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Indie games

Oct 7, 2009#1

rvdleun

For the past year or so, I've been getting hooked into indie gaming. I think it overall started when Audiosurf was released on Steam and I gave it a try. Loved the refreshing nature of the game, especially that it worked on any MP3 and bought it to support the developer. Shortly after, I started to look more onto the 'indie scene', and found some fun little time-wasters.

My latest indie addiction is Depths of Peril. It's a diablo-like RPG game, but with some fun extra features. First off, the world is randomly generated, as are the quests. Furthermore, completing these actually have some meaning. If you wait too long with certain quests, like killing a bandit leader, it will escalate. The leader will form a larger group. And if you wait too long with wiping him out, he just may start to attack your city and devastate it, killing important quest NPCs.

And next to all of this is also a covenant game where you may try to either destroy or ally with the other covenants in the city. Furthermore, these covenant leaders are doing the same thing as the player, completing quests(possibly before the player does), recruiting and trading with each other. For only 20 bucks, I've been getting more than enough out of the game.

Are there any particular indie games out there that caught your fancy?

Oct 7, 2009#2

RealBigNuke

Cave. Story. It's a great platformer with interesting weapons and lots of footwork and ending that require hugely different levels of skill and effort to get. Graphics emulate the NES, but it actually pulls off a visual style quite well

That's the one that I usually come up with first.

I thought dwarf fortress was pretty awesome too. I find a lot of neat time wasters on flash portals like NG and kongregate, but I don't think those are quite the same thing

Oct 8, 2009#3

figmentPez

Zeno Clash is awesome. The art style is amazing, and I probably would have glady suffered through bland gameplay just to see the game progress. It's got humor, suspense, great voice acting, and this quirky look that I described previously as a mix of Planescape: Torment, Mercer Mayer and the Dark Crystal.

It's not a perfect game, with some inconsistent difficulty, but on the whole it pulls off first person fighting gameplay very well. Some of the battles are just awesome, one of the bosses throws squirrels at you, with bombs tied to their backs.

I think Xgen Studios is an independent developer. Anyway, I spent a lot of time playing Motherload a few years ago. It kind of has a weak ending, gameplay-wise, but right up until that point it's pretty awesome digging into the Martian soil for minerals.

Is Telltale Games considered indepedent? I've heard them referred to as such, even though they've got some top-notch licenses (Monkey Island, Sam & Max, CSI, etc.)

I'm also fairly impresed with World of Goo and Braid, though I haven't finished either yet.

I'm hoping Trine is as good as I've heard. It's supposed to come out on Gametap soon, and I'm going to give it a shot when it does.

Oct 8, 2009#4

RealBigNuke

World of Goo was so awesome, I bought it at full price just to support the devs.

Trine was also great. I forgot that game was even indie. Really inventive in it's take on platforming

Oct 8, 2009#5

figmentPez

Holy crap! How could I forget Psychonauts? I already carry so much shame for missing the game when it first came out. Good gravy that game is an awesome trip.

Oct 8, 2009#6

RealBigNuke

figmentPez said:
Holy crap! How could I forget Psychonauts? I already carry so much shame for missing the game when it first came out. Good gravy that game is an awesome trip.

Heh, Double Fine's not indie anymore. In fact, I'm pretty sure they're about to release a hit with EA ;P

Oct 8, 2009#7

Jay

Thanks of the advice on Depths of Peril. I'll try it.My suggestion? Mount & Blade.

Oct 8, 2009#8

CynicismKills

AAAAAAAAAGH WHY DID I DOWNLOAD CAVE STORY AGAIN I LIKED SLEEPING

Oct 8, 2009#9

figmentPez

RealBigNuke said:
Heh, Double Fine's not indie anymore. In fact, I'm pretty sure they're about to release a hit with EA ;P

Getting a publisher after you develop the game means you're not indie anymore? Brutal Legend was in danger of not being published, even though it was almost finished, because Vivendi was the original company a publishing deal was made with.

I'm not really clear on how this "independent" label works. Double Fine describes themselves as "Double Fine Productions is an award-winning, independent game development studio founded in 2000 by games industry veteran Tim Schafer." and the press release says, ”At [EA Partners], we are deeply committed to giving the industry’s elite independent developers a platform to launch their creations to a worldwide audience."

