作者：Chris Priestman

随着时间的发展，独立游戏逐渐成为了公众的关注焦点，并因此涌现出了许多未知的传言。这些传言通常都是由那些不了解这个世界，但却想要看看独立游戏开发者到底能够创造些什么的人所传出来的。而这都是我们不愿意看到的现象。

注：这些传言都是我们从不同网络渠道所听到的。

1.独立游戏都是垃圾

真的要从这点开始吗？尽管“垃圾”是一个见仁见智的问题，你是否真的要如此贬损各种各样的游戏？即使你已经玩了100款独立游戏，并且不喜欢任何一款游戏，你也不能去贬低其它的游戏。你是否考虑过像《毁灭战士》这样的游戏，即出现在共享软件时代，如果你愿意的话它们也可以被当成“独立游戏？有许多游戏可以被规划到“独立游戏”的行列中，包括极度活跃的平台游戏，不断转变的射击游戏，多人沙盒游戏，史诗般街机游戏以及让人愉悦的冒险游戏。但这都是一些肤浅的观点。

shit（from indiestatik）

大多数情况下，独立游戏都会通过某种形式去迎合你的兴趣，所以肯定存在一款具有较高质量且符合你的喜好的游戏。你需要做的只是去寻找它们，而这也是我们能够带给你们帮助的。任何情况下，你都不能盲目地将所有游戏都说成是垃圾，除非你全玩过这些游戏，并真心觉得它们并不有趣。说实话，这样的概括真的很无聊。

2.所有的独立游戏都与《我的世界》一样或都使用像素图像

这点很简单，因为这绝对是错误的观点。许多独立游戏之所以会使用像素图像是因为这是较为廉价且轻松的方式。考虑到大多数独立游戏都是由小团队所制作的，有时候甚至还是个人完成的，所以像素图像便是他们的最佳选择。不过这往往也需要一定的技巧，创造像素图像需要经历较多过程，并创造各种系统和世界。

使用像素图像的另外一大原因便是，这属于一种特殊的风格，并且开发者认为适合自己的游戏。所有的这些“复古”游戏都不是单纯地出于怀旧原因。这是一种能够使用并重新创造的特殊艺术风格，并且是由开发者自己决定要使用哪些内容。让人烦恼的是很多大型公司和游戏文化都是相交融的。关于游戏最吸引人的一点便是它们并不是现实的，所以它们无需迎合现实主义。

dust-tail（from indiestatik）

回到最初的流言，尽管揭穿该流言的最佳方法便是提供各种独立游戏的截图，但一定不是《我的世界》或使用像素图像的游戏，而是一些具有特色的华丽图像。

3.独立游戏是装艺术的或做作的

正如我们之前提到的，有许多不同类型的游戏都被当成是“独立游戏”。有些可能是装艺术的，有些是做作的，甚至有些独立游戏被陈列在博物馆和美术馆里。但这是否就能说明所有独立游戏都是如此？当然不是！

这就像是你从未听过像《The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile》或《快乐轮子》等独立游戏。这些都是无意识的暴力游戏，即将直接传达出较低级的幽默感。但它们就是它们，并不是什么装艺术或做作的。

还有许多这样的独立游戏。实际上，大多数独立游戏都不会基于任何深奥的方式去传达一定的信息或意义，它们也不会尝试着去创造一些较夸张的视觉效果。有许多独立游戏只是为了传达乐趣。当前，许多独立游戏都包含了许多不同类型的体验和利益。如果有什么区别的话，那就是一款非独立游戏有可能会被逼至一个特定游戏体验类型中，而不具有多样游戏玩法和视觉效果。如果你认为独立游戏都想成为一些特殊的内容，你便需要睁大眼睛去看清楚事实，因为这完全是错误的想法。

4.独立开发者是在自家的地下室创造游戏

的确，有一些独立开发者是在自家的地下室创造游戏，甚至也有不少独立开发者是在卧室里创造游戏。但并不是所有独立开发者都是“卧室程序员”，尽管有些人真的将这里当成是自己的起点。

