So first things first, let’s get the introduction out of the way, who is @indiegamenoob? Well, my name’s Tim, I’m 25, and quite honestly, up until recently, I saw myself as far from what you might expect an indie game enthusiast to be. As far as my career goes, I have been coaching football and teaching sport studies at a college for the past 5 years. I have always been a very keen gamer, though sadly a lack of free time has prevented me from properly digging my teeth into an indie gaming scene, which has often sparked my curiosity. Generally, most of my downtime has been spent playing the obvious blockbuster games, however, I have now been presented with the chance to explore the indie gaming world, and am very excited to use any available opportunity to immerse myself in all things indie. Alongside my work, hobbies of writing, gaming, and creating/listening to music are high up the priority list when the chance arises.
As a self-confessed noob to the world of indie gaming, I don’t propose to offer any developmental advice or guidance, quite the opposite in fact, I hope to use this stage of “noobhood” as a medium to be utilised by the indie gaming world – Through sharing my experiences and opinions, I hope to assist indie developers in some small way to see the world they are creating through the eyes of a new fan, player, and ultimately, customer. Whilst obviously I can’t speak for all noobs out there, I hope this article series may provide some assistance, even if just in a very minor way, to someone. Alongside this, I hope to keep things entertaining and share the amusing stories yet to come from my venture into this new world.
It is only very recently that I have begun to explore the world of indie gaming, but am already left feeling incredibly inspired by what little I’ve managed to encounter so far. As a gamer who has always been one for Triple-A games, I would never have devoted much time into investigating anything that wasn’t socially expected to be a huge success, or marketed to the point of exhaustion. However, I am certainly waking up to the naivety of this approach after beginning to feel tired of the repetitive topics, storylines, and gameplay strategies produced from sequel after sequel by major studios with blockbuster budgets. The past week or so I have immersed myself into the indie gaming culture in an attempt to educate myself from complete noob, to someone with a mild understanding. This process has left me confused as to where the time has disappeared to as I read through various articles, watch documentaries (Indie Game: The Movie, obviously), and read books on the indie gaming scene. My eyes have been opened to the endless creativity, ingenuity, and momentum synonymous with the indie gaming world, and my god am I glad I have taken this opportunity!
I am excited to discover new ideas from an indie world driven into a creative hyperdrive by the passion, emotion, freedom of expression, and lack of resources otherwise available to big gaming studios. After all, a lack of resources stimulates the necessity for resourcefulness. It is clear that the indie world expresses an unprecedented abundance of resourcefulness, evidenced by the wealth of creative content available, and the devotion required to make this happen. It has also become apparent to me in this short space of time that the freedom of expression available to indie game developers is something much bigger than I initially realised. Having the freedom to do things how you want them to be, and not having to answer to “someone above” is a feeling I think most people strive for, after all, who doesn’t want to be their own boss! However, it is evident that having a full sense of responsibility and accountability of a project doesn’t come without it’s pitfalls. The pressure this may create could be enough to make even the most resilient of folk crumble, which in my opinion is part of what makes this indie scene quite so inspiring and special.
As I mentioned at the start of this article, I previously saw myself as far from the average stereotypical indie gamer, and was a little hesitant to delve into this world for this very reason. But what I have come to realise is that this appears to be part of what make the indie scene what it is today – a concoction of diverse backgrounds, beliefs, and personalities which all help perpetuate the creative flow that emanates from the indie gaming scene – Long may it continue!
Tim
@indiegamenoob
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