Indie Games vs Indie Movies

[Type 90]

First off this isn't a thread about which is better, it's about which is better off in their respective industries, I just couldn't think of a good title. Second I stuck this in gaming discussion because it's half about games so I flipped a coin.

I play a lot of indie games, and I've enjoyed quite a number of them. Games like Bastion, Super Meat Boy, Limbo, Journey, Minecraft, etc. The big, well-known ones, but wait, hold on a sec, you'd think being an indie game would ensure that it's an obscure title.

That's the thing, there are a lot of indie games that have been getting a huge audience as of late, really, name one gamer who hasn't at least heard of Minecraft. Certain indie games get tons of free advertising from Youtube and related sites, they're advertised on the front page of Steam, one of the biggest digital game distributors out there, and I'm always seeing indie games end up on the best sellers list on PSN, Steam, and probably X-box Live(I don't own an X-box so excuse the ignorance please).

What I'm getting at is that from my point of view Indie Games are more or less mainstream at this point, and have been for a while(I could be wrong, feel free to correct), and what I've been wondering as of late is, are Indie Movies in the same position of mainstream appreciation as Indie Games seem to be.

I'm not at all connected to the indie movie scene bar a few documentaries I've seen and the upcoming Safety Not Guaranteed. Of course I know about festivals like Sundance, and breakout hits like Blair Witch Project, but beyond the obvious I'm completely clueless. So I'm asking people who are connected to both Indie Games, and Movies to compare the two, not in quality, but in how much they're appreciated and how close they are to mainstream appeal.

Thanks in advance to any replies.

 

[Kahunaburger]

Good question. Games have the advantage of digital distribution - AFAIK most indie movies are still pretty dependent on film festivals and theaters to make real money. Could be wrong about this, though.

 

[CrazyBlaze]

Good question. Games have the advantage of digital distribution - AFAIK most indie movies are still pretty dependent on film festivals and theaters to make real money. Could be wrong about this, though.

No. That sounds about right. Indie games generally get more exposure than indie movies. Indie games rely on the internet and word of mouth to spread. Indie movies genneraly are only shown at a few festivals and only rarely if they perform extremely well at these festivals will they go on to be shown at theatres. Its also part of the community as well. I think the gamer community is a very unusual community as many people don't identify themselves by their hobbies. I mean you don't see people who like movies identify themselves almost exclusively as movie watchers or people who like reading as exclusively readers but many people who play games identify themselves as gamers. Or at least those who care enough to frequent forums like these. Because of our unique identifaction and dedication to games we often seek out new games and we pay attention to things like indie games.

 

[Lionsfan]

Good question. Games have the advantage of digital distribution - AFAIK most indie movies are still pretty dependent on film festivals and theaters to make real money. Could be wrong about this, though.

No. That sounds about right. Indie games generally get more exposure than indie movies. Indie games rely on the internet and word of mouth to spread. Indie movies genneraly are only shown at a few festivals and only rarely if they perform extremely well at these festivals will they go on to be shown at theatres. Its also part of the community as well. I think the gamer community is a very unusual community as many people don't identify themselves by their hobbies. I mean you don't see people who like movies identify themselves almost exclusively as movie watchers or people who like reading as exclusively readers but many people who play games identify themselves as gamers. Or at least those who care enough to frequent forums like these. Because of our unique identifaction and dedication to games we often seek out new games and we pay attention to things like indie games.

Don't forget that some suit has to like it (indie film). Just because a movie is great doesn't mean it will be upgraded for wide release. If studio executive X doesn't think it will make money then they're left on their own.

 

[Luca72]

The internet equalizes a lot of this. Indie games have to be market themselves online to be successful in any way, while indie films tend to be popular within certain circles and stir up attention at festivals, but still heavily rely on the internet for distribution.

What's mainstream or not isn't particularly relevant. There are indie movies that make it into the general culture, and brilliant indie movies that go unrecognized (some don't really get noticed until several years later). Indie games are the same way. I do think that people are becoming more receptive to both though, and that's promising

 

[Launcelot111]

I think to some extent there is a matter of proportion here. For games in general, there is a high knowledge barrier to getting a commercial release just for programming a game, while for movies, you just need a camera and some editing software. Games are more time and resource intensive as well. Thus, there are relatively few indie games compared to waves and waves of small-budget films. Moreover, indie films might have to be more political with studios to get produced or distributed, while there are enough channels for an indie game to be largely self-produced. With these factors, indie games are hard to make and easy to distribute, and indie films are easy to make but hard to distribute.

As for awareness of indie successes, aside from Minecraft, I think the ubiquity of indie games is overstated. Gaming fans will appreciate Braid on about the same level as movie fans will appreciate Juno, but Braid is not a household name. Someone enthusiastic about games as a medium and an industry (as we all are) would know Braid, but someone who plays sparingly or socially or whatnot would likely never play it despite their enjoyment of video games. I think the same can be said of indie films- people who enjoy film for film's sake would know about Juno whereas someone who likes summer blockbusters and little else would not know much about it.

On a final note, go see Safety Not Guaranteed posthaste. It is the best movie of the year.