How do you feel about Indie games?

I've been gaming for all my life now and even though Indie games are not really a new concept but it is now only really taking off and one thing I've noticed is that I don't like a lot of them. People complain about AAA being repetitive but most Indie games I play are just as, if not more, repetitive with exceptions of course.

The biggest issue I have with Indie games in general is the "Games as Art" movement, like Journey, which I do not understand the appeal of, they are just too portentous for their own good, with boring and repetitive mechanics and the biggest problem is despite the title 'Indie' games it has become too corporate with a lot of Indie games just being cash grabs and while not all Indie games come under this category, a lot do.

But in the end like all things everyone has an opinion on it so I would like to hear yours. Keep it clean please.

Regards

Indie is just a term for Independent studios. They are not controlled by a publisher to 'milk' a product/ and have complete control of the gaming vision they wish to create based on the funding they have for the project.

But; like any gaming studio (under the thumb of a publisher or otherwise) you have the good, the bad, and the absolutely dreadful.

It's best not to judge a game if it's "Indie" or not. View all as just games.

With that in mind not all follow the Journey direction, that was that studios concept, and what they wanted to build.

Let's not act like Journey is the poster boy for all Indie studios. That's as absurd as stating Call of Duty is the poster boy for AAA developed games.

Ending statement_ Indie is not a genre.

A good game is good regardless of who made it.

Sometimes that's not always the case.

I rare find that I enjoy indie game and even less common that I want to play them. I am not talking about small studio games.

I find they discourage innovation in gaming. I find that they come up with gimmicks that often adds little to the gaming as a whole. At the same time the other aspect of the game is allowed to be well below being good.

This leads to they being praised for being innovative while encouraging stagnation in gaming.

This....

A good game is good no matter if it's indie or AAA, a bad game doesn't become good because its indie or AAA and reverse.

Eh? sometimes what's not always the case?

I don't have anything against them but I tend to prefer the AAA game market much more.

Can you give an example?

You are treating indie games like it's a genre. An indie game can be anything and everything a AAA title can be including good or bad. The difference is how things are in motion behind-the-scenes. This is especially true now that professional grade tools are open to the public like Unreal Engine 4 and CryEngine.

Indie games are an excellent thing for everyone. This is the way to help eliminate the "politics" in game development. Independent developers can take suggestions from their fans rather than orders from their funding partners, meaning the game comes first! This allows for creative control and, despite what you say in the OP, reduces cash grabs. Many developers leave studios with publishing contracts so they can independently make games that would otherwise not be made. This helps level the playing field and revive genres that big-shot publishers see little profit in. Otherwise, big studios *cough EA* just ignore what the fans want.

Simple, if a game doesn't catch your interest just don't play it. This is how I treat all games, indie or AAA.

When is a game both good and not good? Are you trying to break people's brains or something? Pondering that question will cause smoke to pour out of your ears.

How do you feel about Indie games?

Depends don you think ? example:

INDIE: I am Alive -----> very good game

BIG BUDGET:The Order 1886 -----> oh dear, not quite a POS but it´s really very close.

I've grown to appreciate smaller games out there. Of course, they usually aren't as flashy and exciting as bigger budget games, but I've really been surprised by some indie games out there.

I'm all for just playing a good game no matter if it's indie, AAA or whatever. But I find Indie games a little more consistent and often gravitate to them with releases throughout the year and dont seem to pile their releases close together.

They just seem alot broader, fulfilling alot of different genres that are different from the usual action/adventure that trends the AAA space.

Most of them don't interest me. If something good appears then I enjoy it. Doesn't matter if it's indie or AA or AAA. However, I'm more into AA games these days.

Indie games suck.

same here

I've grown to appreciate Indie games more this generation.

I feel like only about 10% of them are good, and I wouldn't even bother with most of them if not for gwg and ps+ indies.

I honestly don't mind titles like Journey because, while they might not offer deep gameplay, at least they are different.

the majority of games I play are indie. I tend to not like the artsy type stuff as I just find it pretentious and overpraised most of the time, but I am a huge fan of retro style games and I love games that give me a good challenge which is lacking in many AAA games today. I would say I play indies about 60% of the time and the other 40% is split between AAA and retro games.

Typically I haven't gotten into many indie games...and even if I do they typically are so short they don't play them for long if I do play them, where as AAA games have me hooked for much longer. There are exceptions. There are some indie games I've loved and played for hours (like Steam World Dig, Valiant Hearts and Castle Storm). There are some AAA games I haven't really enjoyed, the nice thing is I trade in those games and typically end up getting all of my money back...

I think most of them are shit.

Agreed.

Yep. Doesn't help me that most of them are digital which I rarely buy.

Key word being most though.

I've played a few great indie games. Terraria is a fun one that I have been playing a ton of lately.

Just like with the film industry, most products in the video games industry are average. In fact, they would have to be by definition. There are tons of great independent films and tons of terrible independent films. The same goes for big budget films, indie games, and AAA games.

That said, there does seem (to me) to be a larger pool of unique experiences in the indie game market. Awesome things often come from indie artists because they realize that they can't just entertain people with graphics and polish. So they start to think creatively (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C_HReR_McQ)

You see this in the film industry, too. George Lucas made the original trilogy before he was a mega super star and it was great. Then once he had all the money he wanted, he made crap. To a lesser degree the same is true of Peter Jackson with the Lord of the Rings. After he made the original trilogy and it was amazing, he had everything he wanted. So what did he do with the Hobbit? He turned it into into a laughable series of slapstick CGI-ridden action films. Only tiny traces of the original genius remained. I think both of these artists are very talented, but they became too comfortable. They need challenging circumstances to create something great, rather than just be handed a blank check.

Indie games often have that magic combination of lack of budget and lack of corporate control that simultaneously forces and allows them to make some very unique experiences. I think most AAA games are more interested in trying to take existing game formulas and perfect them, rather than create new formulas. In this regard, it works the exact same way the film industry does. Why? Because its the safest way to make money.

When new games try too hard to look and play 'retro'.. There are some exceptions that turned out very good but the whole concept just annoys me, its not really an original thing to do and every indie seems to think: Hey it's the fastest way to make greens. Who cares about trying something new and great.