Tech

Little ones who aspire to be great: all about Indie games

Another distinctive element of an indie game is their contribution to the advancement of the industry, creating new forms of play that almost always revolve around innovative and disruptive ideas. It’s easier to see truly original gameplay within the indie studio ecosystem than it is within the larger companies, as your creative ties do not exist. They are, practically in all cases, developments with a high conceptual content, which can allow themselves the privilege of even positioning themselves on social and political issues.

Now, where they really place a good part of their success is, also, in the price range in which they move: it is normal to enjoy these small works of art for prices ranging from a few cents to 25 or 30 euros. It is difficult to see an indie game reach 80 euros, which marks the minimum for a PlayStation or Xbox novelty. Not to mention that these titles are present (almost always) on a good number of platforms at the same time, since they do not usually make the most of the graphic and technological capabilities of the most advanced hardware, so they are completely transversal novelties.

What is the origin of the indie phenomenon?

Indie games have taken the denomination of origin relatively recently, but similar launches had already been made since the 1980s. The first studios formed by friends for 8-bit microcomputers, who distributed their cassettes in an artisanal way, or in the 90s thanks to the shareware of the first CD-ROMs, paved the way for developers of a smaller size than usual to give know their productions.

Even Doom at the time was an indie game.

But without a doubt, the real boom of indie games began with the premiere of Steam, Valve’s digital store for PC. It was with her that small studios that had no way to publicize their games began to enjoy a window to reach millions of gamers around the world. Her work, in addition to bringing us the first jewels outside the circuits of the big companies, served to feed a scene that continues to this day, taking advantage of one of the characteristics that has helped its expansion the most: word of mouth.

PC wasn’t the only platform that indie games started arriving on. Wii, with its Wiiware, also helped many creators to launch their small games within the digital store of a console that had sold tens of millions of units. Practically later, both Sony and Microsoft realized the gold mine in that market and came to support exclusive launch programs for certain independent titles. Paradoxically, two giants looked at the little brothers in the industry: PS Store and ID@Xbox were the embryo of more ambitious projects that have led in Spain, for example, to the establishment of PlayStation Talents as a way of disseminating talent national development.

Thanks to online distribution in digital format, the studios did not have to invest large amounts of money in physically manufacturing the units that they should later sell, which translates into an unparalleled opportunity to give visibility to their work that, sometimes, does not see any benefit until it becomes a success.

And in Spain what?

The last decade in our country has been an example of how the independent scene has served to give category to small studios that have managed to sell their projects and direct their profession to make a dream come true. These opportunities have been possible thanks to the good name that the national scene has created in recent years, with games that have sold enough units in digital format to allow them to go the opposite way to the traditional one, earning the goal of see published in physical formats for consoles their works.

Blasphemous, a great Spanish indie.

The list of indie games that in recent years have managed to elevate their creators in Spain is very long and, surely, we commit some injustice by mentioning just a few: they are all that are, but not all that are. Thus, we can remember the great Unepicof the proud Greyor of Damn Castile, Moonlighter, The Red Strings Club, God Will Be Watchingthe sensational Blasphemous or the hilarious, original and well thought out, Do Not feed the Monkeys. All of them, and some more, have managed to open a niche in the market and reach beyond our borders to reach sales figures that would not have been possible with an offline market, where developers had to agree with publishers around the world selling prices per game and, above all, taking care of the huge costs of manufacturing physical units.

Titles that have marked the genre

We know that the list of indie games that have marked the last 15 years is very extensive, but we have decided on those that, in our modest opinion, we think were the pioneers, or set trends and the way, opening fashions and genres that they inspired all those who have come later. And it’s these…

World of Goo (2008)

Wiiware and Steam were the first two platforms to get this simple but hilarious concept of a kind of sticky drops (Goos) that must create structures to reach areas of the maps that make up each phase. Its success later took it to all imaginable platforms… so if you haven’t played it, you’re taking a long time.

