Our Scott Krol discusses Indie Gaming...

[Tim Brooks]

For those that don't receive our Newsletter:

Excerpt from the January 2007 FRAG! Newsletter

Interesting read.

[Combat Wombat]

It was a good read, love the FRAG newsletter btw always filled with good stuff

[S.R. Krol]

Thanks Combat Wombat, glad you enjoy it!

-Scott

[Phoenix-D]

I'd disagree on that point. There are probably many indie games that sell much better than that. Except most gamers don't think of them as such. Snood. The latest version of whatever card game is popular. Bejeweled, etc.

Gaming is a hobby. Playing games in general isn't. The people that buy the marketing "game" are from the later catagory, and probably put it in the same basket as spending a view more bucks to get a Happy Meal.

The people in the later category also often view the games they're playing as hard/complicated enough already. Try to introduce most of them to Dominions or even Weird Worlds and they'd get overwhelmed, frustrated and quit.

[S.R. Krol]

Phoenix-D said:
I'd disagree on that point. There are probably many indie games that sell much better than that. Except most gamers don't think of them as such. Snood. The latest version of whatever card game is popular. Bejeweled, etc.

That's unfortunately a problem when discussing indie games in general. Is a game like Bejeweled "indie"? From a technical definition, yes, but as you mentioned most gamers don't look at it that way. I know I don't. To me games like that fall under the category of a "casual" game. Under casual I'd throw in all the flash games and the like.

Casual games are throwaway games, the gaming equivalent of a candy bar. You eat it, it provides some empty calories, and then you forget it.

An indie game though is a game with substance and longevity, but not a huge budget or big name publisher. Shaped by individuals, the indie game is pure, having not been designed by committee. Sometimes that's a good thing, sometimes it's a bad thing.

Should casual games, even if designed by one guy and sold only online, be considered part of the larger indie umbrella, or should they be considered a completely different genre? My vote is a different genre all together.

-Scott