The Golden Age of Indie
So we've got the Unity 3D engine free for indies --- the Unreal 3 engine now in the price range for indies --- a new version of Torque that looks pretty impressive (and still priced within the "professional" indie level of affordability), an upcoming less-restrictive license for Ogre 3D (still free), and a host of existing engine choices from the usual suspects.

While those who have trained with the more expensive commercial counterparts complain endlessly about their difficulty getting used to them, Blender 3D and The Gimp are outstanding content development tools that are absolutely free. Blender 3D is readying for its big 2.5 release very soon now.

We've got indie games on consoles. Downloadable games are becoming the norm. Indie MMOs are competing head-to-head for dollars with the big boys (at least all the ones not named World of Warcraft).

The latest copy of Game Developer magazine lists the fifty most influential people in the industry over the last year or so - and indie developers (and evangelists) made up a reasonable chunk of the list.

Indie games are being talked about by mainstream press. Not just the token mention in a list in half-page columns near the back of the magazine like they used to get, but real honest-to-goodness attention. Two or three years ago, an average gamer had no idea what an "indie game" was. Now, they might not have played one, but they've at least heard of them. This is significant.

It sounds to me like the Age of Indie has fully arrived! (Jussincase we hadn't figured that out in the last two or three years.)

So what is the Age of Indie? Heck if I know. It's up to the indies themselves to define it. But what's cool is that those guys defining it are the folks with gumption, skill, and the willingness to put in a lot of hard work. NOT just the folks with the big bucks or publisher contracts.

ANYBODY can make a game now. That's been true for a long time, but technology is becoming even less of a factor. And anybody can sell it. Yeah, marketing and selling a game is even harder than making it, in many ways. But it is happening. And web-based gaming --- I have no idea how far that rabbit hole will go!

I doubt indies will ever be in the same league as "the big boys" again, as they were when indie "shareware" shops hit their peak in the early-to-mid 90s. But I think the dividing line is going to get even blurrier. It's becoming more and more of a spectrum.

But the excuses are gone. Tools, training, support, opportunities, even console releases are now available within an indie's grasp. Gaming is now back in the hands of the gamers.

Take us to cool places, please.

Labels: Indie Evangelism

- posted by The Rampant Coyote @ 6:54 AM (Permalink)