The Rise of Indie Games

 From critical darlings to sales juggernauts, indie games (independent games that is) have begun to define and even dominate the Steam charts and store shelves over the past decade. While there is no one accepted definition of what an indie game exactly looks like, the humble beginnings of games like Minecraft, Stardew Valley, Undertale, or even the frantic and murderous mayhem of Castle Crashers attest to the trend of their inexorable rise to household names. But how did this happen?

The introduction of digital storefronts and low-cost game engines like Unreal or game making software in the 2000’s is a key factor in this ascent. Alongside this was the growth of the internet as a way to share and ultimately put out their game at a lower cost than traditional publishing. That cost however was still difficult to overcome for many. Perhaps as a result, crowdfunding through websites like Kickstarter significantly expanded the financial support indie developers could expect to receive as well. While the explosive popularity of Let’s Plays
and lore breakdowns on YouTube created an avenue for viral marketing, horror games like Slenderman or Five Night at Freddy’s (FNAF) benefited greatly from this eventually to the recent attention of Hollywood studios.

Both consumers and executives, content creators and indie publishers like Devolver Digital or Limited Run Games are now feverishly on the lookout for the next smash hit. But as I witnessed in this year’s first ever Triple-I Intiative Showcase in April, this can head to overcrowding or a reduction in the idea of what indie games can really look like. It brings to the forefront the problem of the so-called indiepocalypse that developers have now taken to costly marketing campaigns or collaborations to overcome.

Given this heady brew of circumstances and accessible but still expensive tech
development and marketing, the choice of many indie devs to limit their graphical style to older eras or focus on specific genres makes more sense given limited resources. But we've also seen the breaking of this mold in recent years with social investigation games like Among Us or ambitious 3d platformers like throwback Corn Kidz 64 or Penny’s Big Breakaway.

In summary, indie games have had to overcome a lot in recent years on their way to achieving unbelievable success. They’ve shattered industry barriers and even arguably influenced the tastes and aspirations of larger developers and publishers in key genres like horror or platforming. The growth of showcases at summer events like Gamefest or Nintendo’s semi- frequent Indie World Directs has brought to an ever widening public’s attention the revolution that swept over the gaming world. After all, more games are always a good thing.