How indies and the ID@Xbox program are changing the games industry for the better.
Revolution is in the air. After a shoddy showing from last year’s triple-A titles, the indies are fighting back. We’ve had enough of crappy, bug-filled games, of brown backgrounds and endless shooters. We want something new. Something fresh. And thanks to Microsoft’s ID@Xbox program, we’re getting it. However you look at it, independent developers are a huge part of Microsoft’s plan for the Xbox One. After ID@Xbox took a front seat at last year’s E3 conference, games have been making their way to the system in a steady stream, with plenty more already planned for release in the next 12 months.
“We had a huge variety of games [at E3],” says head of the ID@Xbox program Chris Charla to X-ONE, “and for me running the program, it’s awesome to see the player reaction. In our program there are a lot of emails, a lot of forms and meetings, and then you go to E3 and we saw six or seven rows of ID@Xbox stations, super cool independent games all in one place. I was really pleased with player reaction, really pleased with press reaction, and then obviously the developers were really happy about that too.”
This is perhaps the first time that indie games have had such a strong appearance at a major games show. In previous years it was a common sight for the booths of small developers to be near-empty, while hundreds queued for the next big Halo or Call Of Duty title. But the industry is changing, and Microsoft is leading the charge. Indies are stepping into the spotlight, and they’re absolutely owning it.
But is this having an effect on how big game developers are making games? As indie titles become more popular, many are suggesting that a war is brewing between smaller developers making cool games and huge companies spending millions on the next big release. Charla doesn’t agree with this, though – he sees the situation as much more positive.
“I think everyone in the game industry, whether they’re working at, say, Turtle Rock on Evolve or the guys at Asteroid Base working on Lovers In A Dangerous Spacetime, we’re all constantly trying to learn from each other,” he explains. “I think there’s sometimes a tendency to want to say ‘Oh, there’s the indies and the triple-A guys, and they’re enemies!’ Well, first of all, they’re not ‘enemies’, because they’ve all previously worked together. Lots of triple-A developers worked at independent studios and vice versa, and it’s just games. It’s all about scale, and everyone’s always learning from each other.”
Can you feel the love? We can. It perhaps speaks of the passion behind the games industry when you hear about the mutual respect between developers, though. We look at games going head-to-head, companies releasing titles to compete with each other, but at a developer level the teams are really just trying to make great games. And learning from each other, getting inspiration from other games, is just part of the job.
And the hard work is really paying off. Titles like Guacamelee!, #IDARB and Limbo all feel unique, and simply ooze quality. But there are plenty more games due in the next few months, and they are looking great. For some studios, the games that are in the pipeline are the first games they’ve made for a major console. For others, the games may act as an interactive CV to help them collaborate with others in the future. But one thing that links them all together is the fact that, for the small teams that made them, the titles are a labour of love.
Perhaps the most astonishing thing about the titles that are in the pipeline, though, is the sheer variety of content that is coming out soon. If you’re looking for a break from your yearly dose of Assassin’s Creed or FIFA, there are now plenty of games that can offer you a breath of fresh air. Even Charla is surprised by how much creative variety there is the ID@Xbox program so far. “My job before ID@Xbox was portfolio director for Xbox Live Arcade at Microsoft Studios, and [my role] was really to help pick the portfolio,” he says. “It was about having good variety, a good mix of content. I was looking at our tracker that tracks what games are coming for the next six months at ID@Xbox, and I probably couldn’t have done a better job if I was trying to curate it myself.”
But this isn’t Microsoft pushing for new and creative ideas – it’s all down to the teams behind the games. “On ID@Xbox developers tell us what they want to bring to the system,” explains Charla. “We’re not going out and telling them what to do and what not to do. It’s a testament to the variety of independent developers that the content that’s coming to Xbox One through ID@Xbox over the next few months is super diverse. I guess that makes me feel a little bit bad about the job I used to do [laughs] but it makes me feel really good about what’s coming through ID@Xbox.”
But what is it that is allowing the developers to create such diverse and varied content? Primarily, it seems to be the fact that they aren’t being told what to do by overbearing publishers. “In previous generations the only way for us to get on to the Xbox would have been to sign with a publisher, which would have made us beholden to their timelines and feedback,” says Adam Winkels, co-founder of Asteroid Base and lead programmer of Lovers In A Dangerous Spacetime. “By self publishing we are able to truly make the game we want to make.”
It’s clear that creative ideas are a key to making indie games – if you want your game to sell, there’s no point making another first person shooter or standard platformer. You have to come up with a hook, something that will grab the player in just a few minutes. Whether it’s a unique art style, a pioneering gameplay element or just an addictive twist, exploring that niche has produced some of the most brilliant diverse games in recent memory.
But a game is nothing without backing. With a big publisher on your side, your game is likely to get much more exposure, advertising and attention from media outlets. It’s something that indies have always struggled with – on a tight budget, paying for a TV ad or hiring a PR agency just isn’t an option. But that’s where Microsoft comes in. The ID@Xbox program is a strong focus for the company, and that’s clearer than ever when you go looking for new games on your console. “On Xbox, a game is a game is a game. We’ve had really good placement on the Marketplace so far for ID@Xbox games and I don’t think that’s going to change. Our Marketplace team obviously are going to support big, anticipated titles, but they also want to make sure that players see a huge diverse selection of stuff, which is one of the main reasons we started the program.”
And the developers seem to agree. Mike Rose from tinyBuild – the team behind SpeedRunners – has seen things change a lot in a short time: “We’re finally seeing the level playing field that indies have always dreamed of,” he says. “Just a couple of years ago you’d see console gamers saying on forums, ‘Eww, no more indie games, they suck!’ But that sentiment is disappearing rapidly – at least from our perspective – and more people are finally getting to grips with smaller, cheaper titles, and realising that they can easily hold their own against the triple-As.”
But holding their own is the underselling what they can do. Indie games are finally taking centre stage, with Microsoft directing the production and an eager audience of gamers finishing off this strange metaphor. It’s a great time for indies, and – contrary to some opinions – we think it’s a great time for games as well. And while he might be paid to say it, Charla agrees.
“We’re in a new generation for the first time in ten years or so,” he says, “and I suspect we’ll look back on the best games of the generation we’re in today, and some of the games we pick will be ID@Xbox games.” Viva la Revolución!