A third segment of developers includes those who make independent games as a hobby. Many have jobs elsewhere, like the early programmers of old. They work off of no budget, and have no timelines. Games are as likely to be canceled as completed. A game once released after years of wait may not pay back a fraction of the time and effort put in, leading the developer becoming a one an out. Though the production values are often not as high in this segment of the market, much of the originality realized comes from these creators. Their games may receive rewards from the industry for their originality in concept. However, the mainstream marketplace is typically oblivious to their work.

The fourth segment of independent developers is the "new" developers. With the emergence of so many people wanting to program games, a large number of programmers have decided that the best way to go about it is to program their own games. This group tends to produce games that are not high caliber. Often they quickly become disillusioned with game creation and look for a job elsewhere.

Certainly there are other segments of independent developers, but I believe the aforementioned segments makes up the majority of the independent developers currently developing. The group itself lends a lot of understanding as to the identity crisis of independent gaming. There are multiple facets that often contradict each other. Based entirely on the professional ness of the end product, there are those that produce high quality games, and those that produce low-quality games. The games themselves vary from simple and redundant copies of card games and puzzle-type games, to truly innovative games whose concepts are not available elsewhere.

Whereas the independent movie market is known for creating a different experience then you typically receive in the mainstream theaters, independent games as a whole do not offer any specific experience. Rather, the games often are variations on an arcade theme or puzzlers.

There is nothing inherently wrong with the situation as long as the target audience is the current audience and there is no desire to reach the mainstream. However, I believe that perhaps a jettison of the current "non-gamer" audience is needed for independent games to reach their full potential. If independent games are to continue to grow as an industry into something similar to the independent movies industry (an industry unto itself instead of a coat-riding industry), certain things must occur.

First off, independent games must become profitable. No industry can survive without money entering the industry. Being profitable requires providing the public with a product that they desire AND making the public aware of the product so that they can desire it.

Much has been written about writing a good game plan. Independent developers are different than major studios in that they are smaller and therefore do not need as many sales in order to succeed in the the market. Still, they must understand who their market is, and have a way to reach that market. Often independent games are created with the total focus on the concept being different without considering if there is any market for the game. Far more often, a good concept is released on the unsuspecting public and never appreciated do to a total lack of understanding of how to market the game.

Pontifex II showed that bridge-building is a lot more fun than you thought physics could be.

Some of these problems tie back in together. It is my belief that for Independent games to grow as an industry, the industry must itself adhere to a standard. That standard should be ingenuity. By pushing forth something that is in itself marketable, the industry will become known for putting forth products that are unique. I believe this will lead to a customer base of die-hard gamers who only play the unique, in addition to a healthy section of the mainstream that will also turn to the industry from time to time in order to have an experience that they would not have elsewhere. Examples of this abound in many games such as Basegolf, Pontifex II, and Dopefarmer. However, there are far too many games that are simply an independent developer trying to redo a game that is already available. Though many of these recreations are often better than the original, the industry will have a difficult time becoming known to the public if its major product is game rehashes. Independent games as an industry needs to provide something to the public that the don't get elsewhere. There is certainly always room for another good game in everyone's library, but it is unlikely that independent games will grow as an industry by just offering good, yet unremarkably original games.

However, as noted, unique games often do not sell. The reason for that is obviously that they do not have a market large enough to support them. Some of market creation requires that you create for a market expecting that market to arise. Some 4 years ago, there was a large discussion as a new game was released that required a broadband connection in order to play. In 1999 the number of households with a broadband connection was quite low. However the person releasing the game stated that the point was to create a game that made people want to upgrade to a broadband connection, not to wait around for people to have broadband connection and then create the game. After all, he said, what reason would people have to upgrade to a broadband connection if they didn't have things such as the cool game to upgrade for?

The situation with independent games is obviously a little different. However, if belief exists that people will in fact purchase games based on the concept & originality of the game, then it must follow that with a larger number of those games available, and the increased awareness that would more games would cause, a market for the games would be created.

Obviously this type of thing does not happen overnight. I live near Park City and Sundance, a location that could be considered one of the original hotbeds for independent films. Still, the independent theater in town was considered one of the worst financial ventures you could get in to. It had changed hands 5 times before it finally started to do well. Within the last year, doing well has meant they purchased a former Cineplex Odeon 4-plex downtown so that they could accommodate all the movie watchers.

I'm convinced with time that this industry will also grow. It is unfortunate that many of the pioneers in independent games will lose interest along the way. My hope is that the industry will grow into something that is singular and provides a product that can be found no-where else. Much of that is predicated on the ability of independent developers to get their original ideas down into a game, and to present it in a professional fashion. Until then I believe the industry will continue to flounder or grow, depending on your perspective, towards the identity that it needs to be a serious industry that does indeed provide for itself.