Indie Games Follow-up: The Class of 2000

One For the Underground

"I believe strongly that the industry is at a turning point, and the indie scene is going to explode into something really big. People want something unique, and they're going online, looking to us indies, to provide that."

Mason McCuskey, head of Spin Studios

In the days of multi-million dollar budgets and huge game companies, it is both refreshing and unusual to see a developer with a single-digit staff, nevertheless one person. Mason McCuskey's IGF finalist Quaternion not only beat the competition, but also reminded the gaming community that there was a time when excellent games were made by a single person.

McCuskey said the puzzle game, released through his company Spin Studios, was well received because of its instant accessibility. "Quaternion is a game that you can just pick up and play instantly, and that made it great for the IGF pavilion. People would come up, learn the rules in a few seconds, pick up a controller, and be off and playing."

After nearly a year of polishing, Quaternion went gold in early December and is being sold independently on the Spin Studios website. McCuskey said there have been many people interested in the title, most as a result of the IGF. "Being selected as an IGF finalists really helped Quaternion get noticed. Our page hits skyrocketed when the major gaming news sites announced the finalists -- there are very few gamers out there who wouldn't want to know what game developers consider to be the top independent games of the year."

	"Quaternion is a game that you can just pick up and play instantly, and that made it great for the IGF pavilion"

 

Even months after the festival he still remembers the "overnight notoriety" of his title. "All of a sudden, you go from just another indie to having people email you, demanding to know when a beta is coming out, when they can check out your game. It rules!"

McCuskey said that things weren't always so great for Spin Studios and warns other indies that there are many great developers out there.

"I think there are a lot of indies out there who just take it for granted that they have the best game in the world and will blow away all of the competition... and that's too bad, because they set themselves up for this huge let down if they don't get in. I can empathize," McCuskey said, speaking from experience. "I was like that a couple years ago. I entered the first IGF, and I ate it big time when I didn't advance to the finals."

Now with Quaternion finally available on his site, McCuskey is concentrating on the future. "I have two design docs that are almost complete, some contract work and a book on game programming that should hit the shelves in 2001."

At least some of his success is a direct result of the IGF.

"The IGF name has come to symbolize creativity, the independent spirit, and craftsmanship, so when people realize you're an IGF finalist, they know that you're a serious independent developer. Thanks to the IGF, I was able to get my foot in doors that had previously been
bolted shut."

Russian Moonshine

"Our goal is simple: create the best games in the world... We consider computer games a new kind of art!"

Andrey "KranK" Kouzmine, president of K-D LAB

Though computer and video games are widely considered a worldwide phenomenon, the common perception is that all development happens only in America, England and Japan. As a result, the attention garnered by the IGF finalist Moonshine Runners was even more pronounced when people realized that the creators, K-D LAB, were based in Russia.

"Don't forget that we were the single team from the Eastern Hemisphere -- all other winners came from the USA or Canada!" said Andrey "KranK" Kouzmine, president of K-D LAB. He admits that because of the geographic distance his team of 17 have not been able to correspond with other developers as much as their North American peers.

One thing K-D LAB does share with many of the former IGF finalists, however, is a publishing contract. "A couple of months after the IGF we signed an agreement with the largest Russian software publisher, the 1C company, to publish the game in Russia. In June, Moonshine Runners was featured at the cover of the best national game magazine, Game.EXE. Then we showed the game at the ECTS trade show. Currently we are in negotiations with different companies about publishing our game in USA, Europe and Asia," Kouzmine said.

	The K-D LAB team.

 

Even with limited contact K-D LAB gathered a wealth of constructive criticism from others through the GDC, the 2000 conference being the first the team had attended. The insight gained, Kouzmine said, helped make Moonshine Runners a more appealing game to publishers. "At the festival we got some great feedback from the GDC participants, including both developers and publishers. We analyzed it and decided to change several important aspects of the game."

K-D LAB is busy working on multiple projects outside of Moonshine Runners. It has a strategy title in the works, funded by 1C, as well as a small-scale project. "We are going to start another big game in the near future based on a licensed technology, which we are in the pre-production stage of now," Kouzmine said.

Despite the number of projects, Kouzmine said K-D LAB has a straightforward goal for the future. "Simple: create the best games in the world."

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Into the Dragon's Lair