The World of Indie Games - bit-tech.net Forums

Tim S · 17th Aug 2007, 13:53

http://www.bit-tech.net/gaming/2007/..._indie_games/1

Indie games are the future, says Joe. Prove it, says everyone else. Okay, says Joe and launches himself into a feature discussing the best independent games on the Internet and the effect of indie developers on the industry.

Garside · 17th Aug 2007, 14:02

realy interesting article, going to try and download facade if torrent will work!

Krikkit · 17th Aug 2007, 14:15

Just finished Darwinia today, and along with Uplink and DefCon, those are truly unmissable games.

Uplink + Darwinia are on steam atm for $20 - £10 for two of the best alternative games I've ever seen, with MASSES of gameplay too. Darwinia took me about 12-15 hours to complete (properly), and Uplink is longer still, probably closer to 20 if you do it right and don't get caught.

DeX · 17th Aug 2007, 14:36

Great article. I'm definitely going to have to try some of these games out. I certainly recommend Wik and the Fable of Souls as well as of course Gish. I really like those sorts of games that require skill and physical dexterity.

If anyone wants to try out my own indie game, you can find it in my sig.

DivineSin · 17th Aug 2007, 14:44

How can you guys not include Cave Story?!

http://agtp.romhack.net/project.php?id=cavestory

Translated and everything, one of the best Indie games I have ever played.

Bauul · 17th Aug 2007, 16:06

Hmmmm, I'm not too sure of your definition of indie games by their innovative content. Why call them indie games if that's what defines them? Personally, I believe innovative content is a common feature of indie games, but not a defining characteristic.

Personally I think defining what is and isn't an indie game is like saying what is and isn't a Web 2.0 website. It's an idea, not a set of rules, so is rather difficult. I would lean towards saying that most indie games are created by people to whom the end is the game, as oppose to the game being a means and the money being an end. Many, many indie games are neither original nor innovative, the only reason you haven't mentioned them here is because they're not as well known. I've played countless sideways shoot em ups or scrolling arcade blasters that are nothing new in terms of content, but are still developed by individuals or small groups simply for the fun of creating a game.

I think THAT's what defines an indie game, the reason behind the game. From super-famous indie games like the actually-quite-overated Facade to forgotten mini games of old, all were made for the sole reason of making the game, or to achieve recognition for making it, as oppose to selling it and making money. The article is also somewhat contradictory, how is Portal not indie due to its development by established developers doing nothing new, but Rag-Doll Kung Fu, which was hardly original or made by indie developers, is an indie game. Personally, I think Rag-Doll Kung Fu is an indie game, but not for the reasons you mention, but because the final end goal was a fun game, and that was it.

Arguably, all mods for games are indie in definition, they're certainly not mainstream, but they are hardly all original or innovative. One of Doom 3's best total conversions, Classic Doom, is actually the total opposite, recreating the old Doom in the new engine. So here's to all the unorginal, none innovative, really quite good indie games you so meanly left out of your article.

GamingHobo · 17th Aug 2007, 16:21

Digg to share boys and girls - support always appreciated.

Mosey · 17th Aug 2007, 17:01

Interesting article. Just the other day i stumbled on this website: http://www.tigsource.com/features/ga...rce=videogames

50 of the best indie games apparently.

g3n3tiX · 17th Aug 2007, 17:59

So it appears Joe is done with his non-indie Bioshock ?
Nice writeup. Uplink had me spend a LOT of hours on it...ahh the nice in-game music !

proxess · 17th Aug 2007, 18:04

That G-Man at the end was scary.

Florian · 22nd Aug 2007, 14:30

I don't agree with the statement that innovation is what defines an "indie" game.

Studio/publisher-backed and independent developers alike can produce innovative games, but the former are less likely to do so because they have to meet the expectations of the publisher (sales). However, that doesn't mean that any innovative game is an "indie" game, or that any "indie" game is innovative (the vast majority isn't).

I tend to apply the same standard that is commonly used for movies: If it's produced without the financial backing of a studio (publisher), it's "indie".

gamester · 30th Aug 2007, 16:36

... Egg on my face... Facade is free... But why use torrent to download it? I looked up Facade and found it to be free, I will leave my comment up so you can see my error

Quote:

This comment is @ Garside....

