EA.
Ubisoft. Activison. WB Games.
Square-Enix. Capcom. Konami.
If you know any of these companies by anything even a half-step beyond
their names, then you probably know that they’ve each done some
less-than-savory things over the years (either that, or you’re so filled with rage
that you’re puking blood into the nearest receptacle you can find). Whether it’s shady business practices,
hamstrung games, or business decisions that a sleeping toddler would advise
against, those companies and more have all done something to earn the ire of
the gamers they cater to. But what are
we supposed to do about it?
I’ll contend that Capcom’s Street Fighter V is a very good game, but it hasn’t gotten off to a
good start in the eyes of many -- and for a lot of legitimate reasons. Things are looking up, but players have had
to suffer -- and they’ve got no choice, when you get down to it. What can you do when a company’s effectively
holding that glowing new installment or beloved franchise hostage, especially
when said company’s done some nasty stuff in the past? Further, what can you do when you have to
count on the big companies or pretty much be denied of video games, period?
Well, good thing we’re not living in such a bleak
dystopia. Indie games are here, and
they’re saving the medium…well, probably.
Ostensibly. Hopefully? Eh, let’s just talk about indie games for a
bit.
In the past, I was under the impression that there
wasn’t a single game out there that justified the existence -- let alone
purchase -- of the PS4 or Xbone. That’s
not the case nowadays, thankfully, but boy did the eighth-gen get off to a bad
start. (Even though the Wii U held it
down easily, but I guess that doesn’t count because
reasons). One disappointment after
another followed; it seemed as if what should’ve been exemplars of the medium
-- proof of everything learned thus far, and heralds of a brand new era --
decided to move backwards. And then
backflip off of a cliff.
But where the big-budget, major retail releases
failed, the indie games prevailed. I had
more fun with Resogun than pretty
much anything else for a good while, and I found Transistor supremely interesting (and I should probably revisit
that game at some point). Those two
aren’t the only examples out there, but they do help illustrate a major point: indie games are seriously legit. And in a lot of cases, they’re making the big
budget devs look like clowns.
As shameful as it is to admit, I haven’t played
nearly as many indie games as I should.
I already have a kiloton-sized backlog -- Metal Gear Solid V alone is enough to keep me busy for several
months -- so adding anything more means I’m putting my life in jeopardy. With that said, I’ve gotten my feet wet with
a good number of them. Setting aside the
ever-impactful Katawa Shoujo, there’s
Cave Story, The Swapper, Fez, Helldivers,
Galak-Z, Shovel Knight, and, most recently (for me, at least), Broforce. That’s probably not a complete list, but it’s
still something.
Now, I’ll be honest here. Are any of those games the greatest that I’ve
ever played? No. But they are good games. And they have a distinct advantage over the
bigger releases out there: they’re different.
They come from different people, come with different mechanics, come
packed with different styles, and come for different end goals. The
Swapper is a quiet, contemplative puzzle-platformer that (at its best) lets
me experience the unsettling solitude of space.
That’s a hell of a far cry from Broforce,
where I’ll take on attack helicopters with a blocky version of Snake
Plissken. But you know what? Neither one is worse off for being
diametrically opposed. Variety is the
spice of life, and the indie scene is making sure we’re all inhaling an oil
drum’s worth of pepper instead of swallowing vats of salt.
There have been a lot of casualties and sacrifices
in the gaming world since the launch of the seventh generation. How many studios have been shut down, or
absorbed into monolithic corporations? I
know there are lists out there, but I’d rather not look -- for fear of bursting
into tears. There used to be a huge
range of games (some good, some bad) from a huge variety of publishers,
developers, studios, and companies at large.
Nowadays? Not so many.
One of my hopes for Nintendo’s mysterious NX is
that it manages to be a welcoming platform for middle-tier development --
creating a safe and appealing environment for Treasure, Next Level Games, Retro
Studios, and more. And by “more” I mean
the larger companies out there that have amazing IPs, but can’t release a new
game partly out of (justified) fear of financial ruin.
*stares white-hot daggers at Sega and Capcom*
But I digress.
