Staying Indie

You can read a variety of different opinions on the matter by heading here:

http://www.gamereactor.eu/articles/116494/Indie+Games%3A+He
re+to+Stay+or+Gone+Tomorrow%3F/

But I thought I'd articulate myself a little more definitively in this blog.

Indies are here to stay. I get what Molyneux is saying; that life's a series of circles/phases, and that things come and things go, but to suggest that indie games are going away assumes one thing that I think makes his point invalid: Indie games are not in themselves a genre. 'Indie' is just a cover-all phrase used to describe independently made games, generally with a low/lower production value to those that are made by triple-A studios. These games - passion projects, boutique experiences, genre throwbacks - they're going to continue to get made. And, importantly, thanks to the rise and rise of digital distribution, these experiences are more readily available than they've ever been before.

While I'm sure there's types of games, whole genres, that'll become obsolete in years to come, indie games themselves are here to stay. As far as I'm concerned that's a good thing, because while I love Halo and Mass Effect and Skyrim and games of that ilk, they're just a small slice of the industry. If anything, I can see indie games becoming MORE important, and MORE popular. Every niche will be filled, every minority represented. Games for everyone, made by increasingly diverse voices. That's the future that I see, and I really, really hope I've not got that horribly wrong.

Now excuse me while I go play some FTL.