Indie Games

[Ivo]

I agree with most of what JT said.

I see where the "naysayers" are coming from, though. Time is definitively limited.

There is certainly a lot of crap in commercial games, in indie games and in freeware games. I don't know percentages or anything, but when it goes for commercial games and paid-for indie games there is often more of a guidance from reviews and so on (that also applies to retro games, either on emulation or whatever). When it comes to actual freeware games many of these guides (like the ones JT graciously links us to) even the guys writing the guide often haven't played all of them.

I still like to delve through some of those lists from time to time. Finding a gem and sharing the info (here, for example) is rewarding enough to merit some time loss playing some crap / average / good-but-not-great freebies.

Ivo.

[RCBH928]

I see what you mean guys,
but I guess I will just wait until those innovations make the jump to mainstream, except for those really great games I might play like Cave Story for example.

I will admit though, Cave Story is pretty awesome from what I've played of it and I may occasionally try an indie game if it's talked about here or on hg101, but I don't go seeking them out.

btw, hg101 , is it alive? I always thought its an abandoned website that might go down any min

[Hobie-wan]

HG101 just updates sporadically. Its been on a once a month update roll for a while now. At first I thought the slow updates were annoying, but quality over quantity. I think that site has added enough to my want list already anyway.

[fastbilly1]

I wish I could keep up with Indie and doujin games but I have a hardtime finding any sort of real news nexus for it. I have found a few sites that review them, but I cannot even find a decent blog for the Indie communities - though this could just be a sad hit at my google skills.

I support Indie gaming for the reasons that JT said and for one that I think that is far more important. Most Indie games are made by people who are just doing it since they love the concept of their game. It is like the people who selfpublish novels. They did it because they love both the craft and their story enough to put a significant amount of time into it. As someone who hopes to have a novel published this year, well I appreciate that FAR more than I do for a commercial title. Dont get me wrong, I know alot of the programmers for big companies are doing it for similar reasons. But two or three years ago at Dragoncon I met a guy who said he spent countless sleepless nights while working atleast one fulltime job, sometimes two, to program his roguelike. It was well worth the $20 for me to spend to get his game since to him, it was a labor of love, not a paycheck. Hell it came in a ziplock bag, just like Ultima...

To me, this means alot. And you can see the results in some of the titles. I do not think I have to mention the Touhou series, but I will anyway. Take a look at Perfect Cherry Blossom and then tell me that it is not a worthy title. Hell its better than the last dozen or so verts I spent $30+ on.

[J T]

Here's an interesting new indie game I found. It's a hand painted horror game called Marionette. It's more psychological horror than blood n guts. It creates a pretty cool disoriented atmosphere:
http://tigsource.com/articles/2010/01/19/the-marionette

[fastbilly1]

I am not a horror fan, but after watching the trailers on youtube, I am very interested in the Marionette:




Like I said before, its all about the blood, sweat, and tears that go into the game. This one shows that many indie games are about the love of the craft, and not about making money. That and I am a sucker for hand painted backgrounds.

[Ack]

Speaking of indie horror games, any of you guys fans of the Penumbra Trilogy? I've only played through the first, but it was awesome.

[masteroftheclaw]

I've been out of the indie game loop for some years now but I'm really interested in getting back into it...

The Marionette looked pretty sweet, and now I'm left wondering what other neat horror titles have come out over the past few years? It's my preferred genre of game and I know there were some pretty awesome ones back when I played before (stuff like Trilby's Notes and The Room).

I have the Penumbra titles as well as Yume Nikki on my "to do" list.

[crux]

I wish I could keep up with Indie and doujin games but I have a hardtime finding any sort of real news nexus for it. I have found a few sites that review them, but I cannot even find a decent blog for the Indie communities - though this could just be a sad hit at my google skills.

My sentiments exactly. I'm happy to delve into a indie game when the opportunity arrives, and I gladly support most indie games officially (or unofficially) released onto physical consoles, but the niche of indie games is an enormous one. There's almost no systems out there to condense and simplify the thousands of offerings out there, to make them more palpable. Moreover, there's little way in which to compare them to the great mass audience video games to properly assess their value. I buy indie console games on faith alone often enough, at least knowing I'm supporting a niche among niches. It's hard to know where the peak of the mountain of indie PC games lies. It's fortunate enough that word gets along with some titles, such as Cave Story or VVVVVV more recently.

[J T]

I'm left wondering what other neat horror titles have come out over the past few years?

Another Indie Horror game worth checking out is Downfall.

I'll also 2nd Ack's recommendation of Penumbra. I picked up the trilogy on a Steam sale awhile ago, and though I haven't gotten to far into it yet, it's definitely an interesting take on both horror and adventure games.