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[Gainsworthy]

Oooh, got another suggestion. Some individual keeps tagging Telltale Game's games with (and I quote) "not_independant" and "deleteme". The tags are bothersome enough, the fact he can't spell is another thing all together.

Maybe a "report" option is in order?

[SelfTitled]

and I think Braid was made with XNA.

Braid was written in C++ (XNA was too slow)

A level editor will not happen on XBLA because Microsoft does not allow free sharing of user-made content, so there’s no point in putting that much effort into it. If there’s a level editor it will be PC-only.

Braid would simply not work in any language slower than C++; I had to do a lot of optimization to even get it to run at reasonable speeds on the xbox. Also, the thing to realize about XNA is that it locks you into Microsoft platforms. C++ is supported everywhere.

Reference http://braid-game.com/news/?p=212

[medieval]

It would be cool if you updated the site :D "Transcendence" has been the newest game for a while, surely you should have gotten a few new games during this time?

No.

[Gainsworthy]

Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden's download link's done gone broke itself. Didn't see a report button anywhere - so I guess I've two suggestions here: Add a report button, and fix the link!

 

[Laremere]

Aquaria needs to have mac added to platforms, and the download links to the game "blockland" are old. The new links can be found here: http://www.blockland.us/index.asp?p=Download

If there is a better place to report these things, tell me, and I'll make sure to put them there next time 

[Derek]

Thanks for the alerts, guys.  I'm going to try and add a few more games to the database soon.  Some old/new ones.

[Derek]

Questions about the TIGdb...

One thing I think is great about the database is that you can go by year and easily see the progression of the indie gaming "scene," so-to-speak... but there was a certain point where all game development was indie, when the entire industry was pretty much independent, if you go by the size of the teams and the creative freedom they had.

My questions are... do you want to see these types of games (or more of these types of games) in the database:

1. Really old ass games.

2. Really old ass games for outdated platforms that are hard/impossible to play on a PC/Mac without an emulator.  (Personally, I think it'd be kind of silly to start adding Amiga/Speccy/C64 games to TIGdb.  Or anything else that can't be bought/downloaded and played fairly easily today.)

3. Really old ass games made by one or two people, but got picked up by a big publisher?  I was thinking of adding some DOS games, like Alley Cat, but realized that, even though one guy (Bill Williams) developed Alley Cat, it was released by Synapse Software and presented by IBM.  And someone earlier suggested adding Commander Keen and other 90's shareware to the db, too.

Of course, this is also a modern issue, as is the case with Jon Mak (published by Sony).  I personally wouldn't think of not including Everyday Shooter in the database, and neither would most people, I think.

...and, while we're at it:

4. Notable casual games.  Yes, I am thinking of PopCap and similar companies.  Is it important to have them in there, even just for context and their influence on the scene?  We already have a couple casual/semi-casual games in the db, like that birdwatching game and Rocketbowl, that are doing pretty well there.

this is less of a semantics issue (i.e. "What is Indie") as it is an issue of what would make the database as important/useful as possible!

Your feedback is duly appreciated.

[Alex May]

I find it's a good resource for finding recent indie games, and what you're suggesting might muddy the waters there a bit. IMO, it is a database, not an encyclopedia.

[agj]

Yeah, actually, there are already other resources for old-ass games, and there are so many of those that the indie games that people actually visit the database for would become the minority.

Regarding casual games, it depends. PopCap is a fairly large publisher right now, so I'd go for no to them. But games that cater to a demographic different from the typical gaming nerd, then absolutely. Games for grandmas made by a team of two with no budget? Bring it.

[Loren Schmidt]

Derek- I'm with you on the emulator issue. I think modern games that are made for older systems belong on the list, however.

Haowan- I agree completely. The small number and high quality of the entries in TigDB is really a plus. If I'm browsing Home of the Underdogs, for instance, I feel like I'm bogged down by the sheer number of low grade games, and it really makes the resource less fun to use.


agj has a valid point. Old releases easily outnumber modern independent titles. I don't know where the lines should be drawn.

It's especially difficult because some old games, especially those made by small teams, are definitely in the spirit of TIGDB. The roguelike genre is a good example (and is already pretty thoroughly represented, I might add). Personally I would appreciate having a limited number of quality older games in the database, but I see no reason to archive everything.

Things get pretty fuzzy when considering the casual game scene. I guess in theory most online games fit the independent mold fairly well. But I don't think archiving 1000 Diner Dash clones would be particularly constructive.

I guess to me quality is more important than quantity, and the semantics of 'independence' are less important than the spirit of a game.

[agj]

I just had an unrelated idea. What if instead of the 'also try' stuff (or in addition to), the database had links on inspirations? An 'inspired by' field, info that would automatically generate an... 'inspired' field. I don't know, they'd have to be called something else, but the former is links to (older) games that the game in question took inspiration from, and the latter, (newer) games that took inspiration from the game in question. This way, one could theoretically navigate through the evolution of a genre, or such things.

[kyn]

5. Stays as it is

It's a fairly good list of recent indie games, and I think the people visiting the website are looking for that information, and not casual games or retro wonders.

[medieval]

It ain't got TIG in the name for nothin

[GregWS]

I can't believe I'm saying this, but some casual games might not be a problem; I'd go for it.

[handCraftedRadio]

I can't believe I'm saying this, but some casual games might not be a problem; I'd go for it.

Casual Gamer! Get him quick! Ban!

I can't believe you fell right into Derek's trap.

[Craig Stern]

Popcap is not a tiny indie studio anymore. It undermines the idea of collecting independent games to start putting their games in there.

[PaleFox]

You know, having a "forgot password" thing might be useful. I mean, I forgot mine. And, if such a thing does exist, where is it? 

[agj]

We need a "forgot where the 'forgot my password' button is" button!

[Zaratustra]

Questions about the TIGdb...

One thing I think is great about the database is that you can go by year and easily see the progression of the indie gaming "scene," so-to-speak... but there was a certain point where all game development was indie, when the entire industry was pretty much independent, if you go by the size of the teams and the creative freedom they had.

My questions are... do you want to see these types of games (or more of these types of games) in the database:

5. my games

[PaleFox]

We need a "forgot where the 'forgot my password' button is" button!

I think if it's not easily visible it's not in a good location.