Will Indie Games be the Death of the Industry?

1/11/2016 – Indie games are on the rise and we all know it. The popularity of indie games has spiked drastically since the release of current-gen consoles, and they seem to be everywhere and, most of all, cheaper. But what does this mean for the industry we have all come to know and love? Even though they are getting widely known, can they stack up against the battle of big triple-A games? If they do, then what will happen to easily ignored lesser-known development teams? These questions don’t have answers – yet. They will, though, and only time can tell when, but for now we can look at the facts in front of us and make our own judgments. This is mine.

Now, please don’t get me wrong, everyone is entitled to their own preferences, I am not saying they aren’t. Indie games have hit big, though, certain ones much more than others, but those are the games that are really opening people’s eyes. Some of these games are Ori and the Blind Forest, Her Story, Journey, Flower, Castle Crashers, and Super Meatboy. These are all good games that hold up well on their own, but they are some of the most popular games on the market with a huge fan-based standing right behind them.

What are indie games? Indie games can be special given that they offer something pretty original most of the time and have a strong execution of play style. Sure the graphics aren’t run by the Unreal Engine or Frostbite but they can still look great nonetheless. However, big game companies such as Ubisoft, Activision, Treyarch, Naughty Dog, and Insomniac, have a tendency to put out amazing looking games, but lack more of the essentials such as a compelling story, play modes, and originality. Call of Duty, being a favorite among many, is an annually-released game that stays pretty much the same just with a fresh coat of paint.

Just this year two indie games made a big splash at the annual VGAs, these games being Her Story and Ori and the Blind Forest. Each won at least one, if not multiple, awards in certain areas. Now these small, privately developed games went up against some pretty huge triple-A blockbusters and still managed to beat them out. But how? Yeah, they are good games but the others have huge companies and development teams backing them, and some people think that is what truly makes a game great, or at least award worthy.

I, for one, have gotten bored of the constant sequels cranked out of companies like Big Macs from McDonald’s, and plenty of games do this, Assassins Creed being another contender. Still, does that make it a bad game? No. But indie games are a valued thing being released by people who work with small budgets and create true art out of it. So instead of jumping all over the place, I am going to point out certain aspects that make or break the popularity of indies and triple-As, how they go about achieving it, and why it works for that type.

First off, accessibility. Digital downloads are more popular than ever now. Even GameStop is trying to curtail this movement as you can read about here. Most people that have a current-gen console have at least one digitally-downloaded game on their hard drive. True, some of these are probably the free offered games if you have Xbox Live Gold or PS Plus. But a fair amount of people find it easier to input a credit card number and do all their purchasing right from their couch, and this makes indie titles very easily obtainable, since most of them don’t release physical copies due to the budget constraints, while you can go into any third-party store like Gamestop and purchase a used physical disk of that new Call of Duty for a cheaper price point than on the online stores.

The price of these games is also a huge factor. Indie games have a tendency to have a much lower cost than these big games, most indie games selling for a price around $40 and cheaper, while big named games have the much-dreaded $60 price tag. Also, with indie games you typically don’t have to deal with all the “fine print” that the big development games come with now, examples of this being day-one patches, day-one DLC, season passes, and late-released DLC.

When you purchase an indie game, that’s it! There is your game, in its entirety, and the best part is that it’s guaranteed to work! They don’t get released broken and needing to be patched, or put out to the public at only 30 percent so they can sell the other 70 percent to you later in add-ons and downloadable content. Are big game developers trying to rip us off and use us a cash grab? I am starting to think so. Just look at how many hundreds of dollars are spent on Skylanders and Amiibos. It’s a load of shit.

I remember back in the day where I would walk into a buy-sell-and-trade store, the walls would be lined with actual physical copies of great games you loved and wanted, you’d pick up the beautiful looking golden cartridge from Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and take it home, then you’d put it in the console, and you were done! Holy fuck, that was a great time. No downloads, no installs, no season passes, no DLC, no day one patches, and no recycled piece of trash that you played last year with a few new guns and modes, most of which you have to pay for anyways.

Not all big games are guilty of this, though and those are the ones still kicking through the dirt and clawing their way back up to the top of favorability. I just feel like the rest of the market is souring the name of what used to make games great and the current great games, while indie games are still protecting what makes them so loved.

Now, big game developers need to be defended in some way. Why fix what isn’t broken? If you know that you can put out a sub-par game and still profit millions of dollars, then yeah, go ahead, that’s basic business. I am also sure that the money made from that goes into the huge beloved games that grip our attention for dozens of hours.

A big problem with indie games is that they come with a cheaper price point, and there is a reason for that. The developer of that game didn’t put a shit load of money into the game, with most being funded by a simple Kickstarter campaign, which typically means it won’t be as long, as good looking, or have as much replayability value. But it looks like the ones that make it great will stay great and remembered for years to come, while others will be mass downloaded but easily forgotten.

There is no right or wrong answer to if indie games will consume the industry or if all games can live in harmony and eventually learn from each other. The fans of indies will still supply that genre with plenty of dollars and the Activision lovers will keep cranking out 60 bucks a game. They both have shortcomings and great advancements and I personally love both and can’t wait to see what will continue to be released for both.

Leave a comment below and let me know what you think. Do you prefer to play indie games or go for the newest games put out by your favorite studios?