighty.com/story-individual/story/Indie_Spotlight_MountBlade/
  "Some would argue that Oblivion is the best RPG to emerge on any platform over the past few years. Some would site its sheer scope and hundreds of hours of gameplay as the paramount reason while another group may single out its impressive graphical prowess. While I found Oblivion enjoyable, I ultimately didn’t come away feeling as if I had played anything new. It was the same old RPG I’ve seen before, just more of it. No real innovation. So now you’re sitting there with that incredulous look on your face, wondering just what in the hell could be better than Oblivion? It’s called Mount&Blade."
  
  Check out the screenshots or download the free demo and then try to be a hater.
Error601, on 10/10/2007, -3/+2Yea, but will I be able to type them in from a magazine again?
poisonborz, on 10/10/2007, -1/+6Just something about Valve's Portal - it was inspired by something far, far more older.

Look at this Prey techdemo, from 1997 (ten years ago), it ran on a 200mhz pentium.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eR1U7RvxLTI

Around 4:00 - yup, exact Portal gameplay (and dynamic shadows also included, woo)
- DarkAoi, on 10/10/2007, -4/+0(bury)
DarkAoi, on 10/10/2007, -1/+0Not "independent", but made by only 2 guys:
http://www.wind-water.net

video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SHSeopqetQ&eurl=
- jonlee, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0That still constitutes independent. Independent in this sense refers to having no corporate backing or support but rather an _independent_ team of programmers and designers.
  - DarkAoi, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0True, true. However "indy gaming" may apply to other kind of games.
    Anyway, related to the article, it does apply for indy gaming.
crossmr, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3You can't talk about independent games without talking about spiderweb software. His exile and geneforge games are pretty much the poster child for independent (and shareware) games.
Wulfo, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2A good guide to indie games, with a list of 50 good ones http://www.tigsource.com/features/spirit.html

Cave Story is at the top of the list and rightfully so, because it's one of the most impressive indie games out there. Personally, I find the best indie game in history to be N: http://www.harveycartel.org/metanet/n.html - Deceptively complex, unbelievably addictive, extremely frustrating (but in a good, fair way).
peterinjapan, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I happen to be the publisher of those PC "dating-sim" games you may have seen (JAST USA, J-List), and I've always considered myself an indy developer, as in, can't get my product into any major stores. It's a challenge, finding ways to meet fans directly since there's no large-scale distribution available. In any other age, it would have been impossible, but happily the Internet has enabled us to do amazing things. (Isn't that true of everyone?).
thatgirlismine, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Heh, no mention of Cave Story, Lyle in Cube Sector, Kenta Cho's work... :/
rtfx, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I think the article is a reasonable starting point. There are just too many good indie games to cover them all in one article. And most people don't even consider it seriously, but Flash is a really viable platform for indie-grade work now. kongregate.com lets me see a new game every day, without having to install anything....most are, of course, bad knockoffs, but occasionally something truly "indie" cuts through.
cliffski, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1time to pimp these:
www.positech.co.uk
wildest, 18 hr 49 min ago, -0/+0Indie games are a great and refreshing platform

http://wallbrawl.com
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The World of Indie Games

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