Independant game development - Do you support it?

[Orgull]

I'm DL'ing Hinterland right now, which is technically and indie title. I bought Fate and Oasis, both indie. I also supported Dwarf Fortress. I was very happy to find out Tarn Adams now works full time on Dwarf Fortress thanks to donations from fans.

A few years ago I would only buy games in stores and only ever AAA titles. But either I or the industry (both most likely) have changed to the point where now I feel very comfortable handing 20 bucks over to a garage developer to try out the game they put their heart and soul into. I've also bought several games by digital distribution now and so far I've never had a problem.

Is anyone else making the switch? Are lots of people? How do you feel about indie vs. major studio and brick & mortar vs. online distribution?

[dbt1949]

I haven't bought a high budget title in ages. Most of the games I buy are from small developers\independents.
I am giving thought however to Fallout 3 even tho I don't care for first person shooter types.

[qp]

I've bought a fair bit, including hinterland which looks intriguing. Been burned quite a few times too, but games like Mount & Blade have enough gameplay to pay for the stuff I didn't like (Everyday Shooter)

[LordMortis]

The last games I bought were

Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI
Way too much money dumped into Goal line Blitz.
Medeival Total War II
Mount and Blade Beta

Which is about everything I've bought over the last year.

I think that counts for three of four, though I am >< this far away from making it 3 of 5 by picking up Colonization. If that's not the next game I get, it will be a beta for the fantasy TBS that is not MoM.

[Jeff V]

Stardock and HPS are two self-publishing developers that I regularly support. I would support Paradox a little more, but so far, my favorite game of theirs hasn't been patched to a non-crashy state.

[LordMortis]

Stardock and HPS are two self-publishing developers that I regularly support. I would support Paradox a little more, but so far, my favorite game of theirs hasn't been patched to a non-crashy state.

I'm not happy with KOEI's support for RoTKIX. Which is to say they have none. The only support you can get is from other fans via their forum. My game starts crashing around 263 whenever I click on the mini map. One person (not even KOEK person to my knowledge) just happened to post a single time at the end of a non related crash thread in the forum that this crash is fixed by turn off compression.

[Two Sheds]

I buy whatever games look interesting to me and have good reviews and/or a fun demo. Some of them are indie titles, most of them are from major publishers. I "support" independent game developers insofar as I buy their games if they deliver quality products, but not out of any sense of helping out the little guy or supporting them as a matter of principle.

[Effidian]

I can't say that I go out of my way to support them, but I've certainly bought several. Eschalon, serveral Spiderweb games, Helherron (before it was free), Mount & Blade, etc. But I like old school RPGs, so it is pretty much the only place I can scratch that itch.

As for digital distribution, I haven't bought a boxed game in over 3 years. In fact, I don't want boxes. If a game is released without digitial distribution, I'll just wait for it.

[Kelric]

I've picked up OOTP for six straight years and bought Mount & Blade. I tried the demo for Armageddon Empires and while that game should be straight up my alley it just came across as too complicated with too little explanation in the demo. If a game is good, I'll buy it. I don't particularly care if it's from EA or a garage developer.

[Tim James]

I have about 20 or 30 indie games I'd like to buy (I haven't kept up with the sub-industry here) but it's just too much at $20 a pop. Next year I'll have room in the budget.

[Aganazer]

I have bought just as many indie games this year as I have commercial games. Its the first year I have done this. I think we are seeing, and will continue to see, a rise in the quality and availability of indie titles.

[Zarathud]

I'm much more likely to buy a game from an independent developer, just to try it out. I'm also much more forgiving of problems and quirks.

Mount & Blade
Armadeggon Empires
Hinterland
King of Dragon Pass
Spiderweb Software (Avernum)
Stardock (Gal Civ, Political Machine, Sins of a Solar Empire)
Dominions 3
Coliseum
Sam & Max
Space Rangers
Nexus
Star Wolves
Space Empires

[DireAussie]

I've bought a number of indy titles and have been happy with my purchases. Usually I only those that have garnered some popularity. I also dont buy grognard wargames, which seems to make up a large proportion of indy games market. This is my current list of indy games: AE, Avernum & Geneforge, Wierd Worlds, Combat Mission, Dominions 2&3, interstellar traveller 2 & coliseum (actually, that's not too many is it!!).

