Why big publishers should be afraid and gamers should be thrilled
It’s no big secret among gamers that independently produced and published games have quickly outpaced their big box counterparts. It’s a glorious revolution in which the gaming public at large has discovered greater value for their dollar and have gotten more involved with titles before they hit the market.
It’s a shadow war, Indie vs. Triple A, and it has been raging quietly for years but with the advent of Kickstarter mixed with a consumer base angry at every rehash of Madden’s Assassin’s Creed of Duty it was destined to happen and it’s a war that may have tipped the scales in favor of the underdog.
I’m going to shoot it straight. I often find $65+ dollars a bit too much to gamble on that next installment of overhyped crap that gets served up as only half a game. Tack on DLC, loot boxes, paying more money for stupid vanity items and you lose me.
Thankfully out of the depths of this dank cesspool of a marketing trend, valiant developers have emerged to take control in the crowd funding arena to fight back tooth and nail for the video game world. The roster of champions is lengthy but here are my top three that you should pay your money and attention to for good reason.
InExile Entertainment
Back in the ‘80s and ‘90s there was a little game developer named Interplay. Interplay created Fallout, Descent, and Balder’s Gate franchises, no big deal. Brian Fargo led Interplay to power through the PC gaming market and in my opinion spawned an entire generation of gamers.
But due to a waning PC gaming market and lack of console titles, Interplay went bankrupt and Fargo went into exile. But it didn’t take him long to ninja himself and many others back in the spotlight. InExile has led successful campaigns to produce Wasteland 2 the true successor to Wasteland, Tides of Numenera, and most recently The Bard’s Tale IV.
Bard’s Tale IV is a grueling dungeon crawl that will beat you down. When it comes to PC classic reboots, the brutal difficulty and learning curve is where most of the fun is.
My opinion: InExile games are usually $20 to $30 cheaper at retail and will keep you happy for well over 40 hours or in my case several years.
Klei Entertaiment
ADHD takes on many forms and Klei Entertainment is one of those developers that pathologically remain unshackled from creative restrictions.
They started off with kinetic platformers to eventually do side scrolling beat-em-ups, and even survival adventure games. The most defining trait being their eyepopping comic art style that gives each game a character of its own.
With only 30 or so people at the company it’s easy to believe that the creators of Mark of the Ninja, Don’t Starve Together, and Oxygen Not Included value quality over quantity. Klei makes games across multiple platforms which all play well, their hit game Don’t Starve has been ported to nearly everything you can imagine.
My verdict: Klei Entertainment games are simple yet challenging with great art style and replay value. With games just under $20, you’d be crazy not to give them a try.
TellTale Games
It’s bittersweet that I include this developer amidst the recent shutdown of the company in September. Though I won’t go into the gory details of the closure, I will tell you that Telltale Games was born when a few folks decided to leave Lucasarts back in 2004.
Telltale is best known for their Walking Dead series of games. They truly revolutionized the interactive choose your adventure story genre of play and though I hated the Walking Dead as a show, I absolutely loved the games.
Nail biting suspense and character driven adventure stories are their bread and butter. With titles like Tales from the Borderlands, Game of Thrones and The Wolf Among Us there is plenty to enjoy for years.
With an easy-to-love art style and hair graying choice/consequence narrative system TellTale Games made its mark in the hearts and minds of gamers around the world.
I’m hopeful former employees sent home will rise back up and keep this type of gaming alive with future endeavors. Don’t be surprised to see similar games pop up on Kickstarter in the future.
My judgement: Story driven single player experiences that hit you in the sweet spot between headspace and heartstrings are more like interactive art than game. If you missed Telltale Games somehow, shame on you and now get to downloading!
When not vaporizing zombies or leading space marines as a mousepad Mattis, Brandon Watson is making gourmet pancakes and promoting local artists.