Indie gaming refers to playing games, of any sort, that are created independently (hence "Indie") of the financial backing of a publishing company. These games generally have a small, or non-existent, budget and are often primarily available online, although budgets can run in the millions and Indie games have appeared on consoles (such as PS2, Xbox, and Gamecube) or in game stores, as appropriate for the game in question.

While any game developed independently of a publisher may be considered Indie, such is slightly anachronistic. Chess, while created without an official sponsor, does not fall under the category of an Indie Game as it existed prior to the advent of the concept. Before a game may be considered to be independent there must be an industry to be independent from. As such, the concept of Indie Games developed only after publishing companies became established and as a reaction to those companies.

The origins of Indie Video Games, as a subset of the larger category, may be traced back to the seventies, when there was virtually no established computer gaming industry. As video game companies developed they drew talent from this pool of programmers, though at no point actually eradicating it. The two have continued to co-exist. During the 90's, Indie games were most commonly distributed as Shareware and thusly known as "shareware games"; nowadays, this term has a more derogatory connotation as Indie games are competing with their big-budget corporate brethren. Pac-Man is one of the most recognizable video games ever created. ... Shareware is a marketing method for software, whereby a trial version is distributed in advance and without payment, as is common for proprietary software. ...

Indie Video Games are strongly linked to casual games, shareware, freeware or open source software development. Indie developers are generally motivated by strong niche interest in the title they are working on, often a game that would not be produced by the mainstream. They tend to be inserted into some sort of community (usually internet-based) which recognizes developers. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Shareware is a marketing method for software, whereby a trial version is distributed in advance and without payment, as is common for proprietary software. ... Freeware is copyrighted computer software which is made available free of charge, as opposed to shareware where the user is required to pay. ... Open source refers to projects that are open to the public and which draw on other projects that are freely available to the general public. ...

Typically, when Indie Games, of any sort, are being created, there is a small team of people, on average ranging in size from 1 to 10 people, depending on the type of game in question and its complexity. For video games this usually include 2D and 3D artists, programmers, musician, etc, while other forms, such as Pen and Paper RPGs, require only an artist and writer. These games may take years to be constructed from the ground up, often being developed in spare time and spare space (garages, basements, etc).

Those interested in making or playing Indie games are encouraged to follow some of the external links below.

See also

• Doujin soft
• Indie role-playing game
• List of indie game developers

Dōjin soft (short for software) are video games created by Japanese hobbyists, more for fun than for profit; essentially, the Japanese equivalent of shareware video games. ... An indie role-playing game is a role-playing game which is published by members of the self-defined indie RPG community. ... This is a list of independent game developers, video game developers that are not supported by a publisher. ...

Well-Known Indie Games

• Doukutsu Monogatari
• Seiklus
• Darwinia
• Perfect Cherry Blossom

Doukutsu Monogatari (洞窟物語, Cave Story in English) is a freeware PC game made by independent Japanese game developer Studio Pixel. ... Seiklus is an unusual and distinctive platform game for Windows, created by a single author, cly5m, using Mark Overmarss Game Maker game development software. ... Darwinia is the second game made by Introversion Software, the creators of Uplink. ... An example of bullet hell in Perfect Cherry Blossom. ...

External links

• MadMonkey.net Madmonkey.net - The oldest and largest indie game site
• GarageGames, creators of the popular Torque Game Engine, the Torque Game Builder and the Torque Shader Engines which are indie priced.
• GameDev.Net, a highly popular site dedicated to game development
• Game Tunnel, a tome of indy gaming information, along with reviews, previews, and developer chats.
• DIY Games
• The Independent Gaming Source
• Independent Games Festival (the Independent Games Festival Website)
• Gamespy's Download This! Column (Gaming Site Gamespy's Section on Indy Games)
• Allegro Community Network
• Speedhack (an annual Allegro-based freeware game development competition)
• IndieGameWorld - an indie gaming wiki
• RPGDX
• IssaSoft Productions - Makers of Adventure RPG games.
• Positech Games Makers of Democracy, Starship Tycoon and others.
• TameStorm Games
• Indiegamer Developer Discussion Boards
• VG Forums, a forum for players and Indie developers to discuss works-in-progress.
• Peter E Conn, an independent developer of applications, currently working on games.
• Beyond Virtual Indie Game Engine, A game engine for Indie Developers
• Illusion Software, Indie game publisher and distributor
• C4 Engine, a game engine by Terathon Software.
• DevMaster.net, a popular site dedicated to game development
• Prairie Games, an indie studio who created the massively multiplayer online role playing game; Minions of Mirth
• ChronicLogic, an indie studio who created the adventure game "Gish"
• Fleaware The studio that created 10A and Vince the Vet.