The Bear Minimum

Independent games are a different kind of game. A unique experience!

An independent game is one that has no funding from a game publisher. These games often get little in the way of advertising, but that doesn’t mean they’re not good games. Without a publisher a game has a lot less in the way of funds to work with, and often those who make the games don’t get all that much in return.

Some independent games do make a fair amount of money in return, but not a lot in comparison with the big name produced games or franchise games such as Halo, Madden, or the new Rockstar title, Red Dead Redemption.

A week or so back I happened upon the Humble Indie Bundle, and whilst I didn’t purchase it (I was meaning to but was unfortunately side-tracked for a few days and missed my chance) I have been checking out some of the games via demos available. Samorost 2 was added late in the game, and is quite enjoyable. It’s a web browser game so no need for instillation, and whilst the art style is not my favourite, it is done very, very well. Gish is a highly awarded game, but I didn’t find it to my liking. There are other physics based games out there, and whilst this one had a few neat ideas on the basic premise, the art style and music were both quite lacking.

Aquaria is fun, and I like some of the game play elements, but overall I feel like it’s aimed at a younger, more feminine, audience. World of Goo, however, was very, very enjoyable to play. I thought the graphics style was fun and clear, and I liked the take on the physics based game. Very entertaining and one I have purchased the full version of.

In my search for more independent games I also happened upon Continuity, which is a Flash game, and is fun and quite a unique game, and I’m about to have a go at the Max and the Magic Marker demo, as well.

All in all I strongly recommend a foray or two into the world of independent games.