INDEPENDENT GAMES ARE COOL
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INDEPENDENT GAMES ARE COOL
21 Sunday 21st March 2010
Following on from our brief heads-up about Spelunky, I felt it would be a good idea to put out a general update about indie games and the IGF. To truly appreciate video games that are made out of students' basements, we should look towards the Independent Games Festival, which took place in San Francisco last week from March 9.
The IGF is often hailed as the “most interesting” part of the annual Games Developers Conference. It was set up by a group of industry heavies in an attempt to drive and celebrate innovation in video game development. It also serves to award a handful of the most creative small-time developers around. It is the video game equivalent of Sundance.
Undoubtedly a hotspot for fresh talent and creative flare, equal emphasis is placed on the appreciation of all aspects of a game. Pieces of art sit side-by-side with technological breakthroughs. At the IGF it is common to find games with something important to say and It is important to stay aware of what the smaller developers are doing.
Most of these ideas are conceived with strict limitations on time and resources. This can place a real flare on the design or vision of a game, as they find new ways to make their concepts work. It is a way of thinking, that is vital to the progression of game development; something the bigger developers are acutely aware of.
From the perspective of someone who loves games, the IGF is where you’ll find the coolest and most honest ideas. You will find as much variation in the character of these games as you will in the personalities of those who are making them.
In the following weeks I’ll be posting a little more specifically about some of the indie games that captured my attention. I’d also like to encourage everyone with an online Xbox 360 to check out the Community Games area on their dashboard.
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