After the “Dave the Diver” nomination for Best indie Game at the Game Awards, I’ve been struggling to draw a clear line here.
I feel like, yes, Dave the Diver feels very Indie to “me” but it’s hard to say that of the studio itself.
Is the “Indie feel” something bigger studios might look to imitate in the future?
I might get behind something like that.
I think there has never been a proper line separating indies from other games, rather being a loose perception of games made to show what the developer wants. And the impression growing stronger as bigger projects more and more seek to go for the lowest common denominator or go by what who gives the orders demands.
Even if a game is from a bigger company, but the company gave the thumbs up for doing whatever the team wanted, without conditions, handholding, etc., then I’d say the game is indeed independent enough.
Though, on a more negative view, I wonder if Dave the Diver getting nominated was a case of that meme of the older man trying to act as a cool kid.