Indie Games

Didn't see a thread for this, so I thought I'd make one...

I think indie games have become more noticeable, at least for me personally. What are some titles that you like, or don't like?

 

I was about to make a thread for this actually, and call it Life's top indie games (get it? ), where I would write about one of my favourites each time. I look forward to to your contributions.

 

I'm really looking forward to The Witness which comes out next Tuesday. For those who don't know it's the new game from Jonathan Blow who made Braid (one of my favourite indie games). Some of my other favourites are Limbo, Dust: An Elysian Tail, Journey, Audiosurf, The Swapper, Mark Of The Ninja, Hotline Miami, and most recently Ori And The Blind Forest.

 

Recently the term "indie game" has become almost a disservice, as many of them can compete with and are better than your typical AAA title. Plus big time publishers are starting to back these smaller projects, so I'm not sure you would call a game like Ori and the Blind Forest, which was funded and published by Microsoft Studios, "indie."

 

As far as I'm concerned, it generally refers to any game that's developed by an individual or small team*. Commercial success or critical reception are irrelevant IMO. Yes, there are instances when they reach out to big companies for publishing but I think in most cases those publishers don't really influence what the final product will be. Allowing the developers to stay to their vision without interference is important too.

You brought up Microsoft Studios who incidentally published Braid, one of the most (if not the most) important games that put the indie scene on the map. I mentioned Dust in my previous post. That was also published by Microsoft but developed almost entirely by one guy. That's about as indie as it gets.

*I suppose how we define "small team" could be up for debate.

 

I'm pretty much interested in couple indie MMORPGs yet to be launched (so much that I'm not playing anything ATM), and I wish all the best to Star Citizen - don't intend to play it (space was never my thing) but I'd say it's fate is crucial for the future of indies and crowdfunding. And thus, IMO, gaming in general.