Indie Games
An Indie Game or Independent Video Game (if you aren't into slang abbreviations) are video games created by small game development teams or individuals separate from an large scale video game publisher. Indie Games are often characterized by small development teams and low budgets.
Overview
Unlike many other genres, there are no specific requirements, play styles or story-lines essential to classifying a game as an Indie Game. While many do share similar characteristics, the only requirement for being classified as an Indie Game is an independent development structure. This line can however, be blurred. Take for example, the popular Indie Game, "Super Meat Boy," which was developed my a small team of two but worked closely with Microsoft to launch the game exclusively on Xbox Live.
Indie Games are often able to exist outside of traditional genre norms and often rely on innovative gameplay or story elements in order to separate them from the masses.
History of Genre
Indie Games are a relatively new genre. While technically, independently developed games have been created since game development began, Indie game: The Movie states that 2008 was when the genre finally took off[1]. In 2012, the independently funded documentary Indie Game: The Movie was produced that followed the development of several Indie Games and arguably brought the Indie Game movement much closer to mainstream gaming culture.
What constitutes an Indie Game is often a measure of scale. Modern AAA titles often have over 100 specialized experts developing various components the game. However, the 1989 game "Sim CIty" had only 20 contributors. [2] By today's standards, "Sim City" could be classified as an Indie Game, while it was not in 1989.
The explosion of Indie Games in recent years is due largely in part to the growth of online and mobile gaming.
Creation
Without the financial backing of a large game publisher, many Indie Games rely on crowd funding in order to support the process of creating their game.
Prominent Examples
References
- ↑ Indie Game: The Movie. Dir. Lisanne Pajot and James Swirsky. Web. <http://buy.indiegamethemovie.com/>.
- ↑ Egenfeldt-Nielsen, Simon, Jonas Heide. Smith, and Susana Pajares. Tosca. Understanding Video Games: The Essential Introduction. New York: Routledge, 2008. Print.