I would love to see more indies have a go at it. I'm happy to lay down $20 for a quality indy product, but I know a lot of people are very wary about buying from an unknown developer online for a number of reasons.

I myself have been thinking about it. I've been doing some programming in XNA 2.0 for a while now (but as a gamer this is hard, because I like playing games in my free time between my full time job; making games instead means hardly any gaming time!!). XNA, C#, Blender and GIMP are wonderful tools to make 2D and 3D stuff painlessly; its the only tools you need to make a full game, and its all free! While it would be difficult to make a cutting edge game in terms of graphics, its ideal for strategy games which dont need great graphics (and that's the type of game I'm making).

[cheeba]

I don't like turn-based games, and therefore don't support indie game development as much as I might otherwise would.

[JonathanStrange]

Whereas I love turn-based games and own many of the games listed here - and many not listed.

But it's not a charity; I don't care about company status. If EA made a turn-based apocalyptic builder with RPG elements; a sort of "I am Legend meets Fallout meets Caesar III" I'd buy it. If my droogs Dim and Alex made the game with 10-year-old graphics, I'd buy it.

I'm all about the games.

It's just a coincidence that the industry has mostly turned its face away from that type of gaming and that indies are providing it.

I am more inclined to buy an indie game earlier than I would a "mainstream big deal game" to encourage the indie creators' originality but again: the game is the thing. Create a game that doesn't much interest me or doesn't seem to be fun to anyone not obsessed with it? I'll pass.

Actually, I'm not much into social causes or crusades, so if I'd known that I was "supporting the indies" I might have thought twice about my purchases. A company shouldn't be supported; either it has a product the market judges worthwhile or it doesn't. Good intentions usually don't count.

[dbt1949]

In my case I like turn based strategy games. Something the mainstream industry doesn't produce much of anymore. There I have to go to the smaller developers and independents.

[Xoanon]

Indie games are the only ones I will pay for nowadays. The people who work for the big companies like Bethesda and Bioware are already multi-millionaires and so wont miss not having my money.

[JonathanStrange]

Indie games are the only ones I will pay for nowadays. The people who work for the big companies like Bethesda and Bioware are already multi-millionaires and so wont miss not having my money.

They're "already multi-millionaires"? That'll come as a surprise to a couple of friends of mind at Bethesda and Bioware: "Hey millionaires, why still working? Why not chill and take a vacation in the Bahamas? Stop bitchin' about your mortgages and gasoline expenses!" You're not hinting at piracy are you? Sorry, if I read that implication but I've heard similar "they won't miss not having my money" from people justifying why they're playing but not paying. If all you meant was that you buy and play only indie games (without pirating "big company" games on the side), cool.

[DireAussie]

The people who work for the big companies like Bethesda and Bioware are already multi-millionaires and so wont miss not having my money.

This is capitalism. People working for a company get paid a salary. The profits go to the shareholders of companies. Who these shareholders are varies greatly within the game industry. This is one good thing about indie developers - you know your cash is going directly to them.

You're not hinting at piracy are you?[...]you buy and play only indie games (without pirating "big company" games on the side)

Well, reading what the guy just said and then looking at the games he's been playing in his posting history I think you could put two and two together. But hopefully we can leave it at that and not turn this post into another Piracy thread.

[AWS260]

The people who work for the big companies like Bethesda and Bioware are already multi-millionaires and so wont miss not having my money.

Not quite:

Editors at Game Developer magazine, the leading video game industry publication, have released the results of its seventh annual Game Developer Salary Survey, calculating an average American game industry salary in 2007 of $73,600, slightly up from 2006's figure of $73,316.

[Freezer-TPF-]

I buy games that I want to play. When I buy indie games, I buy them because I want to play them. I am more likely to buy an indie game if the developer appears engaged and supportive. I do feel a little warmer and fuzzier when I buy an indie game from a small shop vs. a faceless AAA title.

But I buy specific games because I want to play them, not due to some generic principle to support indies for the sake of it.

[Grifman]

No, I hate independent game development. They should all just disappear and quit bothering us with their mediocre products

Seriously, I don't care. I buy games because they look fun. I don't care who develops them. I'm not going to buy a game because Mr. Independent Developer made it any more than I buy a game because Big Evil EA made it. If it's a topic that interests me and looks fun, I'll buy it. If it's genre I don't play or it looks like crap, I won't. Who makes it matters absolutely not to me.

