Indie video game developers are raising the bar for big players

Video-game aficionados play the game Gang Beasts by Boneloaf at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. Eric Risberg / AP Photo

Tiny, independent studios are boldly taking on the blockbusters in a gaming world that is being transformed by smartphones, tablets, social media and online access to play.

Thousands of game makers, many from studios employing just a handful of people – and in some cases a one-person shop – attended a Game Developers Conference in San Francisco last week to share insights into a ceaseless quest to get better at their craft.

Veterans of big-name studios behind Triple A console games, which are made by teams of hundreds of people and cost millions to develop, were there – but independent game makers were being touted as the people really shaking up the industry with creative new approaches to play.

“Indie game makers are basically democratising game development,” said Kate Edwards, chief executive of the International Game Developers Association. “It is one of the most exciting things we have seen in this industry in a long time – I think it is a form of revolution.”

At the heart of this revolution is the fact that the tools for making video games are readily available and often free, meaning people can have a go at it the same way they could grab a pencil and paper and try to write a book, Edwards says.

Distribution of independent games is equally accessible through online services such as Steam, or virtual shops such as Apple’s App Store.

Game developer Jenna Hoffstein founded Little Worlds Interactive studio in Boston, where she is a member of a collective of indie developers.

She works solo, farming some work out to contractors. Her latest title Counting Kingdom has won rave reviews for combining education with fun.

Independent studios tend to take a lot more creative risks than massive operations behind Triple A titles, because if the big names launch a dud of a game, it could cost hundreds of workers their jobs and lose tens of millions of dollars in production costs.

“The indie scene is really this proliferation of interesting, unique, possibly total-failure ideas,” Hoffstein said. “Because the independent is only risking their own salary, we have these zany, unique, off-the-wall ideas.”

Examples that came to mind included the critically acclaimed mobile puzzle game Monument Valley, which has a style influenced by minimalist sculpture and challenges players with optical illusions.

Console makers Sony and Microsoft have both been reaching out to independent game makers, enticing them to develop for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

“When the new consoles came out, it was a clear sign from the biggest players in the industry that some of the best innovation right now in terms of game content is coming from indies,” Edwards said.

“Big publishers want to be part of that; to get that really cool content.”

Independent games broaden diversity of console play, providing lighter, quirkier options to big-budget blockbusters such as Skyrim, Halo, and Destiny.

“There will always be someone who wants that really huge, massive game – it is like going to see a film in IMAX 3-D,” said Edwards. “But then there are going to be people perfectly happy playing a game on their phone. There is room for all of them.”