How Communities Can Promote Their Indie Games

I’m fortunate to have known the strong indie developer presence in Michigan over the past few years. But passion and creativity aside, it remains a struggle for many of them to get noticed and make a living. My own view about whether or not it’s feasible to make a living off of your passionate hobby has solidified over the past decade, but even if it’s just the way things are for most people to not make money doing what they love… that doesn’t mean it’s right or the way it has to be forever.

Local communities have seen how hard it is, and are trying to elevate their groups, to bring more attention to the work their colleagues are doing. I’ve seen different ideas thrown around, and I have a few ideas of my own. My ideas are primarily from observing the mature “indie” scene in music, film and comics / books, which I think we could learn from. I thought I’d share a few of my ideas in detail below.

Continue reading

GLGX 2021 – A New, Online Video Game Convention from Michigan

About a year ago, I posted about an attempt to run a gaming event in Michigan. It was canceled at the last minute, but it’s trying again this year as GLGX” (Great Lakes Game Expo) on February 18 – 21, 2021. And it’s online only, so it won’t be canceled! Nothing stops the Internet!

GLGX Event Logo. Post it everywhere!

Continue reading

I Think ‘Google Stadia’ Will Save The Games Industry

The title of this blog post might be the most click-bait-y one I’ve ever written.

My friends know I’m old-fashioned, and don’t like where trends in general have gone in my industry. I don’t like “software-as-a-service,” where a user has to pay a monthly subscription regardless to how frequently the thing was used that month, forcing updates when the user least wants it, and creating a never-ending job of growing complexity to the developer. I don’t like my things being put in the “cloud” to access anywhere, where anyone could access it anywhere, and where there isn’t a tangible, single place where it’s stored and secure.

But I admit “cloud-gaming” is most certainly the future, and that it has benefits. I think it’ll take over, not because of those benefits, but because of the way games are today.

Continue reading

The Importance of Story in Finishing Your Game

Over the past few weeks, I’ve come to appreciate the value of story in games from a different perspective.

I’m not writing this blog post to argue what aspect of a game is more important. Of course, gameplay is what makes a game a game, even though many game experiences don’t have gameplay at all, and even though the measurement of “fun” is still debated among critics. My games focus on visual design first, for that’s the first thing most people see in screenshots and video, and if a game doesn’t look good or unique, then really, what’s the point of making it for pubic release against a sea of millions of other games? Music is the most elemental way to create emotional ties and memories, and can make a game more accessible when designed the right way. And story gives the player context, and gives them reason to press forward, to play for just a few minutes longer.

But these are common observations from a player’s perspective. What about from a developer’s perspective?
Continue reading