AFAIK, the term "independent" really just refers to self-governance, so I'm not sure where you're getting your definition that includes "good and bad" (well, actually I know exactly where you're getting it, but where did the definition originally come from?
). Your definition is not only kinda redundant, but it's also much muddier than the accepted definition because, for example, certain kinds of constraints are great for creativity. Also, what if someone's vision itself is bad? Etc.
I exaggerated a bit to make the point but I thought my train of thought was pretty clear. Independence implies freedom, freedom means lack of constraints (or, to put it another way, being able to choose which constraints you impose upon yourself, e.g. a particular art style, design philosophy, or target audience), and I don't think this is something that's exclusive to small teams working outside the mainstream. While a low-level artist or coder at a game company might find more creative freedom if he starts his own smaller indie team as the head director that doesn't mean that he's now more creatively free than the best AAA studios and directors, even if there's a possibility he's freer than the guys making the latest CoD game. I don't see any real problems with the definition you gave earlier in this thread right now (though everyone seems to have their own different one for the term anyway), I was just saying how "independent" isn't a good stopping point for trying to define the term. Thanks for the explanation re: XBLA/XBLIG.
I feel like I should write something else here too but my Steam download of
Serious Sam 3, the prequel to the original indie sensation, is finishing up so yeah.
When deciding what to post on TIGS I don't often run into conflicts, and it's plain to see that there are trends (good and bad) that are specific to indies, so I don't find it to be a muddy term at all - it's quite useful!
By muddy I meant there's no commonly agreed-on definition for it. There are trends among the people and games which are grouped under it though, yeah.
There's inevitably like 3 people who come in with the argument that
"IF WE USE THE DEFINITION OF THE WORD INDEPENDENT THEN EVERY GAME IS "INDIE" BECAUSE PRETENTIOUS STATEMENT ABOUT INDIE MEANING LOVING YOUR WORK AND BEING YOUR OWN MAN"
Nice try Keyser but next time you'll need to read my posts before turning on the Caps Lock.
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