gaming Are Indie games the future of gaming?

[Flutter's lover <3 8,206]

I always browse the Steam store...and over the past year and a bit,I've noticed more and more "Indie games."

 

What's an indie game you ask?

 

It's a game made by independent teams of people.Not the big corporations like Gearbox, Valve,Capcom, Konami, etcetera. They often have smaller budgets. They also usually rely on digital distribution. Such as the Steam client or GOG, or Humble Bundle or various other online retailers of that sort.

 

Several of you may have played an indie game. Such as Minecraft or Terraria, Rust, Kerbal Space Program, Papers Please, and many MANY more.

 

SO my question is.With the advent of the new consoles andthe Steam box on the way, and Steam launching the "Green Light" program as well as offering pre-purchase of games with Aplha stage access....And with some major game devs not doing so well (EA, Activision)

 

....are Indie games the future of gaming?

 

This applies to Console and PC. As there's a few Indie games on Xbox 360 and there's supposed to be many coming out for the PS4 and Xbox One.(Though I'm not sure if there's indie games on PS3?)

 

[Shine 166]

I've noticed this as well.  In the past few years more and more indie games have been made, and they are becoming increasingly more popular.  It's not just gaming, either.  Indie music and films are also on the rise.

 

I actually wouldn't mind a bit if this trend were to continue until most entertainment was produced by individuals or small businesses like this instead of large companies.  Sure, the quality can be a gamble if you buy a game or movie that was produced on a low budget, but at least you know that what you're getting was made by actual people who actually care and not by some corporation that just wants a profit.  To me, that makes the game, song, movie, etc. seem more special, like it was actually made for me and not that I just happened to stumble into its path.

 

I like indie games.  c:

[Barbaloot 198]

I've noticed this as well.  In the past few years more and more indie games have been made, and they are becoming increasingly more popular.  It's not just gaming, either.  Indie music and films are also on the rise.

 

I actually wouldn't mind a bit if this trend were to continue until most entertainment was produced by individuals or small businesses like this instead of large companies.  Sure, the quality can be a gamble if you buy a game or movie that was produced on a low budget, but at least you know that what you're getting was made by actual people who actually care and not by some corporation that just wants a profit.  To me, that makes the game, song, movie, etc. seem more special, like it was actually made for me and not that I just happened to stumble into its path.

 

I like indie games.  c:

Well it's not like some of those indie games can't also be made with apathy and with just the money in mind. Day One: Garry's Incident anyone? Guise of the Wolf anyone?

 

 

But I do agree that overall, there seems to be more love there in general.

[LunarWave 106]

Of course thay are. 

Surely not bloated pay-twice-to-win AAA titles. 

Haven't seen a good AAA game (or even one that's worth it's dosh) since late 00's. 

Just couple of same games replayed again and again with different models. Indie games are where the real fun is.

 

There are bad games and there are good games of course, and some caution of course needs to be applied.

In AAA world first category is hidden behind the polished models, shiny shaders and bought critics.

A bad indie game (yeah, Gary's Incident) is seen as it is, without huge budgets to make it float. 

[Dddrgn 450]

I think both companies developed by larger companies are indie games are amazing in their own rights, and they emphasize different things. Neither is the future of gaming. Bigger companies can develop games that test the limits of our hardware visually, and can create very in depth experiences when it comes down to voice acting, music, gameplay, and visuals - all while having the most advanced mechanics possible. The new Tomb Raider is a great example of this. Indie games go back to simplicity, and while for the most part ignoring "fancy" graphics for simpler yet still aesthetic ones, focuses solely on gameplay. Sure, they will be buggier and less visually appealing, but they have the creative element in them, and they are often far easier to mod. This also means that they can be sold for far cheaper, because they technically offer less content- that's where the players come in. Minecraft is a perfect example. Regardless, both are great in their own ways.

[Commander Fresh 36]

I don't see indie titles becoming more mainstream than AAA titles. What I do see are changing business models from AAA devs to reflect the changing consumer culture driven by the advent of indie games. Almost anyone can make an indie game, which makes it difficult to put any sort of quality control on it without appearing anti-consumerist; if you ask me, this can potentially bring the downfall of indie games as a whole. It certainly is keeping indie games from beating AAA games; there are way too many incomplete, unpolished, or simply terrible indie games out there (often times due to an ambitious concept bogged down by a low budget and lack of manpower).

 

With that being said, I doubt indie games are going anywhere soon. The particularly successful ones do generally have a creative/refreshing concept previously unheard of, which can be a nice break from the more predictable AAA titles. However, if there's one thing Indie games lack, it's budget. Indie games simply can't compete in quality, polish, advertising (etc.) as many AAA titles, which leads me to present a different idea. Within the indie scene, a developer has much less to lose if it creates a lackluster game; major developers have PR and investors to worry about. This means that an indie dev is much more likely to take risks by implementing new concepts into gameplay (which we've already seen happen). At the end of the day though, they are still an indie developer, and the lack of manpower and funding can prevent them from presenting something truly mind-blowing. After a concept has proven itself to be an extremely successful idea among indie games, AAA titles will start implementing these mechanics in a much more refined form. In other words, I see indie games as the experiments, and once the experiment is successful, it is perfected by AAA developers (and their budget and ridiculous manpower).

