I never thought much of indie games. I always thought people got off easy developing a simple game and making millions off it. These were my thoughts before I saw Indie Game: The Movie It is a documentary any fan of video games needs to see. This documentary dives deep into the world of independent games and how they are made, also the stress the developers are under to make their dreams come true. This was certainly unexpected from this documentary but the film was very well made and being a fan of video games, I learned a lot and have a great respect for these games.
Big games like the Halo series and Call of Duty is made by thousands of people over a course of a few years. These games are very detailed and take a lot of time and effort to make. An indie game is made by a small group of people over a course of a few years. One thing I did not expect from this documentary was the emotion from the developers. They fell in love with their characters, even though they were so simple. The games in the documentary were Fez, Brine, and one about a meatball trying to save his bandager girlfriend, I just forget the name. Maybe it was Mr. Meat Boy or something like that. Anyway, these games became their life and they get attached to these games and it becomes their child in a way. This was a new take on video games for me. It made me think how the makers of Call of Duty and Halo can't really get into their characters because there are so many people developing the game. An indie game is just so simple but so advanced.
I did not realize all the stress and hard work than went into making an indie game. A small team of people have to draw everything and develop puzzles for each level and then go into a computer and design it. The documentary really goes into the making of games but making it is half the battle. Then the game needs to be known and sell. There is some sort of indie game convention where developers go and show their games and try to get a deal. I had no idea all of this even happened. The developers talked about being depressed and how the stress of possible failure can ruin their life and end their dream.
This was something else I did not expect. The documentary was just as much about the developers as much as the game. We see real emotion from the developers. I'm, glad the network that made this movie did not bleep out swears because it makes it more real and the frustration more believable. We learn of their stories, their success, and their struggles. There is one poor guy who just has no luck. His father got diagnosed with a very bad disease, but he recovered, his girlfriend left him, his partner in their company left him, his game got pushed back, he suffered from depression, and it just looked hopeless. This all happened in a year. The stress got to him and when it was his turn to be big at the convention the first person who played the game got a bug and the game was not working. Everything that could go wrong for this guy went wrong. I felt so bad for this guy and I wanted him to be successful. I connected with him and I did not expect this from a documentary. Is this movie for everybody? No, if you are not a video game fan then do not see this documentary. You will not care and not be entertained. This is a big problem for this movie. It only appeals to one kind of audience. Also, it showed the developers still complaining when they had all the success. One guy tried saying all the success and his dream coming true was too much to handle and he became depressed. I was like, oh come on. Your dream came true and you are successful, you have absolutely nothing to complain about. No reason to be depressed. If anything I wou8ld want to see them more grateful. These developers are almost characters in a movie, rather than people in a documentary. Overall, Indie Game: The Movie was an incredible documentary with its focus on how games are made and the struggles that come with it. It opened my eyes and gave me a lot more respect for the genre of indie games. A few things I did not like about it made me tune out at times but still very enjoyable. Any fan of video games in general, old or new, should check out this movie and enjoy. It is unfortunate that this documentary will suffer and only appeal to a certain audience but that's just the way it is. Indie Game: The Movie gets the WillyT Honorable Mention.
Big games like the Halo series and Call of Duty is made by thousands of people over a course of a few years. These games are very detailed and take a lot of time and effort to make. An indie game is made by a small group of people over a course of a few years. One thing I did not expect from this documentary was the emotion from the developers. They fell in love with their characters, even though they were so simple. The games in the documentary were Fez, Brine, and one about a meatball trying to save his bandager girlfriend, I just forget the name. Maybe it was Mr. Meat Boy or something like that. Anyway, these games became their life and they get attached to these games and it becomes their child in a way. This was a new take on video games for me. It made me think how the makers of Call of Duty and Halo can't really get into their characters because there are so many people developing the game. An indie game is just so simple but so advanced.
I did not realize all the stress and hard work than went into making an indie game. A small team of people have to draw everything and develop puzzles for each level and then go into a computer and design it. The documentary really goes into the making of games but making it is half the battle. Then the game needs to be known and sell. There is some sort of indie game convention where developers go and show their games and try to get a deal. I had no idea all of this even happened. The developers talked about being depressed and how the stress of possible failure can ruin their life and end their dream.
This was something else I did not expect. The documentary was just as much about the developers as much as the game. We see real emotion from the developers. I'm, glad the network that made this movie did not bleep out swears because it makes it more real and the frustration more believable. We learn of their stories, their success, and their struggles. There is one poor guy who just has no luck. His father got diagnosed with a very bad disease, but he recovered, his girlfriend left him, his partner in their company left him, his game got pushed back, he suffered from depression, and it just looked hopeless. This all happened in a year. The stress got to him and when it was his turn to be big at the convention the first person who played the game got a bug and the game was not working. Everything that could go wrong for this guy went wrong. I felt so bad for this guy and I wanted him to be successful. I connected with him and I did not expect this from a documentary. Is this movie for everybody? No, if you are not a video game fan then do not see this documentary. You will not care and not be entertained. This is a big problem for this movie. It only appeals to one kind of audience. Also, it showed the developers still complaining when they had all the success. One guy tried saying all the success and his dream coming true was too much to handle and he became depressed. I was like, oh come on. Your dream came true and you are successful, you have absolutely nothing to complain about. No reason to be depressed. If anything I wou8ld want to see them more grateful. These developers are almost characters in a movie, rather than people in a documentary. Overall, Indie Game: The Movie was an incredible documentary with its focus on how games are made and the struggles that come with it. It opened my eyes and gave me a lot more respect for the genre of indie games. A few things I did not like about it made me tune out at times but still very enjoyable. Any fan of video games in general, old or new, should check out this movie and enjoy. It is unfortunate that this documentary will suffer and only appeal to a certain audience but that's just the way it is. Indie Game: The Movie gets the WillyT Honorable Mention.