有许多成功的独立游戏开发者已经拥有了自己的工作室，即他们能在一个具有明亮的灯光，桌椅设备，甚至还有专用停车位的宽敞空间里工作。我们也不该漏掉那些诞生至市政府大楼（即在游戏节中）的各种游戏，也有些开发者喜欢到网吧进行创造。经过证明，较小级别的背景噪音还能够帮助开发者集中注意力。

关键就在于，基于不同团队，地点，选择以及经费，独立游戏的开发场所也会有所不同。有些人在特定场所能够更有效地工作，所以他们便会在开发游戏的时候前往那里。我甚至听说过有人在列车旅程中创造出一款完整的游戏！

为了进一步证实这一要点，以下是各种游戏开发场所：

stoic（from indiestatik）

Stoic Studio在一个改造过的羊棚里创造游戏

Screen-Shot（from indiestatik）

LA Game Space将在一个仓库里见证独立游戏的创造过程

LunarOffice（from indiestatik）

Lunar Software一起搬到了一个公寓里并将客厅变成了办公室

5.现在所有人都是独立开发者，甚至连Epic Games和动视也是

搞什么名堂！的确，他们也许可以被称为“独立的”，但这并不意味着他们便是“独立开发者”。“独立开发者”与“独立的”是否具有差别？这是一个好问题，因为看起来似乎是这样的。从我们的标准来看，独立开发者总是包含许多不同的元素。包括团队的规模，预算，外部支持（游戏邦注：来自发行商和融资人）以及开发精神。而像Epic Games和动视等公司具有较大的规模，所以不应该被划分到“独立开发者”的行列。在最近几年这一术语的使用变得非常泛滥，但是对于许多真正的独立游戏开发者来说，最重要的应该是正确地使用这一术语，不管它意味着什么。对于怎样才算是独立开发者并不存在明确的答案，但是我们却可以判断怎样的开发者不属于独立开发者。

6.独立游戏开发者讨厌AAA级游戏

首先，你会惊讶地发现许多独立开发者曾经致力于AAA级游戏，所以说他们讨厌AAA级游戏便是一种愚蠢的说法。独立游戏开发者讨厌AAA级游戏的唯一元素便是制作游戏的方式，特别是当它包含了类似于生产线的实践过程时，如一个人制作椅子，其他人调整纹理等等。

其次，独立游戏开发者经常会受到AAA级游戏的影响，并会修改其理念而创造出全新游戏。尽管独立游戏一直在努力迎合小众市场，但是它们也发现了主流游戏中所具有的一些特色和潜能，这不仅能够帮助自己更为完善，同时也可以借鉴某些元素而发展自己。

再而，让我们别再分割独立游戏和AAA级游戏。为什么我们不能只是着眼于“游戏”更广阔的范围？将各种类型的游戏呈现在所有玩家面前，让他们拥有更多选择而不会有只倾向于一方的感受不是比较好？如果独家市场营销方案尝试着为特定主机游戏创造死忠粉丝，并鼓励它们拒绝完整范围的游戏（级进一步分割了独立游戏和AAA级游戏玩家），这便是一种大错特错的做法。

7.独立游戏搞乱了整个产业

reboot_brain（from indiestatik）

尽管的确有些独立游戏开发者想要搞乱部分游戏产业，但却不能把所有问题都怪在他们身上。独立游戏创造了自己的市场，并继续提供服务。它们拥有自己的玩家，并且并不是将他们从其它地方拐过来的。它们在游戏中呈现出了更多之前从未出现过的乐趣，因为它们整合了所有的文化元素，并基于自己的形式重新包装而创造出全新的内容。

如果游戏开发者或发行公司在某些地方遭遇了失败，那只能说是他们自己的错，不能怪别人。但同时也存在其它元素，如不断发展的技术以及不断变化的消费者趋势也会导致他们的失败，那这就不能归咎于单一实体的错了。

