What Is An Indie Game Developer? 10 Characteristics Of An Indie Game Studio

Updated:

20 Mar 2023

10. Small Tight-knit team

An indie developer doesn’t have the resources to secure a large team. Each member of the team needs to be able to pull their own weight and contribute accordingly; otherwise, it doesn’t work. Everyone on the team needs to understand the purpose and vision behind the game and be completely dedicated to making it work.

9. Love your product – Play your own game

For a game, it’s always about having fun or enjoying the story. An indie developer needs to replay their game multiple times and thoroughly love it—that’s how it has a chance to become successful. If you don’t love your product, how are you supposed to convince others to love it? As consumers and gamers, you can see how much effort is put into a game. The amount of detail put into the environment, sound design, and world-building shows!

8. Not directly affiliated with a publisher

Indie developers are small; they don’t have a big guy backing them; there is no financial safety net; it's make or break. Typically, independent developers rely on themselves or crowdfunding, and that’s really the easiest way to differentiate them from a gaming studio under a publisher. Though that scenario is changing, with large publishers investing in indie games, providing stability and allowing indie studios to continue developing games they enjoy.

7. Unique visual art style

Indie developers don’t have the resources to create photorealistic graphics on a large scale like developers backed by billion-dollar corporations. Which is why some of the most successful indie games compete with art style. From 16-bit to cell-shaded art styles, indie developers need to come up with the most unique ways to showcase their games and tell their stories. Terraria, for example, is a very popular sandbox survival game, and that’s partially thanks to its attractive 16-bit art style that gives that classic SNES feel while introducing modern mechanics that make the game fun and enjoyable. The constant free updates help a lot too!

6. Great community

Indie developers don’t have the same marketing reach as large corporations, so it’s really important to build a community that can help market your game for you. For indie games like Starbound, for example, mod support really helped flesh out the amount of content in the early phases of the game, where there wasn’t a lot of content. It helps build community among like-minded players of the game!

5. Refined game mechanics

There are a lot of indie games out there, and what really makes some of them great is how refined the gameplay is. An indie game doesn’t need to match the scope of an AAA title but it really needs to do something well, and different to stand out. Sifu, for example, is an action-side scroller fighter with a complex combo-blocking and evasion combat system. When you master the mechanics, you really feel like a "Sifu"—a kung fu master. Featuring a unique take on the street brawler genre with an innovative combat system, it’s one of the best indie games of 2022!

4. Smaller Scope of project

It’s not like indie developers can’t make open-world games and have them look great. They can, but the scope needs to be smaller, and there needs to be a fixed goal for making the game work. Kena: Bridge of Spirits is an open-world indie game that looks amazing. The game doesn’t have the extensive skill-building elements and mechanics of larger AAA titles like "The Witcher 3," nor does it have enough content to last hundreds of hours. However, Kena is a refined experience that provides satisfying combat with a well-crafted story and satisfying visuals—essentially all of the makings of a good game!

3. A new kind of spin on an existing product

Some indie developers can find success by building on existing genres or products. For example, Stardew Valley is a standard farm simulation game, and there are so many of them out there. What makes Stardew Valley stand out is the attention paid to improving the user experience as you progress through the different stages of the game. Where AAA farming simulations are lacking, Stardew Valley fills the gap with automation, crop variety, customization, upgrades, and combat—taking the best features from other farming simulators and making them better. Not to mention the attractive, timeless art style!

2. Experimental gameplay & risky venture

There’s a lot of risk involved with indie games because they're usually completely new IPs. When an indie developer tries something new, it further increases the stakes at hand because now you’re juggling 2 unknown variables, but those that make an enjoyable, funny game that connects with the community and/or content creators are those that find success. One such example is the Untitled Goose Game, which found success with its quirky and weird game where you play as a goose wreaking havoc. It’s funny, unique, stylish, and a joy to play!

1. Game presents a cultural idea that’s independent from mainstream games

One of the best things about indie games is that they don’t have a corporate image to uphold. They’re free to pursue topics that may be too sensitive for large publishers to touch upon for fear of alienating the fan base or affecting public perception. Disco Elysium, for example, is an indie game that lets you fully customize your adventure, including your political alignment. As we all know, politics is a sensitive subject everywhere you go, be it on social media, with friends, or even in games. Indie games as a medium allow you to essentially "pick your own adventure"—and being an indie game without shareholders or a corporate image to adhere to, there’s no worry about any kind of political alignment.