What is an Indie Game?
Indie games are created by independent game developers, rather than those who work for large development studios or publishers. [1]
As an indie game developer one does not have to work alone. Of course you can do the whole process by yourself, just like the Stardew Valley developer Eric Barone. But on the other side one can hire multiple team members to bring their project to life. This team can consist of designers, programmers, artists, and sound designers. [2]
How to make an Indie Game?
For creating your own Video Game, you have to first come up with the basic idea of your game. Usually, one would start by creating his own Game Design Document. For that many templates can be found but it should contain all the necessary information of a game.
A Game Design Document, or GDD for short, is typically a detailed guide that can be used to keep track of the core themes, styles, features, mechanics and ideas of your game project. [3]
One also has to decide what engine will be used for creating the game. There are many options from Unity, Unreal Engine to Gamemaker and RPGMaker. It is important to choose the right engine before you start programming your game. A lot of research has to be done to find the right one which suits your needs and can bring your game to its full potential.
It is also important to decide if the game will be 2D or 3D and what genre it will be. When deciding what format to use (2D or 3D) the artstyle has to be defined. With that, one can create the needed game assets that will be used in the game. Those can be made with different softwares like photoshop, aseprite, blender and other design tools.
The most successful indie games are usually defined by an incredible gameplay element, gimmick, or art style that sets them apart from the competition. Indie devs can afford to be bold, so don’t hold back. [4]
Some of the most famous Indie Games
- Cuphead
- Hades
- Hollow Knight
- Minecraft
- Stardew Valley
- The Binding of Isaac
- Undertale
- [1] Ramble 2023c
- [2] Ramble 2023c
- [3] French 2022
- [4] Ramble 2023c
References
- Ramble 2023a = Ramble, Ross (5. 3. 2023): Everything you need to know before you make a 2D Game. In: Gamemaker Blog, https://gamemaker.io/en/blog/how-to-make-a-2d-game (Date retrieve: 13. 11 2023)
- Ramble 2023b = Ramble, Ross (10. 3. 2023): The seven stages of game development. In: Gamemaker Blog, https://gamemaker.io/en/blog/stages-of-game-development (Date retrieved: 13. 11. 2023)
- Ramble 2023c = Ramble, Ross (14. 9. 2023): What are Indie Games & How to Develop Them. In: Gamemaker Blog, https://gamemaker.io/de/blog/what-are-indie-games (Date retrieved: 13. 11. 2023)
- French 2022 = French,John (6. 5. 2022): How to write a game design document (with examples). In: Game Design, https://gamedevbeginner.com/how-to-write-a-game-design-document-with-examples/ (Date retrieved: 13. 11. 2023)
