Adam
I do feel this - the quality and what's expected of 'indie' titles has ramped up in the last couple of years. To do everything yourself is becoming less and less a practicable solution. I'm thinking for my next game I'll programme everything myself using simple placeholders, but then outsource the job of converting the placeholders to gameready assets. This will require spending some money and managing the process, which not all indies will be willing to do.
But there are some mitigating factors. The first is that there's a lot of scope for artstyles that are abstract and simple in content, but which engage the player's imagination. I've been playing through Penny Arcade's latest - good fun with a distinctive style. Likewise American McGee's 'Grimm', or Insecticide. In many ways, Crysis is a failure of imagination on the game developers' part (Lumooja!).
Secondly - episodic gaming. With the rise of portals such as Steam, it's become very easy for the public to download a slice of 'gaming goodness' with the understanding that they're getting a few hours entertainment (for a reduced price) - not a full game. Again, I've recently played through Penny Arcade's offering - not a full game but fun. Having said that, the examples I've given would still be a bucket load of work for even a small team. Perhaps with the acceptance of episodic gaming, there might be room for smaller episodes again? E.g. if Insecticide is a full 'hour' then maybe indies can produce a 'half-hour' show?
I do feel this - the quality and what's expected of 'indie' titles has ramped up in the last couple of years. To do everything yourself is becoming less and less a practicable solution. I'm thinking for my next game I'll programme everything myself using simple placeholders, but then outsource the job of converting the placeholders to gameready assets. This will require spending some money and managing the process, which not all indies will be willing to do.
But there are some mitigating factors. The first is that there's a lot of scope for artstyles that are abstract and simple in content, but which engage the player's imagination. I've been playing through Penny Arcade's latest - good fun with a distinctive style. Likewise American McGee's 'Grimm', or Insecticide. In many ways, Crysis is a failure of imagination on the game developers' part (Lumooja!).
Secondly - episodic gaming. With the rise of portals such as Steam, it's become very easy for the public to download a slice of 'gaming goodness' with the understanding that they're getting a few hours entertainment (for a reduced price) - not a full game. Again, I've recently played through Penny Arcade's offering - not a full game but fun. Having said that, the examples I've given would still be a bucket load of work for even a small team. Perhaps with the acceptance of episodic gaming, there might be room for smaller episodes again? E.g. if Insecticide is a full 'hour' then maybe indies can produce a 'half-hour' show?