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.

  • RidgeDweller@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    7·
    13 hours ago

    Hi-Fi Rush has a kinda indie vibe. Tango Gameworks studio isn’t huge, but they’ve made fairly well known AAA survival horror games. HiFi is more narrowly focused but still published by Bethesda/Microsoft.

  • Vinny_93@lemmy.worldEnglish
    26·
    1 day ago

    Ori and the Blind Forest/Will of the Wisps?

    Made by a smaller studio but published by Microsoft

  • hades@lemm.eeEnglish
    17·
    1 day ago

    Chimera Squad and Hi-Fi Rush jump to mind — is that the sort of thing you have in mind?

  • Auster@thebrainbin.org
    5·
    20 hours ago

    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.

  • otacon239@lemmy.worldEnglish
    151·
    1 day ago

    A super old one, but Grow Home from Ubisoft was a really cute little game that felt like nothing else from them.

  • simple@lemm.eeEnglish
    10·
    1 day ago

    Fe. It’s a small game by a small studio but was published by EA of all people.

    Also, Child of Light by Ubisoft.

    • tabris@lemmy.worldEnglish
      12·
      23 hours ago

      All of the Ubi-art games were great, Rayman Legends, Valiant Hearts and Child of Light, all fantastic games. And then Ubisoft said they would only make open world games. Idiots.

  • Dizzy Devil Ducky@lemm.eeEnglish
    2·
    23 hours ago

    An EA published game series for the first 2 entries, but Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 1 and 2. Still on entry 1, so I’d like to avoid spoilers, but they definitely feel indie compared to every single triple AAA game that’s come out in the past well over a decade due to the passion you can tell had to be out in for the game to have sold well.

    Also learned the 4th game wasn’t even available on PS2 because of its’ 2015 launch, so if I ever get around to finishing the first 3, I gotta get it on PC because there ain’t no way I’m buying a copy for switch.

    Edit:

    Saw a trailer for the 4th game on Krome Studio’s website and I’m probably gonna skip it because it looked too much like a mobile game for my tastes.