Talking Point: Has the Indie Genre Entered its Golden Age?

Talking Point is a weekly series that posits a question concerning the gaming industry. We encourage readers, as well as our writers, to offer their thoughts on the topic. Hence the name: Talking Point. Feel free to join in below.

It goes without saying that over the past decade, the indie genre has come out of the shadows and defined itself as a viable source of quality gaming experiences.  Starting with games like Flow and Flower, indies began to be the standard-bearers of the belief that video games are an art form. Add to this the success of more heartfelt titles like To the Moon, That Dragon, Cancer, and Journey, and it’s become readily apparent that indie games represented a cornerstone of quality storytelling in the medium.

So, if the indie genre is succeeding so well in this regard, why then is it marred by half-assed imitations and poorly thrown together games that clog the store pages of sites like Steam, Humble Bundle, and console shop apps?  When can the number of exceptional indie titles outweigh the plethora of garbage that overshadows it?

The basis of this topic is one that we’ve actually explored before (in the previous Talking Points article in fact), so I highly suggest that you read that article before continuing on here.  

It’s easy to take a pessimistic stance and see the indie section of any store as a breeding ground for throwaway, small priced games that are made in the basement of some ambitious kid’s parent’s house, but I believe this couldn’t be further from the truth.  Being the dark horse for so long, it’s easy to write off every indie title as another limited gameplay experience from some no name team, but it stands to reason that some of those experiences are much more important than half of what comes out of big name studios.  I well and truly believe that we have come into the golden age of indie games, and that this trend could last easily into the next decade.  

It’s become readily apparent that indie studios that give a damn about the quality of their work have taken notes from previous success stories.  This, in turn, creates a circular pattern of creative development, where new studios are inspired by old triumphs, and create something equally as refreshing and unique.  Take the classic Metroidvania style of gameplay, which had all but faded from existence ten years ago.  Games like Rogue Legacy, Axiom Verge, and Salt and Sanctuary have helped revitalize the genre, and ushered in a fresh wave of like minded, successful titles.

Furthermore, indie games are becoming more bold, and, as a result, receiving larger amounts of funding through sources like Kickstarter and other crowd-funding sites.  Absolver, a soon to be released title by Sloclap studios, looks just as fully featured as any first-party title from bigger companies like Sony or Microsoft.  This, in part, is due to the game being published under the wing of Devolver Digital, a studio known for not only supporting indie teams, but also creating quality indie titles like Hotline Miami.

So if the future of the genre looks so promising, why are so many people hesitant to give indie games the respect they deserve?  The logic comes from one simple truth: the market is over-saturated with throwaway indie titles. If you were to go on Steam right now and click over to the indie section, you’d see a haphazard mess of first person survival games, half-baked MMOs, crafting sims, and a slim selection of decent games.  Because people are creating simple, garbage games with little substance at an accelerated rate, stronger standouts are shoved to the bottom of shop screens.  Recent releases like Pyre, Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun, and Sundered offer up unique and exciting gameplay experiences, but matter little if they’re buried under a mess of Fidget Spinner Simulators, Rust copycats, and RPG Maker-created titles that have about as much vitality as a dead cat.  Even someone as forward thinking as myself can see that this sickness in the indie genre is what’s keeping it from rising to new heights.  

There’s no denying that the indie genre has come quite a long way since its initial conception, and given consumers a wealth of memorable gameplay experiences and beautiful stories.  Despite this, the genre is marred by a market that capitalizes on selling cheap, throwaway experiences or poorly recreated concepts.  So, what do you think?  Is the indie genre hitting its peak time period, or does it still have a long way to go before it comes into its own?  Be sure to sound off in the comments with your thoughts, and check back here at Goomba Stomp every week for more exciting Talking Points.