Indie Developers and The Indie Scene
The past 5 years have seen a sharp rise in the amount of Independently Developed games, also know as Indie Games. These games are characterized by innovative gameplay, charming art aesthetics and small but dedicated teams. One of the most successful of these teams are Mojang the creators of Minecraft, a property that recently sold to Microsoft for $2 billion. They are a shining example of the huge potential that can be found in creating indie titles. One of my personal favorites is the short but beautiful game of 'Journey'.
Journey in my mind is one the pinnacles of indie development, showing an indie focus on creating experiences rather than a game in the traditional sense. To describe playing Journey as a spiritual experience would not be a unexpected outcome of playing the small 3 hour title. Beautiful music and visuals combined with a believable but still magical world that interweaves themes of religion and pilgrimage, creates a wonderful experience that I will never forget, and only cost me $10. However the indie scene is definitely not the scene most people outside the gaming space will interact with, that space belong the 'AAA Publishers'. Frequently in the middle of controversy and home to some of the most underhanded industry practices in any entertainment industry, the triple A industry is the land of 100 million dollar budgets and 300 strong development teams. A topic I will talk about more next week.
References
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