What is an Indie Game? 5 Best Indie Games & its Process

Right off the bat, indie games have always been able to pull a lot of attention to them as they give the players a new and individual storyline. 

 

From innovative storylines to creative gameplay, indie games take the playground wholly and entertain users most excitingly.

 

What Is An Indie Game?

 

Indie games are short for independent games, which a small group of independent developers develops without funding from some renowned game publishers such as Ubisoft, Sega, Nintendo, and many others.

 

Who Is An Indie Game Developer?

 

No venture capital or publisher studios funding - defines an indie developer well. 

Specifically, an indie developer works on game development independently without any venture capital or financial support. Furthermore, indie game developers have an independent idea of storytelling different from the usual gameplay - no wonder they become one of the most played games in no time, such as Minecraft, for reference. 

 

A report by Statista unveils that the rising popularity of indie games has been observed, which is attributed to certain factors. Most of the credit goes to Unity and Unreal game engines for their accessibility to the game developers. 

 

What Are the Best Indie Games of All The Time?

 

With a plethora of indie games, it is hard to name the best indie games of all time. However, here are the seven most popular indie games that every game enthusiast should play. Let’s have a look.

 

 

What makes indie games different from AAA games?

 

The major point of difference between indie games and AAA games is based on the graphics, budgets, and publishers. 

 

Indie games are mostly made on voxel art, aka pixel art, whereas AAA games have more realistic graphics. Moreover, indie games have low budget costs as a small and independent team works on the game development, unlike AAA games that are funded, financed, and have support from venture capital. 

 

Pros and Cons of Indie Games 

 

Undoubtedly, indie games are taking over the usual games for their creativity and other strong features, but they have some downsides. Let’s have a glance at the pros and cons of indie games. 

 

A Brief Discussion On The Pros Of Indie Games 

 

Looking at the advantages of indie games, game developers have been able to leverage them for career and game nurturing. Let's have a look at that. 

 

Creative Freedom 

 

Many game developers have expressed massive gratitude to indie games for having a vast ground to play and letting their creativity shine. Indie game development does not kill the freedom as schools kill the art because developers have complete control over what they want for their game characters, game storyline, game design, and all other relevant factors. 

 

Expanding the Skillset 

 

The indie game development industry has enabled game developers to experience different tasks of the gaming project and get hands-on experience. 

 

As indie game developers have to work on different tasks (as they have a small team), this gives them the benefit of expanding and polishing the skills that they can utilize for further progression and development. 

 

Conducive environment 

 

Who doesn't like remote working? You got the point, right?

Indie game developers are bestowed with the freedom of creativity and to work from anywhere, too. 

 

They can work from anywhere, anytime, as they are free from the bounds of time. This helps them complete their work without stress and quickly achieve their game development goals.

 

A Brief Discussion On The Cons Of Indie Games 

 

Even though indie games have been on the stage of rapid popularity, there are some disadvantages too. However, enough to say that the pros of indie games outweigh the cons, making indie games stand apart from others.

 

Limited resources 

 

It is inevitable to face the problem of limited resources for indie game development. As we have mentioned previously, indie games have limited funding, and their primary source of resources is crowdfunding, which is not deemed a good source. 

 

Due to the limited resources, many indie game developers face problems in the whole process of game development and its management, which affects the revenue generated from the game. 

 

Marketing & Management Issues 

 

The primary source of revenue generation from a game is expected after successful marketing, which costs a lot - like aaa lottt! 

 

Due to the limited resources and funding for indie game developers, many games do not get to market themselves correctly and end up losing the limelight. 

Therefore, it is better to thoroughly work on the marketing indie games strategy so that no effort is wasted. 

 

Oversaturation of Indie Games 

 

After Minecraft became a sensation, the indie game industry has been experiencing the oversaturation of the games. 

 

Daily, 20-40 games are being released every day, which undermines the power of the potential indie games and causes a lag in the quality due to overcrowding, and many games need to be noticed. 

 

Indie Games Monetization

 

The core goal of any game is to generate revenue. There are multiple channels through which indie video game monetization can be generated. Let's have a look at a few of them. 

 

 

What Are The Features Of An Indie Game?

 

Indie games stand apart from other categories of games for the different features that make them 'independent.' Here are some of the main features that make indie games. 

 

Team size - indie game developers have a short team of developers and designers that primarily handle all the back-end and front-end. 

 

Budget limitations - unlike AAA games, indie games have a limited amount of funding and budgeting for development and marketing. They have to manage everything within a limited budget and rely on investors only if the game gets successful. 

 

Unique storyline - indie games always have a unique storyline that piques the players' interest by making them different from the usual gameplay. Not only this, but indie games break the mold with unique game schemes, mechanics, and overall game stories. 

 

5 Steps To Creating An Indie Game 

 

Before developing an indie game, here are a few critical steps to consider. Let's get into them. 

 

Generate an idea

 

Taking an idea about a game is essential so that all the details regarding game design, game art, and other essential elements can be mapped out. If you have just started your game development journey, then it is better not to make it complex. 

 

Once you have a clear idea of your game, it will be easier to take the following steps. 

 

Select an Engine

 

There are multiple game engines, but Unity and Unreal are the best. However, there are some game development frameworks and libraries through which you can use the code with many updates to make it fit the game. It can undoubtedly be a good option if you want to update the code and mold it according to your requirements. However, the call is yours, which shall be decided after you consider all the essential game development factors. 

 

Develop Prototypes 

 

This stage entails developing the outlines of your game by creating a minimum viable product, aka MVP. It is essential to develop the prototypes for understanding the look of the game mechanics, storyline, characters, props, and overall game setting. 

 

Developing a game prototype would help you in the following ways:

• Know the game's scope 
• Look for the game mechanics and movements 

 

Gather Game Assets along with Working on VFX and SFX 

 

After developing the prototype and taking it to the further stages of development, it's time to collect the game assets and add visual and sound effects. 

It will increase the whole feel of the game and help you get to know the almost-finalized look of the game. 

 

Game assets play an important role in game development. There are two options; one is that you create your game assets from scratch, and the other one is utilizing the online resources to their full potential. 

 

Complete The Game Assets And Take Your Game To The Final Stage 

 

Once you have completed all the parts of your game, such as game assets, sounds, and mechanics, and passed it through the QA team; it is time to take it to the final stages. The game can also be launched for open testing to fine-tune further and improve it.
 

Outsource Your Indie Game Development to InvoGames 

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