I agree. Games aren't what they used to be. They used to be something that people put their heart and soul into. Now games are; mass produced, thin, and shallow. Like the author said, the game industry is an industry now. I think making games today are about the money now and as a result they are cheapened. This next generation of consoles and games are out and I'm not impressed at all by what's out there. I think we could be headed for another 80's game crash. I see all the same signs. Boring cookie cutter games made by uninspired companies just in it for the money.

I think you are taking what he said a bit to the extreme there Brian...sure indie games have the advantage of not having to answer to a huge corporation about whether their ideas are "proven money-makers" but that doesn't mean that every game one of those huge corporations makes is automatically shallow and worthless. And it certainly doesn't mean that the people who work and work on making those games don't have their heart and soul in it.

Thanks for pointing that out, Mr. Hughes. Although he states the game industry is an industry, he also acknowledges the experimentation and passion that exists in indie game development as well.

And I echo your statement, there are probably many an artist/designer/producer suffused with passion and integrity put towards their final product, whether their current project may allow for it or not.

I think you might just be onto something here dude!

RT
http://www.anon-tools.vze.com

Agreed Mr. Hughes. I would also add that a game born of marketing groups and safe concepts doesn't mean it won't be good, just that it is less likely to be wholly new or original. As with all industries, new ideas and innovations tend to come from less established industry players (indies) and then large companies take those raw ideas and refine them, improve them, and ultimately make them better than they were originally (and also more profitable). A healthy industry requires both small, passionate groups creating new ideas and large corporations willing to invest millions in refining that idea into a quality product.

That's not to say that indies can't make quality games or large companies can't produce wholly original products, just that it will never happen frequently enough to support a large industry alone.

I was able to include a craps inspired mini-game that used 2d10 (number 0-9) to simulate haking the net in ZenHak. I had fun coding and playtesting it, a few gamers enjoyed it as well. This would definatly have been considered too obscure by any company small or large, it was something you could only do in an indie project. I am a big fan of freedom and true capitalism, so the more app stores the better in my opinion. I also like the pricing we are seeing $1 apps make micopayments real.