Indie Game: The Movie

[coffee]

Not new but...
"Look mommy and daddy! I'm on TV!"
http://vimeo.com/25268139

[Jasoco]

Which one are you?

[coffee]

Which one are you?

Obvious, my joke phrase is intended as possible saying of any of us. We all are making indie games right? It will be hard see that Doc when released. I would love to see it.

[slime]

This is the first real documentary about indie developers and it looks great, I'm pretty excited to see it.

[MarekkPie]

This is the first real documentary about indie developers and it looks great, I'm pretty excited to see it.

I could go into some stupid, existential questions like "what makes a documentary 'real'?" or "isn't it oxymoronic that we value a 'mainstream' documentary that covers an 'indie' game's development over an 'indie' documentary that overs an 'indie' game's development?"...

...but I also want to see the movie.

[ivan]

Nah, I wouldn't say this docu is 'mainstream'.
If I remember correctly it was made by some people who got funded through kickstarter.
I only watched a few bits but it seems that they only interviewed a few 'successful' indies.
Real indies don't star in movies anyways we're too busy programming in some basement.
And we don't talk to other human beings either, except through the internets.

[coffee]

that they only interviewed a few 'successful' indies.

I agree with you, It's not the whole/true face of indie game dev. I would say also that this doc have this major flaw. It seems to focus only in the glamorous hype arty (and american/canadian) indie approach. Take Fez example that is all over the trailer and probably the doc. However the game is only media "successful" since itself has been postponed over and over and still isn't released. And the authors/company since 2008 seems haven't done nothing more till now. How hype this is spite of how good game appears to be?

[slime]

Yeah, there are definitely several types of 'indies' and the documentary only covers some of the more popular/well-known ones, but at the same time they're all developers who tend to be in one or two man companies working from home. It's still the first real look at indie game development created in a way that people outside the industry can easily understand.
Also, the fact that they're covering someone who has had a game in development for years without release is pretty interesting, because it's different from the other people who've already put out successful titles.

[hryx]

I only watched a few bits but it seems that they only interviewed a few 'successful' indies.

I believe it focuses on Edmund McMillen (designer of Meat Boy and The Binding of Isaac) and Phil "Fish" (artist for Fez), but I bet there are others in the full video. The filmmakers have done other things along the way too. They were at TIGJam 3 and got lots of footage, with which they made a short feature called "Headcrabbed" that focused on Derek Yu and his Spelunky remake. (And my dumb ass was in it, playing the game.) Sadly, though, that video is offline now.

Also, the fact that they're covering someone who has had a game in development for years without release is pretty interesting, because it's different from the other people who've already put out successful titles.

Working on a game for years without release is part of being a game developer, too. Or a writer. Or a filmmaker. It's fucked up but it doesn't make the project less interesting.

[TechnoCat]

Indie Game: The Movie - CHICAGO, IL
Tuesday, April 17, 2012 at 6:30 PM (ET)