Indie Game: The Movie.....

[Toadofsky]

This trailer just shows me how ridiculous some of these people are that proclaim they're independent. And then trying to proclaim that this is just now starting when it's been going on for decades. The original Doom was made by a handful of people.

This quote however, takes the cake....

My whole career has been me trying to find new ways to communicate with people, because I definitely want to communicate with people, but I don't want the messy interaction of having to make friends and talk to people, because I probably won't like them.

If you can't honestly see the ridiculousness in that statement, I'm truly sorry.

I don't mind games being made independently, but this so called "movement" movie is spotlighting a bunch of pretentious neckbeards who aren't really making anything but a mediocre platformer with a good color palette (FEZ however, is a game that I would actually like to play).

[Kenogu Labz]

I'd argue that the reason indie games have gained in popularity is not solely due to the fact that they are indie, nor because of the common lo-fi aesthetic that is associated with them (even though that's not always the case, either).

I find indie games to be enjoyable much of the time because they are often more creative in their mechanics and story-telling techniques than big companies are willing to risk. They put their own personal time into the project, and are able to push the boundaries or think outside the box, a luxury big companies cannot (or are not willing to) afford in terms of sales loss.

This documentary doesn't look like it'll be doing any favors, though. This just makes indie creators look like they're doing it for solely selfish reasons, or to go 'against the grain', when I'd again argue that that's not always the case.

[lazygecko]

I'm bothered by the whole thing being rebranded under some type of marketable buzzword (just like DLC). Nowadays it feels like a lot of these "indie" devs try to make their games seem artsy or strange just for the sake of it.

Small, independant games have existed for about as long as home computers have. And I've played them for as long as I've had a PC. Some of my favorites from the 90's were

and Dink Smallwood. The PC Gamer CDs were usually stuffed with great small games in the shareware folder.

[Toadofsky]

I'm bothered by the whole thing being rebranded under some type of marketable buzzword (just like DLC). Nowadays it feels like a lot of these "indie" devs try to make their games seem artsy or strange just for the sake of it.

This is why I take issue with indie games now. People who make a game and it really turns out to be rather bland, mediocre, will say, "Well it's an indie game!" and then the gaming press/gaming world lavish it with praise, and give little to no critical inspection of it. Then again, a large amount of game reviewers don't seem to be doing that anymore anyways.

[Zerothemaster]

This is why I take issue with indie games now. People who make a game and it really turns out to be rather bland, mediocre, will say, "Well it's an indie game!" and then the gaming press/gaming world lavish it with praise, and give little to no critical inspection of it. Then again, a large amount of game reviewers don't seem to be doing that anymore anyways.

Wait, game reviewers actually give critical inspection to games? *shock and awe*

[Toadofsky]

Wait, game reviewers actually give critical inspection to games? *shock and awe*

Amazing isn't it?

[lazygecko]

Good example of the ugly side of "indie" (which it technically isn't, since it's being published by Interplay):

[EC2151]

Looks like someone else is a reader of Alex Kierkegaard.

I kind of want to think this movie is a comedy, because it looks really funny. Especially with that artsy silhouette stuff. Man, it's art.

It's kind of like "People who make bad games the movie"

[liquid wind]

eh, there are a lot of bad indie devs out there that just do weird for the sake of being weird, but I can't say I take exception with any of these guys

I mean really, you're saying super meat boy is mediocre?

[Toadofsky]

I mean really, you're saying super meat boy is mediocre?

I didn't really have that much of an issue with Super Meat Boy, I knew going in it was going to be hard. There's just something about that quote from the dev from Team Meat that completely turns me off from them and any of their games. You want to find a way to interact with people, but you don't want to.... yeah that doesn't sound stupid.

I'll admit though, I wouldn't mind having a Meat Boy T-Shirt like I've seen on their site.

[EC2151]

SMB was all-right. Not the be-all end-all for fun platforming, but it was still fun and priced reasonably (at least when I picked it up for like $2, lol). Beat it and never felt like playing it again.

Music was definitely the best part.

Braid though I haaaaate.

Now if you want to talk about an "indie" game I heap praise on, that'd be Jamestown. It ain't perfect by any means, but it's a short, fun, fast game that I keep on coming back to. I love a game that can feasibly take 20 minutes to beat in one go, but still keeps you replaying it.

AND BEST OF ALL ITS STORY IS NOT A CENTRAL COMPONENT/"SELLING POINT" UNLIKE BRAID WHICH FUCKING SUCKS GHAHHGHGHH

[Toadofsky]

SMB was all-right. Not the be-

Now if you want to talk about an "indie" game I heap praise on, that'd be Jamestown. It ain't perfect by any means, but it's a short, fun, fast game that I keep on coming back to. I love a game that can feasibly take 20 minutes to beat in one go, but still keeps you replaying it.

AND BEST OF ALL ITS STORY IS NOT A CENTRAL COMPONENT/"SELLING POINT" UNLIKE BRAID WHICH FUCKING SUCKS GHAHHGHGHH

Jonathan "Blow-hard"'s game to me was a play once, never play again.

Jamestown I keep hearing about, I may have to go and pick it up, especially if it's one of those constant re-playable game.

[PROTO·DOME]

If you can't honestly see the ridiculousness in that statement, I'm truly sorry.

It is ridiculous.

Mainly because it's meant to be funny.

AND BEST OF ALL ITS STORY IS NOT A CENTRAL COMPONENT/"SELLING POINT" UNLIKE BRAID WHICH FUCKING SUCKS GHAHHGHGHH

Yeah, I played it for the deep and immersive story.

Certainly not for the innovative, time manipulation gameplay.

[EC2151]

well then what is the only thing you find people talking about Braid, outside of the occasional "I can't figure this puzzle out" thing?

Is it its "innovative"* gameplay? Or is it "what does [X] mean or symbolize?" or "WHO WAS THE BOMB?"

What do articles on the game HAVE to mention when talking about Braid?

It shitty story, of course.

*oh shit rewind this is fucking crazy!

[Sinewav]

With Braid, I skipped straight past the story bits and just played through the levels. To this day, I still haven't even bothered to find out what the story even was, but I thought the game was hella fun.

[Top Gun]

SMB was all-right. Not the be-all end-all for fun platforming, but it was still fun and priced reasonably (at least when I picked it up for like $2, lol). Beat it and never felt like playing it again.

Music was definitely the best part.

This paragraph works perfectly tongue-in-cheek if you take it as the other game with that abbreviation.

I can't say I had any complaints about Braid myself. I was generally ambivalent about the story bits, but the gameplay and art style were great.

[Modus]

I think it's worth mentioning this film got into Sundance, and also may be the basis of a Scott Rudin HBO show.

I've been keeping track of this thing since their first trailer and really regret never sending in those "gaming as a child" photos they asked for. I could've been micro-famous :[

Also not sure what's up with the hate in this thread. It looks really well-produced.

[CC Ricers]

This is why I take issue with indie games now. People who make a game and it really turns out to be rather bland, mediocre, will say, "Well it's an indie game!" and then the gaming press/gaming world lavish it with praise, and give little to no critical inspection of it. Then again, a large amount of game reviewers don't seem to be doing that anymore anyways.

I don't find fault in indie developers trying to take shortcuts in order to cope with their limitations in resources, ie. not enough time for fleshing out an idea or more commonly, lacking the artistic talent or access to it. What bothers me is that some fail to see it it as crutch and spin it as a major selling point. A lot of them are advertising "amazing retro graphics" for a game that didn't have a dedicated artist.