Ars Technica Feature Article on Indie Game Design

[Echo35]

Title explains it, so I'll just post the link. Quite an interesting article - http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/08/experience-going-indie.ars

[x4000]

And this was why I never considered game development to be a viable career, and went into business programming.  But I always loved making games, so did it as a hobby, and eventually realized -- duh -- that I could potentially make a go of it as an indie.  A number of the indies that I know who didn't start out in the "AAA" part of the industry have a tale along the lines of mine, too.  There are those who join the industry, get disgusted and leave for being an indie.  And there are those who see the industry, get disgusted, and become an indie so that they never have to enter it.

[Echo35]

There are those who join the industry, get disgusted and leave for being an indie.  And there are those who see the industry, get disgusted, and become an indie so that they never have to enter it.

It makes perfect sense. How many times have you seen a musician or director want to make some movie or album and get sick of the record label or studio and strike out on their own? It's about time similar things started moving in the gaming industry

[x4000]

I don't think this is really that new in the games industry, any more than it is in any other creative industry, honestly.  What IS new is that thanks to really unusually oppressive conditions in the main industry these days, plus widespread availability of digital distribution channels and a public interest in indie stuff, developers are leaving the mainstream much more commonly.  If you ask me, it's a sign of the unhealthiness of the mainstream game development industry, rather than a sign of the maturity of games as a medium.

Even though I'll probably always prefer to be an indie unless things went really badly for Arcen and the perfect opportunity came along, I hope that the mainstream industry starts trending towards a more sane and healthy setup.

[Echo35]

I don't think this is really that new in the games industry, any more than it is in any other creative industry, honestly.  What IS new is that thanks to really unusually oppressive conditions in the main industry these days, plus widespread availability of digital distribution channels and a public interest in indie stuff, developers are leaving the mainstream much more commonly.  If you ask me, it's a sign of the unhealthiness of the mainstream game development industry, rather than a sign of the maturity of games as a medium.

Even though I'll probably always prefer to be an indie unless things went really badly for Arcen and the perfect opportunity came along, I hope that the mainstream industry starts trending towards a more sane and healthy setup.

Well yes, that's more what I was trying to say. It's certainly something that's always been around (Especially in the early days when game design was pretty much just a hobby anyway) but it's making a HUGE resurgence over the last few years, and I'm totally loving it.

[x4000]

Yeah, it's definitely good for consumers.   And the indies that are able to make it.

[Ozymandiaz]

Interesting article. I find it interesting that nowadays I spend a lot more time on indie games then I do big studio games. They are jsut too generic, been there done that kind of. All fluff and not substenance.

One can notice that some games are made to sell in a large volume, and not made to be great.