What is indie?

“What is an indie game?” is a very difficult question to answer. There are a wide variety of opinions on the subject, some of which date back to the very early uptake of the personal computer.

The arcade used to be the only real place the general public could go to play games, but as people started to be able to afford these machines themselves, so came experimentation. When computers were starting to become a thing in the homes, people were already trying to push the limits of what their shiny new tech could do. This led to homebrew - a practice which was the catalyst for the growth of video game development in the UK (even DMA Designs, now the little known company going by Rockstar Games, can trace its founding to a few indie devs). Now, some of these homebrews were simple boxes bouncing around, but others were threatening to set the poor microchips on fire with how far they were being pushed. 

I’m certainly not going to go through the long history of video games, but that is where indie started. Nowadays, there are still people making games at home. The lone developer is, arguably, the quintessential definition of indie. And it’s certainly possible to do it to a very high standard, with software to create the game itself, to the music and art, all available online, often free. Add to that a wealth of tutorials, and it’s really not that hard for a dedicated person to put something together. Indeed, one need only look at creators like ConcernedApe (Stardew Valley) and Toby Fox (Undertale) to see what a single person can do.

Beyond that, there are larger indie developers. From very small teams, often working on their own, specialised areas to bring something together, to dozens of people. The size of the team has no defined limit. Some indie developers have become so large they can employ hundreds of people and produce games on par with AAA companies. Games made this way are sometimes referred to as “Triple-I” as a halfway term. The likes of Larian (Baldur’s Gate) and CD Projekt Red (The Witcher) are well-established examples of such. But what else can indie be?

For some, indie isn’t just about the developer, it’s more about the game. The feel of what those historic experimenters were putting out. The pixel games that evoke consoles of old are a usual starting point for getting that feeling. Games like Ocean’s Heart, Celeste, Sea of Stars, and many, many more, adopt that 2D style partly to invoke that nostalgia. But it isn’t always the graphics. Often it’s a roughness, a not-quite-perfect polish that makes a game feel indie. Or a game can just be so far out there that it can only be indie because most major publishers would never have the courage to back such an insane elevator pitch. Or it could be an incredibly personal story that someone puts their entire heart and soul into, and allows people to share.

Some very much define indie by its publishing. Even studios that act largely independently can put out a game that isn’t considered so because it’s backed by a huge parent company. There’s an opinion amongst some that that’s when a developer has sold out, but that avenue allows what could have been a hidden gem to reach a larger audience. It can get developers noticed, or help revive a genre that’s gone by the wayside. 

The games’ industry, like other entertainment industries, does not have one solid definition of what ‘independent’ means. Each person has their own idea of what makes a game indie, ranging from the pure loner to the big studios. Personally, I’m more of an “I know it when I see it” type. And for me, that’s what makes them so special.