The Evolution of Indie
by Andy Schatz · 02/09/2009 (6:06 pm) · 4 comments
I just put up a new post on my blog that many of you might be interested in: A history of the last 7 years of indie development, as shaped by distribution channels.
FULL POST: www.pocketwatchgames.com/bizdev/the-evolution-of-indie
SUBSCRIBE: pocketwatchgames.com/feed
DIGG: digg.com/gaming_news/The_Evolution_of_Indie
You may also be interested in this article on using Microsoft Project to schedule your indie project.
And if you're interested in Dinosauria and seeing some concept art:
Conversations with a Crocodilian
Stegosaurus Art
Here's an excerpt of the Evolution of Indie article:
What blessed road hath led us here? (2003-2007)
The first half of the decade saw the rise of the portals on the strength of sales from games like Diner Dash (2004) and Zuma (2004). This opened up a digital distribution route for smaller games made by small "proto-indie"; teams. The fact that some of these small teams were making buckets of cash turned the heads of game industry execs and spurred many devs to quit their jobs working on AAA games to try to strike it rich working on smaller, more personal projects (see LastDayOfWork, makers of Virtual Villagers).
During these times, "indie" just meant small and unfettered. A majority of the people making "indie" games were actually making "casual" games intended for distribution on portals like Yahoo Games, MSN, and the like.
From 2004 to 2007, two things began to happen:
1) So many people were trying to get into the game that production values (and thus cost) started going up.
2) Portals began to switch from finding games with hidden potential to spending their time and money on sure-bets - games in proven genres like Click-Management (Diner Dash) and Hidden Object (Mystery Case Files).
Then, portals like BigFishGames started the price wars. Big Fish started offering "game passes" to customers, where they would pay a small amount (6 bucks) monthly in order to get free games. Eventually, the other portals followed suit, most recently with Reflexive's price drop across the board to <$10 per game.
Read the rest on the Pocketwatch blog >>
FULL POST: www.pocketwatchgames.com/bizdev/the-evolution-of-indie
SUBSCRIBE: pocketwatchgames.com/feed
DIGG: digg.com/gaming_news/The_Evolution_of_Indie
You may also be interested in this article on using Microsoft Project to schedule your indie project.
And if you're interested in Dinosauria and seeing some concept art:
Conversations with a Crocodilian
Stegosaurus Art
Here's an excerpt of the Evolution of Indie article:
What blessed road hath led us here? (2003-2007)
The first half of the decade saw the rise of the portals on the strength of sales from games like Diner Dash (2004) and Zuma (2004). This opened up a digital distribution route for smaller games made by small "proto-indie"; teams. The fact that some of these small teams were making buckets of cash turned the heads of game industry execs and spurred many devs to quit their jobs working on AAA games to try to strike it rich working on smaller, more personal projects (see LastDayOfWork, makers of Virtual Villagers).During these times, "indie" just meant small and unfettered. A majority of the people making "indie" games were actually making "casual" games intended for distribution on portals like Yahoo Games, MSN, and the like.
From 2004 to 2007, two things began to happen:
1) So many people were trying to get into the game that production values (and thus cost) started going up.
2) Portals began to switch from finding games with hidden potential to spending their time and money on sure-bets - games in proven genres like Click-Management (Diner Dash) and Hidden Object (Mystery Case Files).
Then, portals like BigFishGames started the price wars. Big Fish started offering "game passes" to customers, where they would pay a small amount (6 bucks) monthly in order to get free games. Eventually, the other portals followed suit, most recently with Reflexive's price drop across the board to <$10 per game.
Read the rest on the Pocketwatch blog >>
About the author
Torque Owner Bruce Wallace