Dude, OMG! Your comment is horrendous! You are admitting that you are going to go an steal a game, and not just a giant publisher game. You are going to steal a game from a poor group that put their heart into creating great game that has no money to start with - And your just going to spit in their face and steal it. Next time you see a homeless guy, why don't you each into his change cup and take a few bucks from him too... I apologize to everyone else for attacking Garside. But his comment was disgusting!

DougEdey · 30th Aug 2007, 16:45

Gamester, it's a free game. Torrenting saves them money because they don't have to spend money on bandwitdh

CardJoe · 30th Aug 2007, 16:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by gamester

This comment is @ Garside....

Dude, OMG! Your comment is horrendous! You are admitting that you are going to go an steal a game, and not just a giant publisher game. You are going to steal a game from a poor group that put their heart into creating great game that has no money to start with - And your just going to spit in their face and steal it. Next time you see a homeless guy, why don't you each into his change cup and take a few bucks from him too... I apologize to everyone else for attacking Garside. But his comment was disgusting!

Dude...chill out, Facade is freeware. Free to download or torrent from the homepage, interactivestory.net

gamester · 30th Aug 2007, 16:50

Quote:

... Egg on my face... Facade is free... But why use torrent to download it?

I just noticed, and I was going to reply to my self... Using a peer-to-peer file sharing program like torrent is a red flag to me... Creating Indie game is how I got my start in the industry, so it hit a cord, not knowing that Facade was free...

DougEdey · 30th Aug 2007, 17:12

It's what torrenting was designed for, it saves bandwidth costs.

CardJoe · 30th Aug 2007, 17:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by gamester

I just noticed, and I was going to reply to my self... Using a peer-to-peer file sharing program like torrent is a red flag to me... Creating Indie game is how I got my start in the industry, so it hit a cord, not knowing that Facade was free...

Cool - send me a PM letting me know who you work for, what indie game you made etc. Maybes we can work on something...

17th Aug 2007, 13:53	#1
Tim S Pewlius Caesar bit-tech Staff Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Ascot, Berks Posts: 18,021	The World of Indie Games http://www.bit-tech.net/gaming/2007/..._indie_games/1 Indie games are the future, says Joe. Prove it, says everyone else. Okay, says Joe and launches himself into a feature discussing the best independent games on the Internet and the effect of indie developers on the industry. __________________ Tim on Twitter \| Tim's Blog \| Tim's Flickr The bit-tech Blog \| bit-tech on Twitter \| Join the bit-tech & Custom PC folding team (#35947)

17th Aug 2007, 14:15	#3
Krikkit Don't panic! Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Lancs, UK Posts: 15,147	Just finished Darwinia today, and along with Uplink and DefCon, those are truly unmissable games. Uplink + Darwinia are on steam atm for $20 - £10 for two of the best alternative games I've ever seen, with MASSES of gameplay too. Darwinia took me about 12-15 hours to complete (properly), and Uplink is longer still, probably closer to 20 if you do it right and don't get caught. __________________ \|E8400 @ 4.4GHz\|WC: 2*120.1 GT's, MCP350, Storm G5\|4GB Dominators\|DFI LT X48-T2R\|8800GT\|74GB Raptor\|Chieftec BA01\|OCZ ModXStream 600W\|Dell 2208WFP\| The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, The LOL!!1!!1!, The Zlad!, The Kempness, The Braaaaaains...

17th Aug 2007, 14:36	#4
DeX Mube Codder Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: London, UK Posts: 4,103	Great article. I'm definitely going to have to try some of these games out. I certainly recommend Wik and the Fable of Souls as well as of course Gish. I really like those sorts of games that require skill and physical dexterity. If anyone wants to try out my own indie game, you can find it in my sig. __________________ Play my game: Shyguy's Cave of Death! If you dont have the time to check your spelling and grammar, you dont have the time to post! -Liquid K9

