Games Aren't Numbers

When Judith Butler was asked to write about her identity as a lesbian she cited one of her main struggles with the subject is that terms such as "lesbian" exist to stratify society. By defining homosexuality it can be, and is, restrained and controlled. The dominant sexist system that treats gays and lesbians differently is not eradicated by developing homosexuality as an identity, it's actually enforced because the new definitions are ultimately still a part of and serve that sexist system.

So what does this have to with games? That theory of language and definitions comes into play in the game industry as well.

I don't actually hate indie games as the title says, just the indie genre. As far as media industries go, gaming is arguably the most overtly commercial with the least interest in creativity or art. People who wish to be creative are of course free to produce their own games and release them as PC downloads, but in order to have a widespread distribution they need to go through the complex and expensive process of publishing. There are plenty of independent games which are very capable of drawing in a profit, so it is within the interest of publishers to pick up on certain ones. Those that are picked up and become commercial are all filed into the "indie" genre, safely segregated from the normal real games.

This doesn't have to be a bad thing. Every industry depends on commercial backing and it's not feasible for every small-time game to get a wide distribution with little cost. Companies aren't (necessarily) evil, they simply run business the way any company would run a business. Independent games are usually very different from larger games, so there is a legitimate argument for the genre to exist. Nonetheless, these facts don't make the existing segregation any less of a problem. Games published under the indie category are still being held back. They don't directly compete with big budget titles, they aren't taken seriously by customers, or often by critics even.

As more and more of these independent games find publishers they may be able to dissolve the superficial stratification. World of Goo for example has been a surprise “game of the year” award winner in several major websites, and some people are going so far to say that 2008 is the year of indie games. So perhaps the situation is improving. Maybe it's already become a non-issue and I'm being over dramatic.