curl-6 said:
But they don't make "indie games" as in those college-project abortions that flood download services like XLBA, PSN, and eshop. |
So define an "indie" game. Because I can clearly see from this thread there are at least 5 different ideas of what an indie game is, and everyone is arguing about their own definition.
Does an independent game studio make indie games? Indie is NOT a game genre, it was a term coined to describe a particular type of game developer.
Technically Valve are the largest indie developer in the world. So Half Life 2 is an indie game. They make what they want how they want under their own terms.
It was coined from the PS2 era, whereby it got to the point that developers could not afford to make their games themselves anymore and it was practically a requirement that you had to get a publisher in order to be able to get your product to market.
Digital Delivery removed this barrier and indie is the result of developers suddenly being able to self publish again.
On the lower end of the market, it has also enabled individuals to be able to make and release their own software. But really, "indie" was about removing the barrier of needing a publisher to get a game out the window and having to bend to that publishers whims on everything from the design of the game to the physical attributes of the character.
The "college project abortion" stuff you refer to, is actually the "Home Brew" scene, they are amateurs creating games as a hobby, digital delivery has allowed them to legally release their products to try and make some money out of them. Because hell, who on earth has a right to have a stab at making a game for their own enjoyment?
RIP Dad 25/11/51 - 13/12/13. You will be missed but never forgotten.
