Indie Games Article

[Gore]

This is old, but I wanted to repost it.  In other words this has old references.

What The Hell Is Up With The Indie Games Section?

The Indie games section on XBLA is a barren wasteland of horse turds.  The majority of the games they have is just a bunch of the same types of games.  There are predominately four game genres in the Indie Games section.  Massage games, put the controller on your back and relieve tension.  Picture games, where you see a group of pictures ranging from a fish bowl and natural scenes to a wall full of graffiti.  There are also soundboard games, push this button and hear a fart sound.  Finally there are the simple platformers that would be right at home as a crappy NES game.  They are basically a Dig Dug, Bomber man, or Pac Man style.  I know that they are not really platformers and are more puzzle games, but to label them as a puzzle game would be giving them too much credit.  Puzzle games take extra time and effort, because they have to think of the puzzles and possible solutions.  These do not have that kind of care put into them.  They are just turn 90 degrees and shoot the guys that look like the Mooninites from Aqua Teen Hunger Force.  There are some ok Indie games like the classic card games, but I am talking about the majority of the games and the majority of them suck.
   
The reason that people make these type of games is because they take minimal time and effort.  If I were to design a game I would most likely make  similar games, but you don’t turn that in for approval.  You make it, try it out and then say “okay that is how you use this.  Now I’m going to try and make a good game.”
   
The reason I don’t like these games is because there is many different Indie games and I am trying to find the diamond in the rough.  This is made very difficult because I have to sift through turd after turd to find a playable game.  The new rating system helps a little, but sometimes you will have a five star rating because all of their friends and family rate it high for him or her.  It’s hard to have accurate ratings because of this.  Added to by the fact that a dozen games come out every day and five or six friends rated it a four or five star.
   
The way they should fix it is by filtering out the over saturated genres games.  Microsoft has to check the game anyway for bugs, nudity, language, and violence.  When they see a massage game for example they should not put it in the new arrivals section, but in the all games and that particular genre, which I don’t even think they have a genre category.  That way if I want a sensual massage game or Gore’s Full Release Massage game I can find it.  I know that making a good game is very difficult, but I also know that it is not impossible and is in fact quite possible.  The two games that come to mind are Dishwasher: Dead Samurai and Jellycar, both are very good and fun games made by every day people like you and me.  What XNA/Indie developers may need is some more sterling examples of what is possible with the XNA software to inspire them.

----------- Gore

[PRaDiUS]

I can name a bunch of Indie Games that are awesome. These are my favorites:

I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES 1NIT!!!, Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess, Veks and Silence, Decay: Part 1, Decay: Part 2, Decay: Part 3, ZP2K9, ZP2KX: Zombies & Pterodactyls!, Weapon of Choice, Breath of Death VII: The Begining, Soulcaster, Soulcaster II, Epic Dungeon, Twin Blades, Vampire Rage, Zombie Estate, Head Shot 2, Colosseum, Square Off, Kong360: Gorilla Warfare, Johnny Platform's Biscuit Romp, Johnny Platform Saves Xmas!

 

p.s. I know it sucks that Indie games cannot carry Achievements, but if the game is fun and cheap then I am all over it - having fun is what gaming is all about after all! Plus, some of the games I have listed right here only cost 1 dollar! 80 Microsoft Points is chump change.

[E2neralife]

A game for $1, I'm all for that!

[Steve-Oh!]

I haven't DL'ed any indie games because they just don't appeal to me. They also don't give GS (gamerscore) so why bother. I mean I'm not going to the record for the highest score nor am I trying to beat my friends, I just like see how much I have completed. With indie games that doesn't happen. So I just stay away and plug away at games I own/DL to get the remainder GS. But that's just my 2 cents.

[CrashCrashBlah]

In a huge pile of crap there are still some gems my friend.

There are many cool indie game out there. Sadly you must dig a bit for them! When you find them you can smile a little.

I can agree with you a bit though. It is becoming a fad to make the same stuff as everyone else on there.

[Demon Zid]

They are great when you have leftover MS point and nothing else to get. There are, as stated before, many great games such as many already said ones and some others I like such as Miner Dig Deeper and the Impossible game. Fortresscraft also looks promising. If more games like that come out, the indie game section wouldn't have such a bad rap.

And the who "No achievement points. Whats the point?" is so stupid. Do you really only play games for GS? If so, I really dont think you should be playing games at all. The point of a game is to play the game and have fun, not try and compete some text objective so you have bragging rights.

[Steve-Oh!]

I can understand that games are supposed to be fun, but with any game (from real life sports to video games) there will always be competition. I have never played a game of COD or Street Fighter and herd "Nice try loosing team, its all for fun." The same can be said about gamerscore to some, if not most, people. So in all, I am a mixture of both competitive and casual player and there will always be competition...just come with our basic instinct of being human....or an ass lol.

[E2neralife]

Honestly, I play games to achieve both the fun, gamerpoints, and beating the game.

[Demon Zid]

Yeah, same here. But you would still play a good game if it didnt have achievements, right?

[E2neralife]

Of coarse!