Sivaram Velauthapillai
I was quite surprised by how well this documentary kept the viewer's interest. This is a documentary that follows three popular indie game makers. Some of the developers have had successes in the past and all of them had a lot of hype before the games were released. So the documentary is sort of biased in that it doesn't show a typical indie developer; rather, it shows the best of the best. As the title suggests, this documentary covers INDIE game-makers which means a team of 2 or 3 people developing a game. This provides a different perspective from big-budget studio games where there are 50+ people working on it.The filmmakers had full behind-the-scenes access to the developers. So we get to see their personal life and the impact it has on some family members.The film also imparts some good wisdom for indie developers. For instance, one successful developer that is profiled mentions how you don't want indie games to be fully polished and perfect like those blockbusters released by the big studios. Instead, being a bit rough around the edge, and having unique personality and feel is what one should aim for.If anyone wants to see the struggles indie developers go through, this is a very good introduction. A lot of long days and nights working on a game that may or may not turn out to be a success. The saving grace is that if the game does become a big hit, you will literally become a millionaire overnight. In some sense, this no different than what entrepreneurs trying to start other businesses face.
yinping zhang
Before the end of this movie, I cried, cried twice. I deeply realized that it is never ever easy for an ordinary man to get huge success. But there is still some chance to help you get here only if you are open-minded to yourself and throw yourself into the business totally, work hard, delay gratification, you'll see success beckons to you. To implement that goal, you need to have an extremely clear understanding of yourself, such as what you want most out of life, what you are best in, what things you are really really want to do, what's the goal of your life and so on. Now then you have the direction, the rest of the way is pursuing it, straining all your nerves to it. Don't worry when there's no any joys, no social in your along way, hold on, finally, you'll can't help crying out because you made it.
bob the moo
The first thing to say on this film is that you really will enjoy it more if you play indie games or know the couple of games that are mentioned here. This is not to suggest that the film will exclude you if you don't, but it is about these games and this culture but it will not hold your interest if you already have no involvement or interest in them. The film looks at the makers of indie games – ie not the 2000 people working on the next Grand Theft Auto, but the 2 or 3 people working on the game you'll pick up on Xbox Arcade or your phone for a few dollars and play to death over the following week or so. Early on it quotes many examples but mainly it focuses on Braid, Fez and Super Meat Boy in terms of experience development challenges, the feeling of success and the challenges of success.In this way the film does it pretty well because we do get all these things. I'm not sure if the makers followed many people and then edited down to be these specific guys, but their choices are good either way because the film gets a lot from these guys throughout. It wisely doesn't go into the real detail of writing games but keeps it accessible to those of us who just play them and have no understanding beyond that, but it does enough to help the viewer understand the effort and obsessive nature of the work, even if it could have done with an example of a total failure (the closest the film has is Fez, which doesn't succeed when the film closes but we know does in the end). The people are mostly engaging despite some of them (unsurprisingly) not being the most socially confident people you'll ever meet, the regular clips of games and the gentle soundtrack does add to the feel of a quirkumentary – which I guess it sort of is, but it felt like less of one to me since I'm sort of part of that quirk I suppose.It would have been good to have explored some bigger picture stuff above the characters here as well as following them, but the film still works well for what it does. It is limited a bit in its audience because the tight focus does need you to at least like gaming and to play indie games – but saying it like this makes me think it is not doing itself too much harm by "limiting" its audience to gamers, since there is a few of them around. So, if the film sounds interesting then it probably will be, as it captures the passion, frustration and success of the people making indie games in their bedrooms for years – and it mostly has engaging and likable characters to focus on while doing it.