独立游戏不仅创造了全新的理念，同时也让那些在大型游戏公司中丢失了工作的人可以根据自己的意愿继续创造游戏，所以它们已经整合到“整体的产业”中了。实际上，当许多产业人士被迫离开自己之前的工作后，他们都选择去创造自己的独立游戏工作室。如果这些人未选择独立开发道路，他们便有可能进入一个完全不同的职业，甚至会遭遇失业危机。

（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

7 Indie Game Myths That Aren’t True

by Chris Priestman

As indie games reach into the fore of public attention more and more as time goes on, there are a bunch of myths that emerge from the unknown. These are ideas that people seem to assume about indie games or are brought up again and again by those who don’t really delve into our little world to see what kinds of games indie developers produce. We’re not happy with this and would like to address some of these myths so that, if you do see anyone stating one of these myths as fact, you can point them this way.

Note: These myths are based on actual statements we’ve seen pop up all over the internet from many different sources.

1. Indie games are shit

Oh, come on! Are we really starting with this one? While something being “shit” is a matter of opinion, are you really going to discount thousands of extremely diverse games in such a manner? Even if you’ve played 100 indie games and didn’t like any of them, that’s still not enough to discount all of the others that exist out there. Have you also considered that a game like Doom, which emerged during the shareware era, could be considered indie if you wanted? There are so many games that fit under the “indie” umbrella, including hyperactive platformers, twitch shooters, multiplayer sandbox crafters, poetic arcade experiences and cheery adventure titles. And that’s barely scratching the surface.

In all likelihood, indie games cater to your interests in some form, and there are bound to be a couple of games that are made with enough love and produced with such quality AND exist within your cone of interest to change your mind. You just need to find them, and that’s something we can help you out with. In any case, you can’t blindly describe so many games as being shit unless you’ve played them all and found them to be so, which would be highly unlikely. Generalizations such as this are, frankly, just annoying and lazy.

2. All indie games look like Minecraft or use pixel art

This one’s easy, because it’s just so wrong and misinformed. While we’re on the topic, though, the reason that many indie games use voxels or pixel art are because it’s cheap and fairly easy-to-use when developing a game. Consider that many indie games are made by tiny teams, sometimes just a single person, and that pixel art is accessible to everyone, even if it does take skill to do it well, and voxels can take out a lot of the laborious processes that come with creating various systems and worlds.

Another reason for using voxels of pixel art is because it’s a particular style that the developer either enjoys or believed would fit well with their game. All of these “retro” games aren’t just made for nostalgia’s sake, you know. It’s a particular art style that can be used and reworked, and it’s up to a developer if that’s what they want to use. What is annoying is the push towards realism that many of the bigger companies and the culture surrounding games seems to engage with. One of the best things about games is that they’re not realistic and that they don’t have to appeal to realism!

Back to the original myth at hand, though, the best way to debunk it is to provide screenshots of various indie games that don’t look like Minecraft or use pixel art, but do look rather beautiful in their own right.

3. Indie games are artsy and pretentious

As we touched upon earlier, there are many, MANY, different types of games that are considered “indie.” Some of them may be artsy. Some of them may even be pretentious, and there are even indie games displayed in museums and art galleries. But to assume that they all are? Get out of here! No! Of course they’re not.

It’s like you’ve never even heard of indie games like The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile or Happy Wheels. These are senselessly violent games that are straight-up and honest in their appeal to lowbrow humor and excess. They are what they are, and it’s not artsy or pretentious.

There are many more indie games like this. In fact, the majority of indie games aren’t trying to convey a certain message or meaning in any profound way, nor are they trying to be visual splendors worthy or being framed. There are loads of indie games out there that are actually just trying to be fun games. At this point in time, there are so many indie games that they encompass so many different types of experiences and interests. If anything, it’s the games that aren’t indie that may be cornered into a certain type of game experience, rather than being diverse in gameplay and visuals. You really need to open your eyes to what’s out there if you think indie games are all trying to be one particular kind of thing, because that’s just completely not true.

