In this article, we will help you understand what an Indie Game is. There is some debate in what makes an Indie Game an Indie Game with a large number of games falling into that category. But, I’ve done some research to explore the core reasons why and Indie Game is what it is.
An indie game is a video game that is typically made by a small group of developers and usually incorporates a unique or new design concept when compared to larger AAA games. Minecraft is an example of a game that started as an indie game that grew to a AAA game managed by Microsoft. While the team responsible for Super Meat Boy and Binding of Isaac are still indie despite their popularity grew as the developers remained in control as developers.
What Makes A Game Indie?
An Indie Game is a game that falls into one or more of the following criteria. The game is made by a small group of people, small to no budget, incorporates creative (sometimes risky) game design ideas and concepts, or satisfying the developers wants for a game.
- Small development team
- Little to no budget
- Creative control
- Unique, new, or risky game concepts
There are many definitions for an indie game all of which are true in some sense.
One comparative that can be made is what makes a Triple-A game? A game with a massive budget, large teams each responsible for a development point in the game (coding, debugging, testing, concept art, textures, models, publisher, HR-department, etc..), a target market with wants and needs to ensure maximum sales.
An Indie Game is not that, much like Star Wars is not an independent film.
Small Development Team
Indie games generally have small development teams ranging from 1 to 30. The team size is usually determined by the budget set in place and the roles people on the team can fill.
A programmer can fill multiple roles by their experience coding, debugging, and testing. While an artist can do textures, sprites, models, and animations. Sound effects, social media, interviews, and music may be done by both persons!
The possibilities are endless and many indie games utilize multiple talents between people. Artists may learn basic coding and get pre-made developer tools to assist in creating their game, while a programmer could learn to make pixel art to create basic sprites.
A small team comprising of multiple roles could resemble the following list:
- Manager/Lead
- Human Resource Generalist (HR)
- Game Designer
- Programmer
- Tester
- 2D Artist
- 3D Artist
- Sound Design
Little To No Budget
A lot of the time indie games are started as hobbies or side projects, this means the development doesn’t have an initial budget or timeline. This is not always the case though as there are independent companies, like Studio MDHR, that have a budget used to pay for development.
Most independent game companies will have investors that invest money into the game for a profitable return when the game is released. Other times, like the case for the developers during the creation of Super Meat Boy, credit cards and loans are used to pay for full-time development.
Creative Control
A special characteristic of an indie game is that the developers are in control of the game. Larger AAA games, like Call of Duty, cannot experiment or try too many new ideas as the concept of the game is already tied to a fanbase. Because a massive budget is in place they must use previous formulas to ensure sales are consistent.
Indie games generally don’t need to cater to a previously established audience or publisher as their game concept is new. The risk is already high and there is usually no budget at the start of development. Independent gaming companies that do have a budget are usually established and have a good idea of the scope and costs for the game.
Unique, New, or Risky Game Concepts
Most indie games offer something new to the gaming world whether that is a game mechanic, story, control scheme, or new perspective on a genre. An indie game does not have to be made this way and could be a person to the team that wants to create a game for the sake of creating a game.
How Are Indie Games Made?
Many indie games are created using pre-made engines or a small engine the developer has made for their particular game. Popular engines used to create games are Unity, Unreal, Godot, and GameMaker. The art and textures in an indie game are usually made in Photoshop and GIMP while using 3DStudioMax and Blender for 3D models.
Indie games generally have small development teams where team members may be responsible for multiple roles within the “company”. A programmer may also do art design and music, while the artist may be responsible for textures, models, animations, sound design, press release, and testing. Furthermore, both may share responsibility for promoting and finding publishers.
A game developed without a publisher or investors means the game can take as long as needed to be completed. Cuphead for example took 5 years to develop and it shows form the refinement and polish put into the game.
What’s The Difference Between An Indie Game And AAA Game?
The main difference between a Triple-A game and an indie game is the budget and scale of the game being created. Indie games tend to have a much smaller budget, shorter campaign (story), unique mechanics, and more stylized art. While Triple-A games are typically made by big companies (Electronic Arts, Nintendo, Microsoft, etc..) have lots of content, the latest graphic techniques utilized, large teams dedicated to the development, and usually, a franchise attached to it.
The scope of a game a Triple-A can be large because of the number of people on the team. Instead of having a dedicated art person or a programmer that is also doing art they have a dedicated art team. Concept artists, 2D artists, texture artists, 3D modelers, animators, etc.. The project is scoped with features determined before development has begun and a path on how to accomplish the project by a certain date.
Indie games don’t have the luxury of having large teams and millions of dollars to use to develop a game.
Does that mean the games are worst? Definitely not!
Smaller teams allow for easy team discussion to pivot design features to add features and try new mechanics. Since no release date has to be met developers can experiment and polish the game as they wish.
Top 10 Most Influential Indie Games
- Minecraft
- Super Meat Boy
- Limbo
- Fez
- Spelunky
- Papers Please
- Faster Than Light
- Cuphead
- Amnesia: The Dark Descent
- Braid
Conclusion
An indie game is a game that has a smaller team, lower budget, creative control, and usually offers new unique game mechanics with refreshing art stylization. Anyone can start developing a game and that’s how most indie developers and indie companies get started. A game that starts as an indie game may evolve into a Triple-A franchise, Minecraft is a perfect example of this.