[Butterknife]

I feel good about buying fun games from small or independent developers -- much more so than buying from big companies. That being said, only a small portion of my gaming budget goes to small or indie products, just because there is less of that available. What I do find interesting is how much bigger that small piece is getting every year, though. Lots of the kind of games I really like are getting developed overseas too.

people who work for the big companies like Bethesda and Bioware are already multi-millionaires

I try to swim in my money every day -- just a few quick laps around my indoor pool before work. I'm having my eyebrows gold-plated on Saturday. Ignore the whole "budget" comment above.

[coopasonic]

The people who work for the big companies like Bethesda and Bioware are already multi-millionaires and so wont miss not having my money.

Not quite:

Editors at Game Developer magazine, the leading video game industry publication, have released the results of its seventh annual Game Developer Salary Survey, calculating an average American game industry salary in 2007 of $73,600, slightly up from 2006's figure of $73,316.

Considering the hours typically worked, that's pitiful.

[Jeff V]

The gaming industry has a very high burn-out rate (average career is 5 years I think). Other long-hour, high-stress careers that are more lucrative hold people's attention a little longer. Corporate software developers make a lot more money. Sure, they're not surrounded by a culture of "fun" as many game developers try to create, but work is still work, and even "fun" becomes work after a time.

[Pod]

I think it's rather pretentious to go around "supporting" indie developers. For a start, many indie games are utter tosh - and that's why they aren't picked up by big publishers. Supporting these games would be a waste of everyones time and would make you seem no better than one of those douches who likes 'independant' but very, very shit bands. However, that's not to say I don't love indie games. Por example, I was one of the first few people to donate to Dwarf Fortress at the time, and I was poor and in uni and everything. I've bought many games from indie devs and will continue to do so - but that's purely because they make ace games and has nothing to do with who publishes it.

[silvaril]

Heya

Arise spawn of the tentacled!

Seeing more articles these days on the costs of Game Dev, both social and fiscal.

Kotaku's latest:
http://kotaku.com/we-need-better-video- ... -472880781" target="_blank

Penny Arcade Report:
http://www.penny-arcade.com/report/arti ... w-one-stud" target="_blank

[Davidbld]

Dins Curse, by Soldak Entertainment has been keeping me entertained for days now. Its a Diablo/Torchlight clone but I am really having fun. Its from an Indie guy who used to work at Relic and I'll prolly buy other games from him especially if they hit Steam.

[LordMortis]

It looks like in the last five years I have moved almost exclusively to indie games and I've sort of become a computer gamer again, which it becoming a bad thing. For many years I computer game burnout and computer game disappointment has kept me from playing computer games like a part time job. I don't have the time to play like I have been playing.

The budget pricing is ironically combined with games I am enjoying, so it's a best of both worlds situation.

I think the last expensive big title game I bought was CivV and I was disappointed and it annoyed. I almost picked up Diablo III but Torchlight and then Torchlight II scratched that itch for 1/3 of the price combined.

I will pick up XCom eventually but I'm ascared. I don't have time to play it.

The best thing about these less expensive titles is that when I am disappointed, I don't feel like I was ripped off. Endless Space was a disappointment (which they say is much better now) but for $20 it still felt worth a shot.

I am also finding that some of the small game houses are doing amazing support for their games and I don't understand how with the income can't be getting. I am stumped at the amount that is going into Don't Starve for the price they are charging. The passion and vision for that game is awesome.

[AWS260]

Dins Curse, by Soldak Entertainment has been keeping me entertained for days now. Its a Diablo/Torchlight clone but I am really having fun. Its from an Indie guy who used to work at Relic and I'll prolly buy other games from him especially if they hit Steam.

His next game is on Greenlight: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/f ... =122180124

[Davidbld]

Dins Curse, by Soldak Entertainment has been keeping me entertained for days now. Its a Diablo/Torchlight clone but I am really having fun. Its from an Indie guy who used to work at Relic and I'll prolly buy other games from him especially if they hit Steam.

His next game is on Greenlight: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/f ... =122180124

Yea, I know, already gave it my vote