If I was one of the big companies out there, I’d
be embarrassed. Executives across the
board have claimed that characters and genres aren’t viable anymore (and to be
fair, some of them probably aren’t). But
then you look at indie developers, their output, and crowdfunding campaigns,
and suddenly all of the claims seem a lot less credible. Of course, you don’t even need to go that
far; you can start and end the conversation -- complete with mic drop -- just
by saying Undertale.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: indie
games and their creators are doing the lord’s work. They really are; they fill in the gaps left
in release schedules, cater to myriad tastes, and offer a level of creativity
you can’t always count on in the big-budget space. Even so, I’m not sure if I want to claim that
they’re saving the industry. I want to, but I don’t think we’re doing
anyone any favors by saying “indie games good, AAA games bad”.
I had fun with Broforce,
no question. But despite doing so on a
PS4, and playing a game that’s (presumably) not the most taxing on the hardware,
my brother and I ran into some shocking performance issues -- lag that
practically slowed the game to half its speed.
Meanwhile, I was ready to buy in wholesale with Galak-Z in terms of both its aesthetic and gameplay...but just when
I was really diving in, I was forced to quit thanks to a nasty bug. How nasty?
I couldn’t shoot anymore, and for whatever reason -- despite playing on
a PS4 pad -- the inputs switched to mouse
and keyboard controls.
Mistakes can happen, and bugs can slip through QA
for any production. But seeing them in
an indie game is a stark reminder that there’s no ironclad guarantee of quality
just because there’s a smaller team at work.
In some ways, there’s an even lower
chance of quality; plenty of indie games have rightfully earned attention
and accolades, but there’s a huge swath of them out there that are about as
pleasant as stapling your eyeballs.
Thankfully I’ve never had to encounter any. Unfortunately, I’ve seen some of them by
proxy thanks to guys like
Jim Sterling and the
Super Best Friends. As painful as it
is to admit, not everyone should have access to the tools that they do.
Indie games aren’t immune from fault or criticism
just because they don’t have overlords from Ubisoft or EA leering at them. Any game can be good or bad, regardless of
its origin or resources. Any game can be
original, just as any game can be derivative.
There’s no ironclad rule about who’s right and who’s wrong; it’s a
case-by-case basis.
With that said, there’s one point that’s
undeniable. Yes, indie games can do a
lot with a fraction of the resources a big developer has. A shrewd creator can get the most out of
virtually nothing -- but the problem is that they’re still working with
virtually nothing. There are harsh
limits that they need to be mindful of, because failing to do so can jeopardize
a product. It’s possible to overreach
and have a project fall apart -- all because their eyes were bigger than their
stomach.
In the current climate, making an indie game with
the breadth of something like The Witcher
3 or Xenoblade Chronicles X is
damn near impossible (though No Man’s Sky
is out to do its best, but we’ll see how that goes). It’s a shame, too. There are tons of talented individuals out
there, but their ingenuity, skill, and dedication don’t mean as much when
they’re basically working with chewed-up Popsicle sticks. Meanwhile, the guys at EA have enough art
supplies to fill up a football field -- but they use them to paint a picture of
a brown cardboard box. (With the
exception of Unravel, but that’s the
very definition of an anomaly.)
Indie games make the best of what they’ve got, but
it sucks that they have to claw their way to the top by default. There’s probably a ton of 2D platformers out
there -- good ones, too -- but how many of their makers actually wanted to make a 2D platformer? Is it really their dream project? Or were they forced to settle? The answers may vary from person to person,
but there’s always going to be an inherent ball and chain that threatens to
hold the underdogs back.
But it’s still possible to break that chain. (And even the ball and chain is no true death knell.) Whether it’s support from willing backers or
the sheer level of quality a product can offer, indie games have gained
traction for a reason -- and they’ll only gain more traction in the years to
come. They’re not exactly an
instant-win, and they’re not always emblems of artistic merit, but for what
it’s worth? The games that are good are
really something special. With any luck,
we’ll be seeing more of that special spice through this generation and beyond.
And that’s my take on indie games. What’s yours?
Love them? Hate them? Think they’re overrated? Think they’re underappreciated? And maybe most importantly, what are your
favorites? Feel free to weigh in and
speak your mind. Give it all you’ve got.
Just don’t be Konami and give all you’ve got to
pachinko. OHHHHHHHHHHHH SO TOPICAL.
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