Indie Games - Fast, Cheap and Everywhere

bios10h writes "MSNBC has an article about indie game developers and their businesses. 'INDEPENDENT COMPUTER GAMING: It's not always pretty, but ask any one in the biz and they'll say that it represents the purest form of game development. And sometimes the cheapest.' Interesting read about the indie games scene... maybe we have indie developers in the Slashdot crowd that would like to comment on this."

Comments

Re:Where do I start?

[jat850]

There's plenty of free game engines out there, some are open source. An example is Genesis3D, an engine I've dabbled with. Lots of the 3D engines are in various stages of development, and some of the ones I've tried do not seem quite powerful or flexible enough for the game concepts I'm trying to implement, but depending on what you're looking for, there are plenty of resources avaiable.

Don't forget to check out useful websites like NeHe's OpenGL page (here) or GameDev.net. There are literally tons of resources out there for someone looking to get into indie game development.

Re:Where do I start?

[Xzzy]

Genesis3D is definetly pretty, but it's windows-centric, which is a black mark in my book.

For those looking for more cross platorm options, there are these:

• OGRE - Seems to be an engine "done right". Learning curve is high, but it is pretty. Not dorked around with it much to comment on usefulness.
  
• Crystal Space - The "linux" of 3d engines. Does damn near everything but it's documented horribly and structure seems nonexistant at times. Will run on almost anything with a CPU though.
  
• Nebula Device - Very very pretty, easy to get started in (not sure how easy to complete a project though), skimpy on docs as well but what does exist will have you pushing polygons quickly.
  

I don't really have a favorite of these, they all have some really attractive features.

It still seems picking up an opengl book and doing it yourself is the best way to go in the long run. Other options are taking older games with released source (Doom, Marathon, Quake 1 and 2) and using that engine. Again, learning curve will be high though.

Re:No soul to indie games

[TopShelf]

There is one great exception, of course. Nethack has to be the king of the indie games....

Only Indy until your successful!

[Serapth]

The Irony of Indy Games

Outside of the handheld ( PalmOS, PocketPC ) markets, or cell phones... many indy games are either crap... or sales pitches to publishers! Im not saying all... there are probrably dozens of exceptions, but on the whole this remains true. Its funny though, when you look at "past" indy games...

HomeWorld
Doom
FlashPoint

Really... by definition, an indy game is self financed, without a publisher in site. Its funny that that moment you have success in the indy market, you tend to get picked up by a publisher... then your no longer indy! ;) Than again, there are a few companies that are going from commerical projects to more of an indy style. Once you see the amount that publishers take... you start to see the value in online distro's!

For anyone really interested in learning more, check out:
Garage Games Misc resources, plus a licensable engine
FlipCode Great gaming related site
Gamedev.net Like flipcode, but less mature ( you'll see! )
Gamasutra The site for game developers! Must see
CrystalSpace LGPL 3d Engine. Very impressive
WildTangent Cheap game engine (web based), plus online publishing
Auran Jet Affordable 3d engine, flexible licensing
OpenGl The site for OpenGL info. Lots of useful links

From the above list, you should easily be able to find anything else your looking for! ;) Enjoy the world of game development for zero cash!

Re:Open Source games, and Gathering Artists

[NanoGator]

"Quit looking on the Internet, no good artist will post his/her work there just so it could be taken by hundred's of people to be claimed as their own."

Bull shit.