i want to play games

Indie Game: The Movie

What are independent games (indie games)? There is currently no clear definition, but more refers to games created by a few people with an independent spirit. The independent spirit of creators generally lies in the courage to express themselves and show different ideas and creativity. The starting point is more expression than profit.

The entire documentary centers on the stories of these three games and their creators: "Super Meat Boy", "Face Hat", "Dreamland". The documentary shows the creators' dedication and dedication to game design: a computer, a wall covered with posters, or in an ordinary coffee shop in the California Bay Area, a white or yellow scratch paper placed His desk and a pair of black-rimmed glasses seem to be enough to isolate him from others. Except for staring at the screen and modifying the details again and again, all actions that waste talent on other trivial matters of life are suffering.

However, in addition to focus and genius-like ability, creators of independent games need courage and self-confidence. On the one hand, they have the freedom and channels to express themselves and construct their own delicate world; on the other hand, they are ready to accept public criticism at any time - many works that are sharp and cruel, but not devalued are difficult to create new value, As Jonathan Blow, the creator of "Dreamland", said, we make games in the hope of being understood by players, hoping to have a common language with players, and the most frustrating thing is actually "positive reviews of the game" "Wow , it's fun", "very fun", "buy it now", "9.5 out of 10"...——These interpretations of the game are very superficial, and players don't really understand where the creator's mind is, because players may still live in In a world different from the creator, "They are not seeing what is the most important in the game..."

So what exactly do indie game creators want players to see?

In my opinion, indie games are more of a creator's writing, self-expression, and very personal, than a game made by a large company with the goal of creating a grand virtual world. And something that is extremely personal is inherently flawed and vulnerable—as in interpersonal relationships, if you can’t see where the other person is vulnerable, it just means you haven’t built a real relationship with them. So I wonder, will indie game producers magnify their weaknesses and put them into the game, and hope that readers will find out?

I'm afraid it will.

For example, Edmound, one of the creators of the Super Meat Boy game, is a chubby boy who lives in a small seaside town in the United States. He has been interested in monsters since he was a child, and does not like to play with other classmates. The paintings given to the art teacher are always "Different" so that the teacher suspects a psychological problem. But fortunately, when the teachers thought that the little monster in the body of the little boy he drew was "a cry for help", Edmound's mother and grandmother believed that he was an artist, "he will be a success". In the game Super Meat Boy, the male protagonist is a fleshy boy without skin. He will not change his equipment as the level upgrades (unlike Super Mario), and his game task is to rescue his girlfriend "Bandage Girl" ”, the metaphor here is: the bandage can wrap the meat brother and make him whole. In real life, Edmound and his girlfriend Danielle have been together for many years. Finally, when Edmound won an award at the Independent Game Festival (the independent game festival held in San Francisco since 1999 is a business event in the field of independent games), he proposed to his girlfriend successfully and it was fulfilled. had a marriage.

For another example, Jonathan Blow, the creator of "Dreamland", expressed his respect for the Italian writer Calvino in the game, and compiled the logos of the last six worlds based on "Invisible Cities". semaphore; similarly, Jonathan also expressed his love for words: the entire game, except for the last level, does not use any cutscenes, and the entire narrative is presented in pure text form through several books at the beginning of each world Yes - the player doesn't even need to press the button to open the book, as long as you approach the book, it will open automatically, showing text fragments - and to understand the spiritual theme of the entire game, you must collect all three text fragments that fall in each world. , it is completely difficult for individual fragments to form a rational and logical cognition. (In my opinion, this is too romantic; maybe, what the creator needs is a romantic player like me haha)

Of course, in addition to self-expression of inspiration, creativity, and worldview, creators of independent games also face constraints from many objective conditions, and may feel suffocated: if you want to be "seen by others", you need to obtain advertising space on game online platforms, such as Xbox, - Because only a few indie games can be sold through physical channels, most rely on the lower-cost digital download model. The development of large-scale games and commercial games is sponsored by well-funded publishers, but independent games may suffer a miscarriage when they are “at the door” due to lack of funds or inability to sign contracts with platforms. And when the indie game is finally available for sale at the right time and place, I am afraid that the attention of market players has shifted to other new games.

China's game industry started late, and due to policies (and some recent policies, I understand it), the exposure rate in the media is very low, and many people do not understand it. Although my country has been talking about the development of "digital creative industries" in recent years ("Thirteenth Five-Year Plan for the Development of National Strategic Emerging Industries", "Strategic Emerging Industries Classification (2018)"), the conceptual understanding of digital creative industries is closely related to that of the United Kingdom and the United States. There are differences between Japan and South Korea: my country pays attention to the "organic integration" of technology, culture and creativity, while the United States connects the entire digital industry through copyright, emphasizing individual creativity, skills and talents. But how to integrate? Looking at the market where sequels are common and "micro-innovation" is the standard, you will know that it is difficult to get experimental opportunities for truly bold and fresh ideas, and creators and players are in an unequal relationship - conservative creators just want to satisfy players It is difficult to make choices that challenge the expectations of players. Therefore, the "digital creative industry" seems to be dwarfed by "creative" in front of "industry". Otherwise, Tencent Games will not become the money printing machine and cash cow of Tencent Group. The existence of independent games, the sense of mission is to let "creative" continue to grow, and the risk of a creative team of less than 10 people is relatively small compared to large-scale games.

At present, the "spring" of Chinese independent gamers has not yet arrived (compared to the more than 200 billion game market, the share of single-player games is less than 1%). They still need to "open source and reduce expenditure". However, independent game companies are gradually becoming the liquid power among giants such as Tengxu, NetEase, Shanda: FunPlus, for example. So, how do you challenge the ceilings set by the big game? This documentary can give us a lot of inspiration, and it can also give Chinese independent game people spiritual strength.

"Games are the ultimate art form, just like all the media in history combined with interactive functions." In the future, games will be filmed, films will be interactive, and films will be gamified.... It has become a trend of mutual influence and integration - the world The unparalleled "Dreamland" game won the Independent Game Festival Design Award when it was not finished. It shares a core with the movie "Creed": time goes against the flow. The English name of the game is Braid, which means "braid", and you can experience it yourself. its metaphor.

Ashamed, I never knew about games before, and almost all games seemed to me a worldly choice at a loss.

But I want to say sorry to the people I hurt by my previous opinion and my open mouth, because, I also want to play games today.

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