I haven’t done a documentary in a while and I wanted to definitely talk about this particular documentary that a gamer friend of mine showed me a while back. I am definitely a casual gamer by definition. I don’t spend countless hours honing my skills in multiplayer games developed for the mass market. If I ever play a game, it’s usually one that I can lose myself in from time to time. I love RPGs, mainly because of the investment in development of my character and getting immersed in a world and story. Mass Effect and Borderlands are two that I have been playing religiously as of late, putting in a few hours when I can here and there, but while the mass appeal of those games are great with their big budget productions, I do yearn for something a bit more unique and outside the box. That is where the indie game market comes into play. That is the subject of the documentary, a look into the world of those that communicate with the gaming community through these micro games that buck the big distributors and studios. They find success amongst those that welcome creativity and the development of independent games.
Also if you want to find me online, my Xbox handle is HumorousIcarus2.
Indie Game: The Movie, directed by James Swirsky and Lisanne Pajot, looks at the underdogs of the video game industry, indie game developers, who sacrifice money, health and sanity to realize their lifelong dreams of sharing their creative visions with the world. This Sundance award-winning film captures the tension and drama by focusing on these artists’ vulnerability and obsessive quest to express themselves through a 21st-century art form. — (C) Official Site
There is something charming and beautiful about this documentary and it stems more from the heartfelt tales of the developers and their art. There is a lot of talk about video games being considered art. I think it’s a stupid argument made up by people who view playing a game as juvenile, dismissing the massive amount of time and talent that is required to even come up with a game. Just because it isn’t hanging in an art gallery for people to pretend to understand and appreciate, indie games have found their audience and their appreciation. It is art, the most interactive and engaging art there is.
The documentary is wonderfully done as a deep study in the minds of those that choose to express and communicate themselves through such an amazing medium. One that has a global reach and player base that is rapid for something new and exciting. We meet several developers and try to understand why they would want to make a video game, a simple question with wildly diverging answers that each defines the person making the game. The trailer really just showcases what and why they make a game. It’s a chance to be successful on a macro level. An opportunity to express themselves and share their art with people. For some, they makes games because they can, there is no restrictions on their creativity and what they can do. It’s the pure essence of being on the fringe, never restrained and open to try something, anything really.
Indie Game: The Movie is a labor of love, one that takes great care to highlight the developers that put everything into their work. Some are wanting adoration for their work and others see it as an opportunity to have a new creative outlet. It is not all roses and champagne for them though, as they are pitted against an industry that seemingly controls the market and the little guys are up for a big fight. With small budgets and limited resources, it is a personal challenge that fuels their ambitions and their creative games. The end results, when they are completed, are vastly imaginative games that buck the cookie cutter trend of shooters and rpg’s. I have played some of the games shown in the documentary and they are all unbelievably fun and different from the norm. You see the personality of the developer in every pixel and you get a warm feeling of fostering creativity and a burgeoning industry of indie game makers.
Check out the documentary at this website: http://buy.indiegamethemovie.com/ There you can stream and download the movie for a mere ten bucks. If you are an indie gamer, this is a must for you to see the people and love that goes into the games you play. If you are a lover of documentaries, this is deeply involved documentary that cares about the subjects and the message.
*images via RottenTomatoes
