Indie Game Exam Question 3 (FINAL) (Gaming)

by MrPadraig08 , Steel City, Monday, October 14, 2013, 10:28 (3858 days ago) @ Cody Miller

I'm always reminded of this when the distinction arises:

though it doesn't make the full translation for games, most of it is there.

I think the bigger reasoning behind the distinction lies in implication rather than execution. While independent may be more honest (or at least descriptive), indie evokes a greater emotional response in the audience. The difference is independent describes nothing about them other than who is or isn't paying the bills/ who is or isn't in direct control of development, while indie describes the same thing, but implies much more. It implies a different train of thought, it implies genre breaking or genre fusing, it implies non-typical and possibility driven games in story, music, etc. It boils down to the implication of games or a style of games too niche or odd to be made by a publisher seeking big revenue and big audiences.

So indie technically isn't a genre or type of game or developer, it's a brand.