It's nice to see indie developers and big-name corporations such as Sony existing with each other, and even benefitting each other. Good to know that there is still room for those independent developers out there :)
E3 '07: Indie games get a shot
By
Brendan Sinclair, Senior Editor
Underground development scene crashes the Barker Hangar party with a handful of alternative gaming options.
SANTA MONICA, Calif.--Despite the latest generation of consoles offering more horsepower for games and more ways to control them than ever before, the industry is still dominated by first-person shooters, licensed properties, and franchised sequels. Whatever one thinks of the upcoming lineups from the major publishers unveiled at this year's E3 Media and Business Summit, there was one booth at the Barker Hangar where visitors could count on every game shown to bring something new to the mix.
The Indie Games Showcase booth, a collaborative effort between international independent games festival IndieCade and the International Game Developers Association, takes up more space than those for some big-name publishers like Ubisoft, Activision, and Take-Two Interactive. The booth houses a number of games that stand out from the crowd, from the surreal Night Journey to the physics-based platformer N. Information about all the games on display is available at IndieCade's official Web site.
IndieCade founder Stephanie Barish took a few minutes to answer some quick questions from GameSpot about independent game development and its role at the new E3.
GameSpot: It looks like just about everyone else here is a member of the show's organizer, the Entertainment Software Association. How'd you get into E3?
Stephanie Barish: We were invited by the ESA to come, and they actually sponsored our booth because they really wanted to show everybody else here that there were other options, and just have people see things that were a little bit different.
GS: With so few companies coming this year, there's a concern that smaller, out-of-the-way games from independent developers that might have been displayed in Kentia Hall last year wouldn't get a chance at E3. Is this enough of a foothold for independent games at the show?
SB: That's a really good question. I think that this is a different kind of foothold. I don't think we could represent everybody that was in Kentia Hall. And I think the ESA purposely wanted it to just be their members representing themselves. So in terms of representing Kentia Hall, no. In terms of representing what the indie games scene is like, I think it's a really good starting point.
GS: One thing about the old E3 is that independent developers could come to the show and do business with publishers as well as the press. The indie games in the booth are getting exposure to the media, but is there as much going on with them on the business end of things?
SB: Well a lot of these games are by independent developers, like one person. These are people that wouldn't even have gotten into Kentia Hall, so yeah, this is great visibility for them... We're getting a ton of attention for the gamemakers. And also the ESA wanted to support our efforts for this independent games festival, and that will be a good place for the people who would have done business at Kentia Hall... A couple of them are now coming out. Sony just announced Everyday Shooter on the PlayStation 3, N is coming out on the DS, somebody else is working on a deal with Xbox Live Arcade. All these guys are making deals. They're all different situations because they're all individuals.
GS: What are some of your favorites here?
SB: It's hard to know; it depends on my mood. I had a dream about Night Journey last night, which is an incredible game done by game designer Tracy Fullerton and media artist Bill Viola. He's an incredible video artist and it's kind of a dreamy, zen-like game and it's really unusual, interesting, and exploratory. I love Everyday Shooter. One guy did everything on that game. And Cloud's been a favorite for a very long time.
By
Brendan Sinclair, Senior Editor
Brendan Sinclair has been a games journalist since 1999. His tastes are eclectic, though he has a definite affinity for games with arcade roots. He's Canadian, but has also been at home in Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, and San Francisco.
34 comments
I reckon not only next gen HD games will be the future but defiantly indie game developers selling their game on steam or given it away as freeware . and the new Microsoft xna game studio will help people make games for Xbox live marketplace
See, this is how indie developers should do it...by drawing attention to yourself with proper business like behaviour. If more indie developers would conduct themselves like this instead of whining and crying about how the industry isn't fair, then maybe more of them would be taken seriously.
errrrm, he said 'incredible' twice? hey Neuro... you said it more times! Indie games need more publicity. The mainstream has become rather stagnant. Bring back things like the Net-Yaroze I say, and encourage bedroom coding again!
exposure... such an intimidating word, but very good in some cases. in the entertainment world, everyone deserves some sort of chance to strut their stuff... look at crap like American Idol :P
incredible incredible incredible incredible... sb gets -5 for saying incredible so much.. buy a thesaurus and spend some time with incredible man.
Hope MS will introduce some indie games on XBL - This is definitely good publicity for both parties - Aegis Wing is a good start (even though its done by Ms interns)
Indy games are good or bad, never seam to be in the middle, but they will always belong in the world.
As long as they keep the frozen lemonade cold, indies will always have a space in the Kentia Halls of our hearts. Yes, I am corny.
This is a good start on allowing small development houses to get their games out. But its only a start, and hopefully more help will be given for the games to have a shot at retail.
Eh.. I want more info on Night Journey :/ So far all I can find is a artsy portfolio page talking about the concept.. no details on availability :/
The thing I like about independent game developers, is that they don't have the creative restraints that big developers do. So they're free to make games as wild as they want; games that follow their dreams and flow with creativity. These are the games that I like looking at. They have all the effort and hard work of big ticket games, but they can sometimes be better!
N on the DS? WOW! Thats like one of the more legendary classic freeware games out, it's awsome the game is getting some comerical recognition
This levels nothing! There won't be a 'level' playing field on the consoles until someone has an Internet based 'store' where mostly-complete, fully-tested games are available, and those games come from anyone, anywhere in the world. Think Xbox Live Arcade + a free section of Indie games, or game demos where the player can buy a full version without paying a $99.00/yr fee for them. (i.e., screw XNA since it doesn't allow everyone to download your newly produced game). BTW, if you want to support indie developers, go buy their games!! Check out www.goatstore.com for some on the Dreamcast scene that have been released commercially (Feet of Fury, Maquipai, Cool Herders).
Always good to add some variety into the mix. Also good to hear that the indie developers will be getting their games out to a wide audience on xbla, ds and ps3.
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