The Independent Games Summit (IGS) was held for the first time at GDC this year and proved to be one of the most popular tracks, selling out several weeks before the show. It certainly did not disappoint.
The summit kicked off with a keynote by the reclusive, yet highly entertaining Jeff Minter from Llamasoft. Most gamers will know him as the man behind Tempest 2000, and the visualizer for Xbox 360 which he wrote. Jeff Minter epitomizes the independent game development spirit. In his keynote, he detailed his evolution through his various games and audio visualization titles, demo-ing each of them as he spoke to the crowd. Jeff wrapped up by demonstrating his latest game Space Giraffe, reminiscent of Tempest (although Jeff was quick to underline that the game is most definitely not Tempest). The game can only be described as an orgy of color, light pulses, particles, strobes, environmental effects, and humor. For a lot more coverage, check out the article (and pictures) at the Inquirer. Jeff’s new game will probably be out on XBLA in late may-early June.
Two days of varied sessions followed, highlighting the diversity, and quality of work that goes on in the indie community. These sessions, and several tours through the Independent Games Festival (IGF) booth (where all the indie finalists were available to be played) left us with the following impressions.
First, independent games are definitely on the rise. The community is growing at an incredible pace, and the quality of some the games being released is simply amazing. Some of the games show the same level of polish (if not more), than the AAA titles out there. Games such as Jon Mak’s Everyday Shooter, Jon Blow’s Braid, Bit Blot’s Aquaria, or Behemoth’s Castle Crashers.
Not only that, but more and more indie developers are finding financial success (or sustenance) making indie games. A few of the talks were from developers who had managed to distribute their titles on XBLA (such as the Gastronauts, makers of Small Arms), or on Sony’s EDI initiative (like Jenova Chen, maker of flOw), or even online on the PC through various distribution outlets like GameTap (such as TellTale studios, makers of Sam & Max 2). Furthermore, at least a few of the IGF finalists have also secured distribution deals either with console manufacturers, or on services such as GameTap’s newly launched indie label, or Steam.
As we’ve noted before, it’s definitely a good time to be an indie.
Second, the indie community is very tight-knit, yet all the developers (and wannabe developers) are very open, both friendly and approachable. Everyone genuinely wants the others to succeed, and feel comfortable sharing information and offering advice. The diversity within the community is also impressive. The increase in the number of students involved in indie games is also interesting to note. A few of the IGF finalists have hailed from student programs, and some of the most innovative ideas have been produced by students.
Finally, while an almost adversarial Us Vs Them attitude towards the mainstream industry pervades the independent community, the gap between the two communities is increasingly and more frequentlybridged. As we’ve just noted, we’re seeing quite a few new distribution opportunities for indies on mainstream consoles, and this will only grow. Microsoft and Sony both seem very interested in signing up games which are truly different (yet still sellable) to their respective online distribution programs.
The IGS wrapped up on Tuesday, but it concluded at the IGF and Choice Awards on Wednesday. We should note that the Choice Awards were excellently produced and creative, paced very well, and were on the quality level of an awards show like the Academy Awards (except actually entertaining). It was definitely one of the highlights of the week, and it is great to see that the industry has matured enough to be able to put on such a top-notch show. It seems fitting that the show concluded with Greg Costikyan’s inspiring acceptance speech for the Maverick Award.
Here’s a list of some of the best IGS sessions, with a good recap for each:
- Physics Games go Indie.
- Building the Future of Indie Games Roundtable.
- Indie Prototyping, Braid & Making Innovative Games.
- Console/PC Distribution Gatekeepers Roundtable.
- Innovation in Indie Games Roundtable.
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[…] At the GDC this year, I gave a talk at the Independent Games Summit about indie prototyping, and how it differs from mainstream-industry prototyping. One of my main points was about scheduling: you can’t schedule insight. It comes when it comes; so if you tie your prototyping process to a specific schedule (”X weeks of prototyping and then we start the real game”, for example), you will probably not give the proper insight the chance to blossom. Sometimes you need to sit on an idea for months, or years, before it is ready. […]
Left by Braid » Blog Archive » Post-Braid Project Update. on May 21st, 2007