Indie games depress me.

[Ferinus]

Indie games depress you? Need an extra $5million price-tag added onto your game?

I don't think you understand the financial problems developing games entails. A) Manpower. B)Manpower with Programming background. C) Manpower with Technical background D) Manpower with CREATIVE background.

Don't hate because it's not corporate backwater. Instead of picking up just any-old indie game, do some bloody research! There are plenty of awesome ones out there.

 

[ResonanceSD]

,

What's wrong with FTL?

Also, check out Castle Story!

Nothing. I thought it was a pretty great game, albeit rather short and I wish there was more to it. I think the concept was amazing though.

So basically, the right kind of games aren't getting AAA budgets?

Not saying it has to be a AAA budget. I just meant more money. I just meant, a LITTLE more money. You know, instead of forcing the developer to go hungry for a year just to do it heh heh.
I guess I can't really say the wrong games are getting the budgets, since obviously some people like them and are buying them. Not my cup of tea mostly though, yeah.

Eh, think of it as a launchpad for great companies. The next game they make will be bigger. Shame that the original idea has to be sacrificed,

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

,

What's wrong with FTL?

Also, check out Castle Story!

Nothing. I thought it was a pretty great game, albeit rather short and I wish there was more to it. I think the concept was amazing though.

So basically, the right kind of games aren't getting AAA budgets?

Not saying it has to be a AAA budget. I just meant more money. I just meant, a LITTLE more money. You know, instead of forcing the developer to go hungry for a year just to do it heh heh.
I guess I can't really say the wrong games are getting the budgets, since obviously some people like them and are buying them. Not my cup of tea mostly though, yeah.

Eh, think of it as a launchpad for great companies. The next game they make will be bigger. Shame that the original idea has to be sacrificed,

True enough. I'd drop 60 bucks on FTL though! Really awesome idea.

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

Indie games depress you? Need an extra $5million price-tag added onto your game?

I don't think you understand the financial problems developing games entails. A) Manpower. B)Manpower with Programming background. C) Manpower with Technical background D) Manpower with CREATIVE background.

Don't hate because it's not corporate backwater. Instead of picking up just any-old indie game, do some bloody research! There are plenty of awesome ones out there.

I think you missed my point. A lot of them ARE awesome. It just depresses me because it shows what a horrible state the game industry is in. I'd like to see all these awesome ideas expanded by having more force behind them.

 

[Ferinus]

That's profit for ya. As technology grows and more people have access to game design, indie games might take over in a decade or two. I agree that the gaming industry has a snare on production and funding, which, in turn, is detrimental. However, this just turns back around to profit...

Is a FatCat going to profit more from some 3$ games people will buy on sale on Steam, or a 60$ powerhouse marketed out the ass?

 

[aguspal]

Yeah, I get what you are saying...

Something like Minecraft would of actually be a good game if it was a bigger budget one, most likely.


Actually, imagine something like that... Umm, now I have got this one idea of a full action RPG with Minecraft block madness anf shit.... Damn it, WHY you are the way you are now, Minecraft! You could have been SO much more... instead you are just kind of mediocre. OH well I dont hate it but DAMN.

Other than that, thougt...

Magicka, as much as I love it I dont really think it would benefit much from a bigger budget.

Orcs Must Die, I honestly dont have a clue. Maybe more levels. More characters. 4 player co-op. That couldt hurt at all!

Bastion. Well Bastion can go to hell simply, high budget or not. Even worse than Minecraft, Minecraft at least does its whole "open sandbox world go do whatever you want ROFL xd ". Bastion is just some random annoying history that I couldt care about.

Dungeon Defenders. I dont have a clue simply because I just started playing it today.

Terraria... meh. I guess it would appeale eeven more to metroid/castlevania fans.

... I dont think I have played other indies.

 

[Baralak]

Now see, I usually don't care for indie games at all, because the vast majority seem to be the ones that wind up being bad 2d platformers with a gimmick attached, like Braid or VVVVVVV.

I have enjoyed Magicka, Orcs Must Die and Terraria, though.

On the topic of budgets, I do believe many of them would have benefitted from more money so they could afford to hire people to make a decent games. Too many indie games wind up being garbaged that get's its flaws overlooked "Because it's just one guy!" That doesn't matter. If the game is garbage, it's garbage, whether it was 1 guy, or a multi-billion dollar company doing it.

