next »

[erebusman]

I agree with a lot of the comments so far but I think something that isn't immediately apparent is I think Peter is talking about "million dollar indie's" like himself, whereas we are talking about the "garage indie's" like ourselves.

I don't have any insight to what's going to happen to million dollar indie studios ; he could be right.

But I'm utterly certain garage indie's are just going to get more common.

I am however worried about how garage indie's are going to find their markets , and how their markets are going to find them.   

The App Store is a great example of how to die in a sea of white noise.  Steam Greenlight is going away and the next iteration of Steam could look like an App store; or might be the next Genius(TM) thing we were all waiting for.  But its really scary not knowing in between.

I tend to hope/think that Steam will either 'get it right' or adjust quickly because they make a crap tonne of money on the back's of indies and wont want to lose that.

Apple on the other hand only cares about selling iDevices.

[warchild14]

Japan is quite interesting answer for that. Inafune and IGA going Indie... (aka Megaman and Castlevania).

Indie is not something that appeared and gonna go out.
It is a totally new market. Molyneux is just a dude that talk stuff and then regrets it.

[gimymblert]

Molydeux has became more relevant that molyneux, that's telling, he even got a jam

[feminazi]

[Tazi]

Someone should really code an 'online Monyneux quote generator'...

[ryansumo]

My sense is that he's just speaking of the hype that indie games have been getting for the past couple of years.  It was an exciting time when 2 to 3 man teams were proving that they could expand the bounds of the gaming universe and survive making smaller games. 

Being indie used to be special, whereas now it's almost normal given the vast array of engines and software and marketplaces to launch your games.  It's not a good or a bad thing, it just is.

In practical terms it means that games launching next year will no longer have the indie shine of games launched this year or last year. While I'm committed to the game I'm working on, it certainly gives me pause, since I've already struck out on a game a friend and I released on mobile.

[Conker534]

I just hope the shitty "retro" art fad dies.

[jiitype]

[gimymblert]

I just hope the shitty "retro" art fad dies.

You are being ironic right?

[eyeliner]

[Conker534]

No I'm not being ironic. I'm talking about the lazy programmer art that is passed as finished art and the developers disrespectfully slap a retro title on it.

At the end of the day, I don't really give a fuck if people call the lazy art retro, but it'd be cool if the word retro wasn't used as a handicap for some games styles.

[F4LL0UT]

Poor Peter, got it all wrong. The thing that didn't last was his own brilliance.

[Richard Kain]

Being indie used to be special, whereas now it's almost normal given the vast array of engines and software and marketplaces to launch your games.  It's not a good or a bad thing, it just is.

I think this is an excellent analysis.

I also think this is a positive development, and I'm happy to see the direction indie development is taking. While there is a certain energy that can be derived from being a part of something special and new, that craze shouldn't be what drives an aspiring developer. At some point, you have to do it because you love it. That's where the best projects come from.

If the "craze" part of the equation fades away, I can live with that. So long as the accessible tools and marketplaces persist, it will continue to be possible for small-time development to flourish. I don't need the craze, and ultimately I want development to be more accessible to a broader set of users.

[Muz]

do you have example of "shitty retro art fad" pls

Realm of the Mad God. HabitRPG.

[dapperswine]

We don't personally use the indie label because, as they say, you dress for the job you want.

I do believe many independent developers don't aspire to be poor and unknown, and I think that's what Peter meant; we're currently awash with new developers, and naturally only a fraction of them will succeed. When the smoke clears, those who did succeed will likely be rich and the stragglers will mostly quit before the cycle repeats.

Sometimes by chance, by association, or by pure unadulterated skill and dedication we've seen a lot of independent games very quickly become drenched in capital almost overnight.

Whether it's a game like Gang Beasts getting through Greenlight before really being playable, a game like Starbound which had risk-free success due to Tiy's association with Terraria, or games like Goat Simulator who somehow sold on the promise that the game is broken, the only sure thing in this line of work at the moment is that most of us won't be here tomorrow (and I use the word tomorrow in a sort of metaphorical sense) and those who are left standing will become tomorrow's big corporate developers.

In that sense, it's true that it's just a cycle.

That said, Peter has a certain bias in seeing this cycle; he himself has gone full circle, first being independent, then developing large AAA titles for EA, and now he's back to being independent.

The interesting thing about Peter's position is that this is the first time he has ever had to be independent during a time where there are too many game developers, and he's finding out the hard way that a track record, a body of work, and what-have-you does nothing to cut through the dense noise. We're currently living inside a slot machine, and that is something that's brand new.

[Irock]

We don't personally use the indie label because, as they say, you dress for the job you want.

I do believe many independent developers don't aspire to be poor and unknown,

Exactly what job are you dressing for? Indie doesn't mean poor or unknown. It's okay that you don't want to throw the word around all the time and instead just refer to yourself as a game developer, but I think it's stupid and fucking disrespectful to your fellow independent game developers if you're shying away from the word because you see it as shameful or inferior.

I'd venture to guess you're in the minority if you're aspiring to become a big corporate game developer. From what I've observed over the years, most indie devs want to stay independent. Of course they want to be successful, but they don't "dress" for the CEO LEAD GAME DESIGNER job (unless they're a 14 year old) and they have no desire to become that.

[Superb Joe]

i was prepared to, and accomplished the feat of sucking 8000 dicks, for little more than the pleasure of doing so, and these johnny come latelies would dilute my greatness by coopting the indie badge of honour while only sucking perhaps a dozen at most? this isn't justice.

[Whiteclaws]

unless they're a 14 year old

*Koof*Koof*...I'm 14...*Koof*Koof*

[armedpatriots]

If these things come in cycles then it's only a matter of time before Peter Molyneux eventually becomes relevant again.

Ouch! lol.

[Kinaetron]

I must ask the question, why the hell are we taking anything he says seriously ?