Comments on: Indie Game Do’s and Don’ts

By: Ethan

Ethan — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 22:31:36 +0000

There was a great talk lately at the Montreal International Game Summit about the return of 2D in indie games productions. It makes a lot of sense about the importance of style when on an indie budget. ArsTechnica has a nice article about it:

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2009/12/the-art-of-2d-a-look-at-the-art-of-indie-hit-critter-crunch.ars

By: Robert Kohr

Robert Kohr — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:35:23 +0000

Really great post, I feel sad that I hadn’t seen it before. Even though these are guidelines for indy games, it should also apply to your usual art ethic. Working on an indy short and indy game right now this is totally relevant in both.

By: Donald C.

Donald C. — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 18:35:53 +0000

Didn’t expect to see this here.

By: Zachary Knoles

Zachary Knoles — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 16:35:43 +0000

I think both of these are spot-on. They’re both essentially saying that because you have a lower budget, you can afford to take more risks because there isn’t $150 million on the line if YOU fail (unlike if you were doing a big budget film at a studio). They aren’t saying “do this or you’ll fail, forever,” in fact, they’re saying that the ability to fail without huge consequences means you have the freedom to do what big studios can’t, and so you should take advantage of that.

Along those same lines, I’ve always believed that indies shouldn’t try to do the same thing as big studios, either, because (for better or worse) they do tend to actually use their expensive production values. Not always for better, but if you’re an indie and you try to do Shrek on a budget, all you’ll end up with is a low-rent version of Shrek, and which one do you think the target audience of Shrek is going to go for?

Also, what Christina said. The rest of the list is pretty great too.

By: P Alvarado

P Alvarado — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 16:26:05 +0000

Fantastic!! Thanks for posting.

By: Justin

Justin — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 16:11:57 +0000

Wow, Peter, that was one hyperbolic buzzkill. Thank you for that…

And thanks for posting such inspiring words, Amid.

By: somcol

somcol — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 15:58:20 +0000

Hey you, yea you peter. Stop being such a negative peter. PETER?
Great advice AMID.

By: Christina S.

Christina S. — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 15:01:16 +0000

@Peter: Not really… I mean, here’s one of the rules:

“5. Don’t bite off more then you can chew.
If you’re just starting out, think small, then think smaller. If you start on something big you won’t finish it and if you do you’ll be burnt out and probably won’t make another. A filmmaker never starts his career with a blockbuster movie. One of the easiest mistakes to make starting out is letting ambition drive you down a path you’re not ready to travel. Slow down, take your time and start simple. Prototyping is crucial for all designers.”

That doesn’t sound like “Be awesome!!!1″-type advice to me. That sounds practical.