 

[Jandau]

I can kinda see the point. Using FTL as an example, it's a great game, a solid concept, good execution, well presented visually and with a sweet soundtrack. But there's not enough of it. You can see almost all the random encounters in one or two playthroughs, most of them are "fight this ship now". The game would be vastly improved with a greater variety of encounters, perhaps with more non-combat options, more items and weapons to use, maybe even different game modes (for instance, open exploration mode without the rebels). These would all be additions to the existing structure, making an already great game even better, but I get the feeling that the budget limitations were too great...

 

[Andy of Comix Inc]

Hold on, you guys are separating "indie games" and "real" games...? Are indie games not real? Are you arguing that money is what makes a game, not the creative spirit or the ingenuity of the mechanics? Are you... you guys are arguing that. Okay, yeah, that's cool.

HEADS UP. "Indie" is not a genre, indie is not pertaining to budget, and a game made independently is a "real" game. Why... why am I even arguing this? Why do I have to explain this to people? Am I... geez. Good job, Escapist forums! You've finally hit rock stupid. I'll be seein' ya around.

 

[lacktheknack]

How exactly would a huge budget make indie games any better?

Half the charm of indie games is their simple presentation and doing the most with the little they have.

Can you guess what we call indie games with a huge budget behind them? We just call them games.

Hmmm how would more money make something better... hmmmm Im wracking my brain here, what is money again? Little pieces of paper that make talented and untalented people alike do things you tell them to... hmmm nope cant think of any way

Yes.

Now think hard, where would an indie studio get so much money?

The defining feature of an indie dev is that it's either funded by itself, or by the public.

Getting huge amounts of cash from a publisher kind of contradicts the whole point of being an indie dev.

But in your snarky reply you suggest that any game with aaa funding automagically makes it dependent when this is not the case.

The most expensive indie game I can think of was Braid, which was about $200,000.

So in all practical terms, yes, it IS the case. Sure, an indie game could be made with several million dollars, but it hasn't happened yet.

 

[FieryTrainwreck]

Why is everyone sorta jumping down the OP's throat for being totally goddamn right?

I enjoy Indie games because they tend to have more interesting mechanics, concepts, and stories, but I'd be lying if I didn't say the graphics, presentation, and polish aren't extremely depressing in the vast majority of cases.

I enjoy AAA games because they tend to have very polished presentation and gameplay, but I'd be lying again if I didn't say most of the stories and mechanics aren't extremely tired replicas of things I've seen in dozens of other games.

The ideal game is one combining both fantastic presentation/polish and interesting ideas, but such games almost never happen. Because Indie games generally come from poor ass garage devs and AAA games are predominantly the product of focus groups.

So why again are people being so contrarian? Pretty obvious what the guy meant, and I feel exactly the same way. Probably why Dark Souls is the only game that's really captured me in the last year or so.

 

[2012 Wont Happen]

Only Indie games I've ever really gotten into are Minecraft and the Chzo Mythos series. Slender was fun too, but not much value in multiple plays.

 

[Andy of Comix Inc]

Hold on, you guys are separating "indie games" and "real" games...? Are indie games not real? Are you arguing that money is what makes a game, not the creative spirit or the ingenuity of the mechanics? Are you... you guys are arguing that. Okay, yeah, that's cool.

HEADS UP. "Indie" is not a genre, indie is not pertaining to budget, and a game made independently is a "real" game. Why... why am I even arguing this? Why do I have to explain this to people? Am I... geez. Good job, Escapist forums! You've finally hit rock stupid. I'll be seein' ya around.

I dont get it either. At least rocks dont speak... some people are just maddening

There are a lot of people who associate "indie" with "cheap," and then "cheap" with "bad". So they associate "indie" with "bad". ...I mean, I don't really care. It's not my problem if they don't play good games because it's labelled with "indie" or because it doesn't have a publisher or budget behind it. It's not my problem that they associate indie games with poor quality. And it certainly doesn't effect me that they're "depressed" with "indie games".

...it's still fucking stupid though.

 

[Baralak]

They depress me too

Different reason though

"Oh look, yet another 2d platformer..."

This. So much this. Most of them aren't even very good 2d platformers...

 

[Andy of Comix Inc]

Why is everyone sorta jumping down the OP's throat for being totally goddamn right?

Cos he's... not.

