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Rebel, Rebel: Independents Congregate in Austin to Take On Gaming's Mainstream
In battle, it also helps to know what to fight for. Costikyan, in his keynote, argued that genres of games, ill-defined as they often are, could be seen as a measure of progress that stretches back to neolithic times. Games have progressed and changed so long as there were creators looking for something new, he argued, and each great leap forward in “shared mechanics” could be seen instinctively by players as a new genre. That is, until just recently, Costikyan said. The creation of new genres seem to have hit a rut, one several years old (he cited Parappa the Rapper, the first “rhythm game” in 1996, as the last to occur “within” the game industry, but considered more recent novelties such as HeroClix and alternate reality games to have come from without.) Without continued innovation and the creation of new genres, he argued, the range of existing genres will gradually narrow, and what was once fertile ground will become sterile.
That won't change, he warned, in a system controlled largely by big publishers who think they know what's best for the industry. Rather, the only ones who can break the cycle are those working from outside the system – with the possible exception of Will Wright, whom Spector would later call “the Lord of the Rings of game development,” able to work within a huge system to create innovation. No, indies don't have EA or Activision's deep pockets, Costikyan said, but neither do they have a big publisher's need for high return on investment. With less to lose, indies can even afford to fail and learn from the experience, he argued, potentially for the benefit of many. By daring to go where the giants of the industry dare not, he said, independent developers could be gaming's last, best hope for progress. At this, many in the audience wanted to know about Manifesto Games, represented at the con by Costikyan, its CEO, and his partner, Dr. Johnny Wilson. Manifesto is meant to help bring indie-made games to market, primarily through a Web-based digital distribution system that Costikyan said would be ready soon, maybe even within two weeks. The trouble, he said, has been finding a system that works for all the different genres Manifesto plans to help sell – unlike the setup at Yahoo Games or Reflexive, variety will include installer size as well as user payment and trial systems. This of course put Costikyan and Wilson in demand when it came time for the “demo party” at the end of the first night. Most with games on display were Austin locals such as Shannon Cusick of Orbis Games and Tom Kent of MinusOne, the latter showing a PC version of the cell phone game Jail Trail, produced through Austin-based Critical Mass Interactive.
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Features
Costikyan's Keynote 
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