Cold TakeVideo Series

The Indie Game Identity Is in Danger – Cold Take

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This week on Cold Take, Frost takes a look at the growing problem of the “indie” game identity in the games industry.

The Indie Game Identity Is in Danger – Transcript

As Laurence Block once put it, sometimes it’s a dog-eat-dog world and the rest of the time it’s the other way around.

At a brief glance I give off the appearance of never holding a firm conviction for longer than 8 minutes. It can be difficult to keep up to date when during one week’s drinking session I’m delivering a silver lined diatribe stating: the Triple A scene is beneficial for gaming as a whole, blunders and all. Then the next week, I’m insinuating that the gaming industry could do with a metaphorical Robespierere cleaning out all the negligent business operations that weigh down the studios we know and love. I agree, it’s enough to make a guy lose his head, but this week will be no different as I hang the flickering interrogation light over the indie scene. Games made with the independent vision and authority of a select few are far more endearing to me. Not necessarily more or less entertaining than games made through big money and conjoined efforts, but indie games are where I go for something more personal than a massive group project. Call it recency bias, but I find the indie scene’s current choice of frontmen has made the genre feel less unique and more Triple-A Jr.

About the author

Sebastian Ruiz
Sebastian Ruiz joined The Escapist in June 2021, but has been failing his way up the video game industry for years. He went from being a voice actor, whose most notable credit is Felicia Day mistaking him for Matt Mercer in the game Vaporum, to a video editor with a ten-year Smite addiction, to a content creator for the aforementioned Hi-Rez MOBA, before focusing his attention on game development and getting into freelance QA. With a lack of direction, Sebastian sought out The Escapist as a place to work with like-minded individuals and fuel his ambitions. While he enjoys dabbling in all kinds of games to expand his horizons, even the worst roguelikes can get his attention.