[Discordian 6,015]

Indie games themselves, not so much, but the people who make them? Probably. The people who make indie games have to use some real creativity to make their game good and noticeable. These same people may be the future Capcoms or Atlus's. Gamers frustrated with their prime gaming era could become those that change the face of gaming for the better.

[-Nobody- 519]

I don't really see it happening. If anything these indie studios will become the next AAA studios.

 

Also, am I the only one who doesn't really care for indie games? I prefer big name games with large multiplayer communities.

[M'aiq the Liar 5,804]

I don't see indie games becoming the only future for gaming. As they just don't have the budget to create a game like the whitcher 3, or skyrim, or fallout 3. They will have a larger influence on the gaming scene, and will be far more prevalent amongst the pc gaming genre, as more can be explored with indie titles, and they can be far more different than most triple a games. But triple a games will still continue to exist. 

[Kitsunin 41]

I don't see indie games becoming the only future for gaming. As they just don't have the budget to create a game like the whitcher 3, or skyrim, or fallout 3. They will have a larger influence on the gaming scene, and will be far more prevalent amongst the pc gaming genre, as more can be explored with indie titles, and they can be far more different than most triple a games. But triple a games will still continue to exist. 

Kickstarter is actually changing that. With studios having the option of using Kickstarter to fund their game develop rather than big publishers being the only option, it means you can have multi-million dollar games made by independent studios. It's only been done a few times so far but it could theoretically become more popular than publishers as a way for a studio to fund their games, even if they are millions of dollars to make.

 

The argument that quality is a gamble is just as true of big companies as long as you're being smart and not buying games from unproven folks sight unseen. Remember Duke Nukem Forever? Aliens: Colonial Marines?

 

Nonetheless I think there will probably always, or at least for a very long time yet, be space for AAAs to produce "safe" games like your Call of Dutys and your Assassin's Creeds.

Edited February 12, 2014 by Kitsunin

[Mandizeen 21]

Not really. Indie games gets better and better, and more people learn how to code, but I don't think it will be the futures popular games.

[Chacobos 160]

Indie games won't be the future of gaming but they will carve a new paths of influence. Yes, kickstarters exist but for an indie to develop on the scale of say a AAA title like The Witcher 2, Elder Scrolls, Grand Theft Auto, hell just about any? Not a chance, those costs millions of dollars in most cases that only a big company with loads of money can provide. 

 

Basically what I am saying is Indies can produce quality, almost all indies just don't and will never have the money to get those on the scale of said AAA games that rule the industry and overshadow diamonds in the rough. 

[Fire_Fly 499]

I think the main pull of Indie games is their originality. Mainstream developers mold their games after other successful mainstream games, simply because those games are successful. The formula works, so they don't really tamper with it or think outside the box. Indie games aren't geared toward any specific audience, and typically don't follow the formulas of most mainstream games, so they're a lot more creative as a result. As long as mainstream developers are too reluctant to break free from the crowd, I don't think we'll be seeing Indie games dominating the gaming world anytime soon, and I'm actually okay with that. If Indie game developers suddenly become mainstream developers, I imagine they'd be feeling that same pressure to follow the crowd and start churning out more unoriginal games.

[M'aiq the Liar 5,804]

Kickstarter is actually changing that. With studios having the option of using Kickstarter to fund their game develop rather than big publishers being the only option, it means you can have multi-million dollar games made by independent studios. It's only been done a few times so far but it could theoretically become more popular than publishers as a way for a studio to fund their games, even if they are millions of dollars to make.

 

The argument that quality is a gamble is just as true of big companies as long as you're being smart and not buying games from unproven folks sight unseen. Remember Duke Nukem Forever? Aliens: Colonial Marines?

 

Nonetheless I think there will probably always, or at least for a very long time yet, be space for AAAs to produce "safe" games like your Call of Dutys and your Assassin's Creeds.

But kickstarter is already starting to falter. Just look at broken age, or as it was known previously double fine adventure. The kind of money going through kickstarter is enough to get a project off the ground yes, maby even fund an indie hit like minecraft. But it will never generate the amount of money to produce a call of duty, or battle field, or halo. And with crowd sourcing being scrutinized by every game reviewer ever (well, the decent ones that don't call your COD game racist), and this method of garnering money is in some serious trouble. 

[Kitsunin 41]

But kickstarter is already starting to falter. Just look at broken age, or as it was known previously double fine adventure. The kind of money going through kickstarter is enough to get a project off the ground yes, maby even fund an indie hit like minecraft. But it will never generate the amount of money to produce a call of duty, or battle field, or halo. And with crowd sourcing being scrutinized by every game reviewer ever (well, the decent ones that don't call your COD game racist), and this method of garnering money is in some serious trouble. 

Well, yes, they did go overboard with that. But it's not like they've done anything wrong. From the beginning it was "IF this project works out...you're paying for a documentary, you might get a game" and, well, they are delivering a game! Other projects such as The Banner Saga have done quite fantastically with no hitches, on the other hand.

 

While it's true that games journalists are criticizing Kickstarter it's not because it's a flawed system, it's just that people need to be cautious. They aren't paying for a game, they're investing in one, with the game being payout they may or may not get as a result. As you said, the good journalists, at least, see it as something with wonderful potential, but risks many are keen to ignore.

Edited February 12, 2014 by Kitsunin

[Scootalove 10,689]

The indie companies that make the games don't always have to reach up to the pinnacle that the big companies reached, but they still leave an impact in the gaming industry with their creativity flowing in their games. They could possibly be the future.