Poll: Do you prefer mainstream or Indie games?

Recommended Videos

thejboy88

New member
Aug 29, 2010
1,515
0
0
Title says it all. If you had to say which kind of game you prefer playing, mainstream titles or those made by Indie developers, which would it be?
 

KyuubiNoKitsune-Hime

Lolita Style, The Best Style!
Jan 12, 2010
2,151
0
0
Both? I like fun well made games, which can be indie (like Shovel Knight and FTL), or mainstream (like Dark Souls and Assassins Creed). It doesn't matter if the game is indie, or mainstream, as long as it's fun, and well enough put together that the experience doesn't suck.
 

MetalDooley

Cwipes!!!
Feb 9, 2010
2,054
0
1
Country
Ireland
I wouldn't say I have a preference.As long as a game is good I don't really care if it's a ?10 indie game or a ?60 AAA game
 

Aerosteam

Get out while you still can
Sep 22, 2011
4,267
0
0
I like the creativity and freedom of indie devs but I also like the budget and scope of AAA devs.

I have no preference for either, my favourite games ever are a mix of the two. But since indie games are generally cheaper, I'd go for them if I had to make a choice.
 

Maximum Bert

New member
Feb 3, 2013
2,149
0
0
Depends im not sure if I would call some of the games I enjoy particularly mainstream or indie. Honestly I cant say I have a preference I just judge each game on a case by case basis albeit unfortunately not necessarily impartially (missed some gems for years before I went back and tried them and actually found they were good) rather than having a preference over how much money and how many people were involved in making it.

I think they both have something to offer but I suppose I tend not to like the extreme either way because both then tend to end up not being very fun even if it is for different reasons. Thats not to say I have not enjoyed very mainstream or extremely indie games but these tend to be few.
 

Silentpony_v1legacy

Alleged Feather-Rustler
Jun 5, 2013
6,760
0
0
More mainstream. As much as we harp on AAA for being dicks, at least the games they release work. And yes, Arkham Knight blah blah blah. Thing is they're working on fixing it! Even pulled it from Steam until its ready. Dickish? Yes. But reasonable? Absolutely.

How many terrible indie "games" are there that literally do not work? Steam's riddled with them and the Devs couldn't care less! I spent a week trying to get Dead State to run on Steam and eventually the Dev just said that sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't but thanks for buying anyway.
Say what you will about EA, they couldn't release a game that only works on half the Xbones out there, shrug and say deal with it. They'd be crucified! But Indie devs are small and weak and its not fair to hold them to any reasonable standard.

Having said that, generally I think Indie devs have better ideas and intentions behind their games. AAA companies want to make money, and that's all well and good, but making a fun game seems secondary. Indie devs on the whole seem like they want to make a fun game and that's respectable to a degree. But given the choice I'm still going to go mainstream because its simply easier to trust their games work.


TL;DR Indie devs have better ideas, AAA devs are better at actually making a game that works.
 

Chaos Isaac

New member
Jun 27, 2013
609
0
0
Mainstream a bit more.

I like some Indie games, but god damn I love me some Halo and other things.
 

gigastar

Insert one-liner here.
Sep 13, 2010
4,419
0
0
Leaning mainstream, though i generally go after anything if it matches my interests and has earned a Certification of Not Shit.
 

Vigormortis

New member
Nov 21, 2007
4,531
0
0
Where's the "Both." or "Does it matter?" options?

I ask because I imagine a number of people are like me, in that they like games from either camp. I mean, hell, my personal 'Top 10 Favorite Games' list is comprised of equal parts indie and triple-A.

But if I had to pick one or the other, I'd say I find myself more frequently anticipating and buying indie titles nowadays than I do triple-A titles. This is mostly due to the experimental nature of the genre[footnote]The term "indie" has become somewhat nebulous today. While it technically refers to any game that's developed and released by an independent developer, many have come to associate the term with any game that either has a smaller budget or a "retro" look. Just look at Minecraft. It is, or rather was, an independent title, under both definitions of the term. Yet, it sold far more than most triple-A games do. Or, look at Journey. Many consider it an indie game, yet it was funded and published by Sony.[/footnote]. It tends to breed more creativity than we see in the current triple-A industry.

Still, that said, I don't necessarily prefer one type over the other. I simply enjoy fun, compelling, creative, well-crafted games, regardless of which industry they originate from. It just so happens that indie games have been scratching my current gaming itch better than the triple-A games have.
 

Keoul

New member
Apr 4, 2010
1,579
0
0
I prefer good games.
I don't care if they're mainstream or indie, as long as they're fun then I like em. I've played and finished Assassin's Creed Brotherhood in PC and I definitely enjoyed it but I've played FTL for much longer, I wouldn't say either is better since they give a different experience because they're different games.
 

Chester Rabbit

New member
Dec 7, 2011
1,004
0
0
I just like video games. I don't care if they come from an independent developer or a big money spending publisher. As long as I enjoy it. Doesn't matter to me.
 

mavkiel

New member
Apr 28, 2008
215
0
0
Hard question to answer. For example Fallout/Skyrim have easy consumed the most time for me. However, I also the guild 2, mount and blade and some other smaller titles.
 

zerragonoss

New member
Oct 15, 2009
333
0
0
I would join in on the doesn?t matter crowd. Though I do have to say the most consistent quality would likely be found in the single, or double A type of games the ones made by small studios on a reasonable budget or off of a large Kickstarter.
 

G00N3R7883

New member
Feb 16, 2011
281
0
0
I prefer good games over bad ones.

Honestly sometimes I get annoyed by people who talk about AAA being better than indie or vice versa. There are countless examples of good and bad games in both.

I mean some people will have you believe that AAA as a whole is evil, they will probably use the phrase corporate greed, refer to stuff like season passes and microtransations, they'll probably tell you that every sequel is the same game you've already played because AAAs have no creativity. They'll mention the times that AAAs have released full of bugs. And immediately I think of how many examples of broken trash I've seen on Steam greenlight or early access. Just being indie is no guarantee of a good game.
 

Akytalusia

New member
Nov 11, 2010
1,374
0
0
i prefer indie primarily because they're typically smaller in size and have lower minimum spec requirements. my machine is barely better than a toaster, so, yeah.
secondarily i like simple graphics anyway, and supporting the little guy, and since i primarily play japanese indie games in particular, the indie games i play are typically very polished and of professional quality on top of having reasonable specs. so i really don't mind.

on a side note, i don't have anything against mainstream games either. if my current machine could support them, i'd be putting some time into some more fleshed out titles like skyrim, new vegas, the sims 3, runes of magic... .... if i could... if only i could...
i miss playing real games sometimes. :/

if i had an unrestricted spec machine, i'd have to join the "i just like good games, no matter where they come from" crowd, natch.
 

FPLOON

Your #1 Source for the Dino Porn
Jul 10, 2013
12,531
0
0
The niche games... (from Japan...)

Other than that, the mainstream indies... that may or may not be or have gotten inspiration from Japan... (or just from Japan...)
 

Casual Shinji

Should've gone before we left.
Legacy
Jul 18, 2009
20,519
5,335
118
Mainstream.

There's not many indies that deliver the story-focused action adventure experience I crave from my games. And I don't really consider games like Journey to be indies.

Also, most indie games seem focused on the 2D nostalgia factor, and I've sort of had my fill of that. And I hardly if ever play games on my PC, so there's that, too.