Are indies running back to the big studios?

Five years ago, a tape about indie developers was released – “Independent Game: Cinema”. This documentary told about the creative path of many intelligent and hardworking developers: they first found themselves at the poverty line, and then created games and got rich on it.

The tape has collected a harvest of awards, but has not done anything good for the indie industry.

As in most creative industries, financial success in independent development is an exception. Moreover, the conclusion that the filmmakers come to — that large studios restrain the potential of their employees and do not allow them to achieve fame and prosperity, which is why they have to have the courage to embark on a solo voyage – directs viewers on the wrong path.

Many people are inspired by the “Independent Game: Cinema” to leave the quiet haven of large studios and start their own independent projects — with very different results.

But for every successful indie project, there are many that are not remembered by anything. Or they did not allow their creators to continue their career in indie development.

The complexity of indie development forces many people to return to a career within major studios today.

“Indie development is chaos. And now, day after day, I come to the same office and see the same people. It’s very soothing,” says Noah Sasso, the creator of BaraBariBall, a competitive game that got into Sportsfriends, a collection of minimalistic absurd mini-projects from PlayStation 4.

In the summer of 2014, Sasso joined Iron Galaxy, the team that created Killer Instinct and adapted famous fighting games like Street Fighter III: Third Strike for consoles.

Before that, Sasso, like many freelancers, had a motley resume: he held strange positions, was listed as a freelance teacher in training courses.

He met the founder of Iron Galaxy Dave Lang at one of those events where he showed BaraBariBall. Lang invited Sasso to cooperate. The opportunity to get a stable job and be on the same team with very experienced and ambitious like-minded developers was, according to Sasso, too attractive to refuse.

“When you become an independent developer, you come under the influence of many complex personal factors,” he says. — One should not be afraid of uncertainty. Establish a strong connection with the industry. To be able to cope with the harsh reality — for example, with the fact that in order to survive, most people need a regular source of income.”

Sasso’s move to a major studio solved most of these problems. But you have to pay for everything. “I miss the times when I solved work issues calmly and unhurriedly,” he says.

Besides, Sasso had to learn a very special kind of modesty. “When you do a project together with a large team, so many factors come into play that it is not always possible to solve some problems in the simplest and most fun way. And that’s why it’s very important to learn to understand someone else’s point of view.”

Teddy Dief is a designer and programmer. After the successful launch of Hyper Light Drifter, he joined Square Enix Montréal as Creative director.

Before working on Hyper Light Drifter, Dif worked in major studios — Gameloft, Disney and Microsoft. In the latter, he worked on the creation of Kinect. After that, he became an independent developer. “I left for indie game dev to be able to work on my own project. I wanted the creative freedom that you get when you work as part of a small team,” he recalls.

After some time, he had to return to a large studio again.

However, Dif denies that returning to the AAA company goes against his original intentions. “I started working with the studio as a creative director because our goals coincided,” he says. — I wanted to make a certain game, but it seemed to them that it coincided with their future tasks. We got along great. Of course, AAA development is a bigger deal, but I still appreciate low-budget development.”

Many agree that indie developers have more creative freedom compared to working in large studios, there is no control, the work schedule is much more flexible, and earnings are much larger.

“I probably agree with this statement, except for the part about finance,” says Dif. “There are exceptions, and I’m glad to admit that Hyper Light Drifter is one of them. But if we take indie as a whole, they earn much less than AAA developers. No need to go into independent development for money. Damn it, you don’t have to go to igroprom for money at all!”

Salary, stability and teamwork are three obvious reasons why indie developers go to large studios. But there are also advantages for the employer here. Anyone who has created a game from scratch, from idea to release, knows firsthand what it takes to launch a project.

But novice designers, artists and programmers who have tried themselves only in large commercial studios (which, as a rule, work on the same project for a long time), on the contrary, usually have more limited experience. “Someone who spent six years working on a dozen more modest projects, whether they are independent or not, could learn from their mistakes, try themselves in different roles. Anyone who has been working on the same game for all five years has not had such an opportunity,” Sasso shares.

Dif agrees with him: “They saw the pieces of the puzzle fall into place. I had to pay for every bit of knowledge with blood, sweat and tears. They have such experience in development that you can’t get in any other way.”

Indies do not need to overload games with commercial “lures” (the relatively low cost of development allows them to appeal to a very narrow audience), and therefore they experiment much more boldly. However, if you take such an indie to the post of head of a large studio, he, of course, will add “zest” to the project — but the risks will be appropriate. To manage a large team, you need very special skills, and it takes time to develop them,” said Ricky Haggett, developer of Hohokum. “That’s why appointing an indie developer to a leadership role is difficult and risky.”

Despite all the difficulties, the presence in the team of both people from indie development and those who are used to working in a large studio gives the company a certain advantage. “I have worked with people who have created a lot of console blockbusters, and they have the expertise that I will never have,” says Dif.

Deef worked for many years at Glitch City, a co-working space he created in Culver City. Glitch City is an uncomplicated open space with a bright decor. This is a home for a dozen people, each of whom is working on their own project. It is this kind of relaxed creative atmosphere that Dif misses most at his current job. “I learned a lot from communicating with colleagues, and now I try to meet with other developers from my city.”

Having come to a large studio, Dif lost his freedom in choosing a workspace — and began to feel responsible for others. Indies who work alone often don’t have this problem. “The people I work with trust me to make decisions that will have an impact on their entire lives,” he says. — I feel the burden of this responsibility. A very strong feeling.”

As soon as Deef joined Square Enix Montreal, he found that he needed to save his time. He adds three or four fake meetings a day to his calendar so that there is time for “deeper” work on the project.

Although the Square Enix Montreal team has 40 people, only 7 employees work under Dif. This size is closer to the size of a typical indie studio than the huge number of people it usually takes to create a modern blockbuster. Dif thinks it’s the perfect size for an indie who has just moved into a major studio. “I like to talk to the team every day,” he says. — As soon as the studio gets bigger, this opportunity is lost. I want the contribution of each team member to the game to be clearly visible, and this is difficult to achieve when the team grows and grows, and departments become more and more isolated.”

Such small, indie-studio-like teams working within multinational corporations demonstrate how modern game development is changing. “I think that the further away, the less sense there is in opposing indie development to large studios,— says Sasso. “Ultimately, the motivation and goals of the people you work with are more important than the size of the team.”

Deef agrees with Sasso in many ways. It is important, he says, not to get too attached to the old definitions. “Indie and traditional companies have inconsistencies in their approaches to work. It’s true. But at the same time, the tags “indie” and “AAA” cannot be pasted on people. Only for companies that we can change a lot during our career.”

Source: Gamasutra

Translated by Irina Smirnova