4. Indie games are made in the basements of parents’ houses

Okay, so there are a few indie games that are made in the basement of parents’ houses, and probably quite a few more made in bedrooms too. But not every indie game developer is a “bedroom coder,” though some would tell you that’s where it all started.

There are a number of fairly successful indie game developers who have their own studios, and these are spacious rooms with lots of light, neat desk set-ups and maybe even a dedicated parking space just outside. Swanky! Let’s not forget that there are game jams held in community halls where many games are created, and some developers like to go to internet cafes and do their work there. It’s proven that a small level of background noise helps with concentration, you know!

The point is indie games are made all over the place, depending on the team size, location, preferences and money available. Some people work better in certain locations, so they’ll deliberately travel to them when working on their game. I’ve even heard of entire games made during train journeys!

And just to further prove the point, here’s some pictures of the kinds of spaces we’re on about:

Stoic Studio makes games in a converted goat shed

LA Game Space will see indie games created in a warehouse

Lunar Software moved into a flat together and turned their front room into an office

5. Everyone is indie now, even Epic Games and Activision

Oh, for crying out loud. Yes, they may be “independent,” but that doesn’t mean they fall under what is considered “indie.” Is there a difference between indie and independent? It’s a good question because it certainly seems that way. Being considered indie, at least by our standards, usually takes into account many different factors. These include size of team, budget, external support (publishers and financiers) and development spirit. Companies like Epic Games and Activision are just far too large to ever be considered “indie” by any stretch of the imagination. That term has been thrown around enough in recent years as it is, and for a lot of genuine indie game developers, it’s important to apply the word correctly, whether or not it means anything. There’s no definitive answer to what indie is, but we can certainly say what is definitely not indie.

6. Indie game developers hate AAA games

Alright, so first thing is you’d probably be surprised as to how many indie game developers used to work on AAA games, so to assume they hated them would be a bit silly, considering that they probably made some of them. The only thing that indie game developers may hate about AAA games are the way they’re made, particularly if it involves practices that feel like a production line, i.e. one person makes a chair, the other tweaks a texture and so on.

Secondly, indie game developers quite often take a lot of influence from AAA games and rework their ideas into new games. While indie games typically try to cater to niche markets that aren’t as interested in what the mainstream is offering, they still find a lot of good in them and often see potential in bigger games that they can improve upon themselves or borrow certain elements from.

Thirdly, let’s stop trying to increase the divide between indie games and AAA games. Why can’t we just look at the broader spectrum of “games?” Isn’t it much better for everyone to embrace all types of games so they have more choice and don’t feel like they can only bat for one side? It’s bad enough that exclusives and marketing schemes try to create loyal, die-hard fans for certain consoles and encourage them to deny the full range of games available without further splitting that loyalty between indie and AAA.

7. Indie games are tearing apart the industry

While there may be indie game developers out there that want to rip apart some parts of the game industry, they’re not responsible for doing anything of the sort. Indie games created their own markets and continue to serve them. They have their own players and didn’t nick them from somewhere else. They help to bring more interest to games that didn’t previously exist because they embrace all parts of culture and wrap it around their form to create something fresh.

And if a game development or publishing company is failing somewhere, then it’s their fault and no one else’s. There may be other factors, such as the constantly changing nature of technology and customer trends that led to their downfall, but that can’t be pinned on to the fault of a singular entity.

Indie games have added to the “industry” by providing fresh ideas and allowing those who lost their jobs at larger game companies to carry on making games on their own accord. In fact, so many indie games studios have been forged after the founding members were let off at their previous job. If these people didn’t go indie, then they would have had to enter an entirely different profession or face unemployment and all of the pleasures that comes with that.（source：indiestatik）