Steve Pulaski
One of the many reasons why Indie Game: The Movie is such a fascinating and riveting documentary is because it raises questions for gamers, aspiring creators, and even the most casual viewer to deeply, thoroughly contemplate. One in particular is while we have fun playing independently made games we find aimlessly scrolling through the Xbox Live Arcade, the Playstation Network, and WiiWare, we begin to wonder if the creators truly enjoy making them. Obviously, there's the pull-factor of showcasing creativity, genuinely original concepts, and sort of avoiding the shackles of mainstream gaming, but you may have to sacrifice your social identity, close friends, relationships, luxuries, etc and almost confine yourself to the life of a hermit. The documentary takes the extreme and surprising route of showing the agony independent game designers face. Either they hit it big and are possibly excelled in the world of gaming, and have the ability to recoup all the luxuries they might've given up, or they can fade into dire, muddled obscurity, to never be heard from again. I experienced a very rare, unplanned depression while watching this film, but that feeling is moot compared to the fear and anxiety faced by these hard working engineers every single day. I'll be blunt and honest and say I could never put up with this. I'd be more paranoid than I am right now.We follow the lives of four independent game designers, two whom work together, and they all have one seemingly simple goal that sounds fun to achieve; creating an independent game to sell on the Xbox Live Arcade. Two of the first people we meet are working on the video game, Super Meat Boy, an inventive and delightfully quirky platformer where you play as a plain brown square of meat and must navigate your way through fast-paced, adrenaline-testing levels that require much trial and error and a helluva lot more patience than I could probably possess. One of its many creative touches is how you must learn the control, and there are no menus or directions on how to do certain things. The game will test you with levels where pulling off a specific move is required. But you must figure that one out yourself.The creators of this game are Edward McMillen and Tommy Refenes. These charismatic men make it very clear to the audience that they don't care if this game isn't what you want, as its job is to pay homage to the game they would've loved unconditionally as kids. It's the heart that counts. Another man, the opinionated and intelligent, Pat Fish, is breathlessly trying to keep on keeping on with a game that he created years back that has remained in development hell ever since its debut at a gaming convention. The game is called Fez, and it is simple, effective entertainment, (much like the rest of these games) yet has a unique artistic approach to the platforming style as it is constructed out of painstakingly detailed Tetris-like blocks and its world continues to turn to the right a little bit every few seconds. Fish has been combating not an army, but a legion of internet users who have become slanderous and wholly impatient at the delay for the game, yet he is doing the best he can possibly do, after going through a parental divorce, a hazardous breakup, and many other dramatic life events. The last game developer we follow is another opinionated man named Jonathan Blow, who is constructing his game called, Braid, another unique platformer game, boasting a "rewind" feature. After the surprise success of his game, he is still upset that many reviewers didn't see through his artistic vision, and because of it, he feels they didn't get the full enjoyment from the game, nor his special message for the players.Indie Game wisely depicts the independent gaming world as a stressful cacophony of deadlines and time limits at the creators' expenses, and rather than the alleged barrel of lackadaisical fun and silliness I believe some of us believe the industry is bent on, shows the high levels of sweat, tears, and poignancy that plague the community itself. To see these men, tired, worn, and restless over a game they are unsure of is heartbreaking and it shows that even the most unique and visionary are some of the most vulnerable.Much like the work of independent cinema, one of the perks to being free from the monopolizing industry, is the vast freedom of expression and strong limitless qualities one can possess. The similarities between the conventional and the independent in both film and gaming are not that far off, and the picture provided me with some insight on how the indie gaming world is far more bent on idealistic intentions and expressionism rather than just a rehashed sequel of a proved money-maker. The only week point I can find in this documentary is its lack of opinion on the mainstream gaming world. Repeatedly, these men mention what great disdain they have for the mainstream world of video games. Refenes even goes as far as saying it would "be hell" to work for a company like EA or Epic. Never do these opinions explode into more than just simple ranting.With that being said, without hesitation do I recommend Indie Game: The Movie. It is one of the most touching and emotionally challenging films of the year, something I rarely say about documentaries. Its stern poignancy provides eye-opening levels of insight to people possibly wanting to get into the field and those wanting to go into the bigger field. Its characters are anything but dull, and have enough charisma and charm to fuel three films. I have yet to see a documentary as touching as this one.View the full, more complete review on my website, http://stevethemovieman.proboards.com. Click "Steve's Reviews."
