It is March 2014 and I have finally watched Indie Game: The Movie. As time passed I ran out of reasons exactly why I hadn't watched it yet. I think being on Netflix and someone reminding me about it while at a desk trying to do something that wouldn't fry my brain (blog update #2 after this blog, it's a blogathon!).
What did I think of it exactly? Well, I have more thoughts on it than I expected and Twitter is no real format express them with a limit of words.
JUST in case you haven't heard of Indie Game: The Movie it's a documentary about a few developers in their process of making their games. There are many reasons to watch this game but if you've ever played Braid, Super Meat Boy or Fez it behoves you to watch this. It's a fantastic film but I'd like to explain why, I guess.
I was just expecting a film which gives nothing but praise to indie games and the whole game industry in general. Whenever the games industry overlaps onto other media it often tries to validate games excessively as if we need to do that. This film doesn't do that, it doesn't treat the games industry and indie games development like it's perfect and I'm so glad it doesn't. Ignoring the struggle and the bad times caused would seem a disservice to these amazing developers and any others who have really encountered some pretty low moments.
What I loved was how it didn't just show the developers as some rockstars of the gaming industry. It shows these people with all their problems and human quirks. Whenever we see videos of developers we don't really see them presented as humans but marketers and salespeople for their games. That human element was a big part of it and I loved the film for it.
One thing I noted was how many of the developers used games as a way to express themselves which isn't something I have really thought about. I don't really approach game dev as an artist in that way. I really just want to make people in the world happy by creating things that would make me happy. There's an element of myself in something like the Three Thing Game 2013 game but only what I thought would be fun but not how I feel. I did relate to the problem of not being able to connect to people though which sometimes I think I don't really do. Using games to connect to people is something I will be thinking about a lot now thanks to the film. I'm still at a pretty amateur level right now though so just getting something that works and has a basic level of fun is often good enough to make me really happy.
Some of the things the developers talk about won't really make to me truly until I face the problems they do with projects that take up the same amount of time that Fez, Braid and Super Meat Boy did. I got defensive over my semester 1 coursework that I had to spend weeks on and pulled off many late night sessions to complete. Having something on the scale of years with the internet expecting all the good things is something I haven't had to deal with.
Indie Game: The Movie didn't cause me to second guess my chosen career and industry though but mainly because I haven't seen it as a perfect place for a long time anyway. The question of is it worth it though? Hell yes it is worth it. You are making amazing things, meeting and working with amazing people for amazing companies. It is one of the biggest shapers of modern culture and games are inspiring the minds of the next generation. So far, it has been fun and stressful but the fun is always what I remember.
I found the film to be touching and inspiring and I'm so glad it did. If you haven't watched it, please do, as a favour to yourself, it's on Netflix!
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