Minecraft (2009)

It will not be necessary to add too much to this game. Made by Mojang and released in beta in 2009 (it did not have its first stable version until 2011), it quickly became a favorite of gamers around the world. Then came the Microsoft purchase and the rest is history: streamerscommunity content, spin off adventurers etc

Limbo (2010)

Surely it is one of the first to explore narrative paths different from what the AAA titles of large companies had accustomed us to. That mixture of its own gameplay, setting and history They pointed to him as the inspiration for a batch of titles that continues to this day. Insidefor example, is another of his disciples but there are many more.

Terrarium (2011)

With eleven years behind him, terraria has managed to sell more than 35 million units adding all the versions it has had on computers and consoles. With a very simple appearance, it hides an incredibly fun development where exploration, crafting, structure building and melee combat are mixed.

The Binding of Isaac (2011)

Without a doubt, this is one of the games that mark the path of what they call roguelike. East Isaac’s Sacrificeinspired by the same episode in the Bible, leads us to a title where scenarios are randomly generated every time we start the game, although it leaves certain elements that we learn with each new reincarnation. Its RPG component allows us to handle the character and take him along the paths that we like the most within a very simple 2D title but with an artistic section that is as attractive as it is unpleasant.

FEZ (2012)

This is one of the funniest and most original games that, despite its completely 2D appearance, hides a three-dimensional development. As it does? Resorting to impossible perspectives of the scenarios, which is where that big head attached to a small pixelated body moves. The possibility of turning the maps 90º to access new areas makes it a benchmark when it comes to graphic processing, especially when the responsible studio does not bet on a latest-generation graphics engine.

Hotline Miami (2012)

This title was one of the great successes of the indie scene in the throes of the PS3/Xbox 360 generation and the new PS4/Xbox One generation, although it was the PC above all its field of operations. With a zenith perspective reminiscent of the first two GTA, the title is a constant rampage with our protagonists making their way through a map infested with enemies and final bosses. The fast-paced action, that retro air of the NES game and the eighties setting did the rest.

Ori and the Blind Forest (2016)

Proof of the importance of the indie sector in video games is this Ori and the Blind Forest of Microsoft’s ID@Xbox program. Apparently a platform game that later takes elements from the metroid with maps that we cannot visit until we improve the character. Like a good standalone title its narrative is one of its essential points, as well as some really interesting and well-crafted game modes. It had a continuation (somewhat less indie) worthy successor to the original title.

Stardew Valley (2016)

This one-person stunner demonstrates how having an indie scene allows talent to break through when developing games like the extraordinary: management, farming, some narrative, an extraordinarily measured but at the same time open development and a social component that allowed it to succeed on PC. Then came adaptations for every platform you can imagine.

Cuphead (2017)

Another of the titles of the famous Microsoft ID@Xbox that has captivated millions of players around the world. It is an old cartoon from the 30s of the last century turned into a video game, with cartoons of extraordinary quality, incredibly complicated final enemies and a setting that makes us think that we are starring in an episode of some TV series. What’s more, in early 2022, Netflix has released a miniseries inspired by the game you have for PC, Xbox and Nintendo Switch.

Dead Cells (2017)

The concept roguelike either metroidvania Taken to the extreme, a title that doesn’t start to make sense until the moment we die, which becomes the start of the game. Its objective is to open and recover secrets while we die over and over again, repeating levels that are generated randomly with a virtuosity that engages and that invites us to keep trying until we get a hand of weapons and items good enough to reach higher levels.

Return of the Obra Dinner (2018)

Created by Lucas Pope, this game is an example of risk and design of disruptive ideas for which no study would accept to risk. The appearance of a mysterious ship in a port years after its disappearance will be the starting point for a game that pushes us to discover what happened. The narrative, recreated with practically vectorial graphics (which we can adapt in color and texture) takes us from flash back in flash back through all the rooms of the boat until we put the memories in order and make sense of all the clues they give us. A true masterpiece.

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