Indie Game: The Movie

[Markbnj]

Anyone watched this documentary? It's on Netflix. Pretty interesting look at the developers of two indie games, Super Meat Boy and Fez. I ended up wishing they had talked more about the business and process of getting the games done and sold, but overall pretty worthwhile.

 

[Dratickon]

I actually watched it last weekend and it was a lot better than I expected, but it wasn't as in-depth as I had hoped it would be. I thought it was a great overview and it really demonstrated how important hype and word of mouth is for those smaller games. However, I personally would have been more interested had the documentary gone into detail on the specific issues and challenges they faced rather than "we had to crunch because we wanted to get in on the Microsoft indie promotion". All said, there were worse ways for me to spend those two hours and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who might be remotely interested in indie development (especially when you look at some of the other stuff available on Netflix....).

 

[eyahaloms]

I didn't know about that movie...hope to watch it tomorrow

 

[Staples]

I've watched it. They got a bit of drama in there with the development of Fez which is always good for TV. Seems like all three of those teams spent every waking hour on those games. I like programming and all but I doubt I have what it takes to make game by myself since I have a wife, kids, job and not unlimited time. Watch this and you will have no question why mostly only young people are making games these days (it is even that way at places like EA and the rest. Long long hours.

 

[KentState]

I actually watched it on the bus last week. It was really interesting, though it dashed all hopes of me becoming wealthy making a game. Like most artists, these guys were barely getting buy and almost going crazy in making their vision.

 

[Markbnj]

I've watched it. They got a bit of drama in there with the development of Fez which is always good for TV.

That guy who was working on Fez really came off as a dick.

 

[Aikouka]

I got it as part of the Humble Indie Bundle, and I gave it a watch the other day. Not a bad movie! Good production values, and it was interesting to see the teams in question.

That guy who was working on Fez really came off as a dick.

Yeah, he kind of did, but I wonder if that was more out of overall frustration. I mean... most of what he said dealt with all the frustration over his previous business partner, and then all of flak that he received from delaying the game.

 

[Markbnj]

Yeah, he kind of did, but I wonder if that was more out of overall frustration. I mean... most of what he said dealt with all the frustration over his previous business partner, and then all of flak that he received from delaying the game.

He was clearly frustrated, and he did have a unique vision for the game. I was more turned off by his contemptuous and dismissive attitude toward the fans he won over with his early release announcement. The perils of flapping your jaw manifest themselves yet again.

 

[Hmoobphajej]

It was quite a interesting movie. At the same time it was a documentary about the developers themselves and not the game. Well, at least that's the impression I got from the film. But I do believe focusing on the development aspects of the game would be a lot more interesting as oppose to the people behind it. I wanted to know about the trouble and obstacles of their development in the process, troubles with implementation, and many other things that deal more specifically with the creation of a game.

 

[Aikouka]

He was clearly frustrated, and he did have a unique vision for the game. I was more turned off by his contemptuous and dismissive attitude toward the fans he won over with his early release announcement. The perils of flapping your jaw manifest themselves yet again.

Well, it sounds mostly like you're a huge fan of Blizzard's "When it's done!" release date philosophy. I think what that really tells you is that these indie games seem to be more like a "labor of love" rather than some project working on a strict, well-planned schedule. Also, keep in mind that these are graphics and software people that are plotting out their schedule. In all of the work I've done, there's quite a bit of effort put into defining an adequate yet efficient schedule.

EDIT:

Although, I think the Super Meat Boy people learned about schedules the hard way in the end!

 

[Markbnj]

Well, it sounds mostly like you're a huge fan of Blizzard's "When it's done!" release date philosophy. I think what that really tells you is that these indie games seem to be more like a "labor of love" rather than some project working on a strict, well-planned schedule. Also, keep in mind that these are graphics and software people that are plotting out their schedule. In all of the work I've done, there's quite a bit of effort put into defining an adequate yet efficient schedule.

EDIT:

Although, I think the Super Meat Boy people learned about schedules the hard way in the end!

No, not really. I think that has to be evaluated on a project-by-project basis. Although I do have some strong opinions about software scheduling .

It was more the attitude, I guess.

 

[Aikouka]

It was more the attitude, I guess.

You can't forget, Mark... he's the artist not the programmer! Aren't the artsy-fartsy types supposed to be (stereotypically) like that? Us coders are the silent ones that hack away in the dead of night with Cheeto-stained fingers while hopped up on Mountain Dew! ...kind of like the skinny guy on the Super Meat Boy team.

 

[iCyborg]

I just watched the movie, basically after reading about it here, thought it would be interesting. Yeah, it's pretty good, though I too wish they went into bit more details, especially on the business/marketing side of things.
One of my previous coworkers worked at EA for a year, and I'd definitely never want to work in that business. Crazy hours at times, and he got laid off after the project finished together with the most of the team. I know this is indie games, but the effort is likely no smaller if you want to do something proper.