Films are a useful analogy here, because it comes down to the same thing: a good film is a good film, apart from budget, and the same works for games. There are tonnes of indie masterpieces out there that simply don’t have access to the relevant distribution methods. And how many useless films or useless videogames—from top companies—have you seen or bought recently?

The Problem With the Blockbuster Mentality

One of the principal concerns with making entertainment on the Hollywood scale is that a proper idea of good, fun gameplay disappears under all the other must-do things that have to go into a huge game—just like the story of a blockbuster can often be obscured beneath layers of other concerns. With a small squad, this doesn’t happen—it’s all about the game alone, the level of the play—whether or not it’s fun to play, properly designed, and gives gamers a reason to come back is essentially all that means anything.

The notion is that just because it’s extensively advertised in the store doesn’t signify it’s stupendous. And so the question becomes: how do we discover those small games, those not-gigantic publishers doing quality, tried-and-true games that aren’t getting advertised on television or constantly talked about?

Can Indie Games be Found Online?