17th Aug 2007, 16:06	#6
Bauul Sir Bongaminge Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Godalming, near Guildford Posts: 1,553	Hmmmm, I'm not too sure of your definition of indie games by their innovative content. Why call them indie games if that's what defines them? Personally, I believe innovative content is a common feature of indie games, but not a defining characteristic. Personally I think defining what is and isn't an indie game is like saying what is and isn't a Web 2.0 website. It's an idea, not a set of rules, so is rather difficult. I would lean towards saying that most indie games are created by people to whom the end is the game, as oppose to the game being a means and the money being an end. Many, many indie games are neither original nor innovative, the only reason you haven't mentioned them here is because they're not as well known. I've played countless sideways shoot em ups or scrolling arcade blasters that are nothing new in terms of content, but are still developed by individuals or small groups simply for the fun of creating a game. I think THAT's what defines an indie game, the reason behind the game. From super-famous indie games like the actually-quite-overated Facade to forgotten mini games of old, all were made for the sole reason of making the game, or to achieve recognition for making it, as oppose to selling it and making money. The article is also somewhat contradictory, how is Portal not indie due to its development by established developers doing nothing new, but Rag-Doll Kung Fu, which was hardly original or made by indie developers, is an indie game. Personally, I think Rag-Doll Kung Fu is an indie game, but not for the reasons you mention, but because the final end goal was a fun game, and that was it. Arguably, all mods for games are indie in definition, they're certainly not mainstream, but they are hardly all original or innovative. One of Doom 3's best total conversions, Classic Doom, is actually the total opposite, recreating the old Doom in the new engine. So here's to all the unorginal, none innovative, really quite good indie games you so meanly left out of your article. __________________ Pentium 4 CPU 3.4 Ghz \| 1Gb + 2x512Mb Corsair DDR2 667 Mhz Sapphire Radeon HD 4770 512Mb\| WD Raptor 36Gb, Seagate 300Gb \| Asus P5LD2 SE Ibanez RG 470 Japanese Edition \| 1991 Japanese Lo-TRS Tremolo \| V7 S1 Custom V8 HSH Pickups

17th Aug 2007, 16:21	#7
GamingHobo Minimodder Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Bracknell Posts: 36	Digg to share boys and girls - support always appreciated. __________________ Andy Vandervell - Senior Staff Writer @ TrustedReviews

17th Aug 2007, 14:02	#2
Garside Supermodder Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: London Posts: 395	realy interesting article, going to try and download facade if torrent will work!

17th Aug 2007, 14:44	#5
DivineSin Ultramodder Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Florida Posts: 1,251	How can you guys not include Cave Story?! http://agtp.romhack.net/project.php?id=cavestory Translated and everything, one of the best Indie games I have ever played.

17th Aug 2007, 17:01	#8
Mosey Multimodder Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 194	Interesting article. Just the other day i stumbled on this website: http://www.tigsource.com/features/ga...rce=videogames 50 of the best indie games apparently. __________________ My old Rig [AMD 4800x2] [ASUS A8N-SLI SE] [512 Radeon X1900 XT] [1G Corsair XMS3200C2 Pro] [X-Fi Xtrememusic] [74gb Western Digital] [300gb Maxtor]

17th Aug 2007, 17:59	#9
g3n3tiX Resident frenchie Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: localhost Posts: 589	So it appears Joe is done with his non-indie Bioshock ? Nice writeup. Uplink had me spend a LOT of hours on it...ahh the nice in-game music ! __________________ I also have a MTBF.

17th Aug 2007, 18:04	#10
proxess Victim of AdvancedModernCapitalism Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: The town of Love, Funchal Posts: 598	That G-Man at the end was scary. __________________ Netbook: Asus eeePC 901; 12Gb SDD; Custom Ubuntu 9.04 Minimal Compiz Standalone. Laptop: Intel Centrino Duo T5500 1.66ghz; 2048mb RAM; ATI Mobility Radeon x2300; Hitachi 120gb iPod Classic 120GB; Maxtor 160GB External; Ubuntu 9.10 x64 and Windows 7 x64.

22nd Aug 2007, 14:30	#11
Florian Multimodder Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Berlin Posts: 129	I don't agree with the statement that innovation is what defines an "indie" game. Studio/publisher-backed and independent developers alike can produce innovative games, but the former are less likely to do so because they have to meet the expectations of the publisher (sales). However, that doesn't mean that any innovative game is an "indie" game, or that any "indie" game is innovative (the vast majority isn't). I tend to apply the same standard that is commonly used for movies: If it's produced without the financial backing of a studio (publisher), it's "indie".

30th Aug 2007, 16:45	#13
DougEdey I pwn all your storage Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Southampton Posts: 13,933	Gamester, it's a free game. Torrenting saves them money because they don't have to spend money on bandwitdh __________________ Burnout: Paradise Stats!XBL: DougEdey Bindi PSN ID: DougEdey Twitter

30th Aug 2007, 17:12	#16
DougEdey I pwn all your storage Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Southampton Posts: 13,933	It's what torrenting was designed for, it saves bandwidth costs. __________________ Burnout: Paradise Stats!XBL: DougEdey Bindi PSN ID: DougEdey Twitter