What did you say. "Most cases"? Do we really measure developmental properties based on the majority? It's like, hey! The majority of indie games are shitty 2D platformers with 8-bit graphics and chiptunes! The majority of AAA games are shitty Call of Duty or Gears of War clones with muddy-brown washed-out graphics and gravel-voiced characters! You can't write off or generalize an entire field of games development because the majority is shit. I mean, if we mentioned games like Braid and LIMBO you wouldn't argue that they're some of the most polished games of this generation. And if I bought up No More Heroes and Dark Souls you wouldn't argue that they're creative and unique and different and inspiring! But then you say, no... indie games aren't polished... and AAA games aren't unique and different...

...this is why we who play many, many, maaany games like to refer to games like this with a simple word: "good." Good games are good, regardless if they're made independently or not. Some indie games are really fun and engrossing and unique, and some are repetitive uninspired pieces of schlock. It is entirely a subjective analysis that is required on a game-per-game basis, not just for the whole genre altogether! It's like when people say, "ohhh, all anime is shit." ...that's really not true, because anime isn't a genre, and it's not even a medium. It's just a way of making cartoons. Maybe then you argue all cartoons are shit? And maybe then I call you out for being stupid.

They depress me too

Different reason though

"Oh look, yet another 2d platformer..."

This. So much this. Most of them aren't even very good 2d platformers...

Addendum: if you have to put "most" in front of it, we can assume it's crap. The majority of everything ever is bad. It'd be a shame, though, if you wrote off all the good things because of the crap things took after them and you can't tell on face value. I mean, the resemblance to a good game and bad game isn't entirely noticeable until you actually dig deeper, eh?

People get burned out on indie 2D platformers the way they get burned out on Call of Duty clone first-person shooters. That doesn't mean that Super Meat Boy and Serious Sam 3 should be overlooked. (For example.)

 

[dyre]

I remember funding FTL on Kickstarter...I think they asked for some really low amount of money, like $50,000 or something, but got a ton more than it. So at the very least the devs got more than they initially expected
edit: just checked, they actually asked for $10,000 and got $200,000, lol

But yeah, it'd be totally cool if a benevolent billionaire funded great video game ideas with budgets of a few million dollars apiece.

 

[Baralak]

People get burned out on indie 2D platformers the way they get burned out on Call of Duty clone first-person shooters. That doesn't mean that Super Meat Boy and Serious Sam 3 should be overlooked. (For example.)

Yeah, but see, I don't even like 2d platformers to begin with. It's why I could never really get into gaming until the N64 and PS1. I mean yeah, there were a few good games on the SNES and Genesis, but I can't even force myself past the first level in Mega Man X. 2d platformers are just so... boring. Super Mario World is okay in small doses.

But yeah. It gets very tiresome, very fast, when the vast majority of games are 2d platformers that just aren't done as well as they could be.

 

[Vault101]

Yeah, but see, I don't even like 2d platformers to begin with. It's why I could never really get into gaming until the N64 and PS1. I mean yeah, there were a few good games on the SNES and Genesis, but I can't even force myself past the first level in Mega Man X. 2d platformers are just so... boring. Super Mario World is okay in small doses.

But yeah. It gets very tiresome, very fast, when the vast majority of games are 2d platformers that just aren't done as well as they could be.

its funny....I was around 8 or 9 when the n64 and playstation was rising to prominance..and even then I thourght the 2d games of the SNES were better than the 3d games...due to having less awkward graphics and I just relaly really LOVED the pixel art

it wasnt untill this gen that I could take games seriously

 

[Baralak]

Yeah, but see, I don't even like 2d platformers to begin with. It's why I could never really get into gaming until the N64 and PS1. I mean yeah, there were a few good games on the SNES and Genesis, but I can't even force myself past the first level in Mega Man X. 2d platformers are just so... boring. Super Mario World is okay in small doses.

But yeah. It gets very tiresome, very fast, when the vast majority of games are 2d platformers that just aren't done as well as they could be.

its funny....I was around 8 or 9 when the n64 and playstation was rising to prominance..and even then I thourght the 2d games of the SNES were better than the 3d games...due to having less awkward graphics and I just relaly really LOVED the pixel art

it wasnt untill this gen that I could take games seriously

Oh Final Fantasy VII, Gex: Deep Cover Gecko, Dark Stone... Those were my bread and butter! I mean, I love sprite art as much as the next guy. Done well, sprite art is fantastic.