Braid is published by Microsoft (on XBLA at least), World of Goo is published by Nintendo (on WiiWare), Zeno Clash is published by Steam and will be published by Tripwire Interactive when it hits retail, Cave Story has a publisher for it's WiiWare version (which, unlike the others is also listed as a developer)... in fact, nearly every indie game that's made it to retail or console has a second party as publisher.

It makes sense to me that a game like DeBlob isn't considered independent, since THQ bought the rights to the concept, handed it off to another game studio, and it changed significantly before release, but if an independent game studio partners with a publisher for distribution, but retains creative control, does that mean they're not independent anymore?

To add to my list of great indie games:
Orisinal.com (multiple great games)
eyezmaze.com (multiple games, most notably: Grow RPG and GROW ver.3

Oct 8, 2009#10

AshburnerX

The general rule of thumb is that your not an Indie studio anymore after you've released a big budget title and it's a success. So once Brutal Legend is released and makes the serious cash we all know it will (it'd better... it's got the star power for it), Double Fine will no longer be an Indie studio.

Oct 8, 2009#11

CynicismKills

AshburnerX said:
The general rule of thumb is that your not an Indie studio anymore after you've released a big budget title and it's a success. So once Brutal Legend is released and makes the serious cash we all know it will (it'd better... it's got the star power for it), Double Fine will no longer be an Indie studio.

Oct 8, 2009#12

AshburnerX

CynicismKills;271783][quote=AshburnerX said:
The general rule of thumb is that your not an Indie studio anymore after you've released a big budget title and it's a success. So once Brutal Legend is released and makes the serious cash we all know it will (it'd better... it's got the star power for it), Double Fine will no longer be an Indie studio.

Oct 8, 2009#13

figmentPez

AshburnerX said:
Actually, what you defined is merely a Third Party Developer. If I used your definition, then Capcom, Konami, Valve and Atlus become indie studios. The perception of the Indie studio is what defines it, period. Once people stop considering you Indie, your not indie.

Capcom, Konami and Atlus, as best I can tell, are publicly traded companies, and I think that looses them their independent status.

Valve is privately held, but since they have purchased other game studios, as well as acting as publisher for many others, that means they're not independent either.

Oct 8, 2009#14

CynicismKills

AshburnerX;271847][quote=CynicismKills;271783][quote=AshburnerX said:
The general rule of thumb is that your not an Indie studio anymore after you've released a big budget title and it's a success. So once Brutal Legend is released and makes the serious cash we all know it will (it'd better... it's got the star power for it), Double Fine will no longer be an Indie studio.

I think it's because they're a privately owned company, and not a subsidiary of a larger studio such as LucasArts or EA. Maybe in the eyes of the gaming public they won't be "indie" in the definition of a struggling studio, but as far as the real definition of an independent company they will remain indie.[/QUOTE]

Actually, what you defined is merely a Third Party Developer. If I used your definition, then Capcom, Konami, Valve and Atlus become indie studios. The perception of the Indie studio is what defines it, period. Once people stop considering you Indie, your not indie.[/QUOTE]

Third-party development is creating a game for a system (or systems, usually) that is not your own (Nintendo is a first party developer, Square Enix is not, Sega is no longer a first-party, etc).

Independent developers are people working under a self-given budget not handed down by a publishing company, in the broadest sense. The problem, however, is just that. The term is very broad, with many people having different definitions for what they believe is "independent". The developer of Braid, for example, is independent without question. He funded the game himself without the help of another company. Otherwise, it's a bit harder to classify.

Oct 8, 2009#15

Cat

rvdleun said:
My latest indie addiction is Depths of Peril. It's a diablo-like RPG game, but with some fun extra features. First off, the world is randomly generated, as are the quests. Furthermore, completing these actually have some meaning. If you wait too long with certain quests, like killing a bandit leader, it will escalate. The leader will form a larger group. And if you wait too long with wiping him out, he just may start to attack your city and devastate it, killing important quest NPCs.

And next to all of this is also a covenant game where you may try to either destroy or ally with the other covenants in the city. Furthermore, these covenant leaders are doing the same thing as the player, completing quests(possibly before the player does), recruiting and trading with each other. For only 20 bucks, I've been getting more than enough out of the game.

Sounds pretty interesting, will be downloading the demo tonight.

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