Slate.com has a fantastic article up today about the quiet crisis in game development: the dearth of independently-released titles. Author Luke O'Brian cites a variety of causes for the drought, such as overblown budget requirements, a convoluted distribution model, and the few big names like Electronic Arts, Sony, and Activision hogging the market with endless sequels and remakes. The 19th Madden is about to slime its way onto shelves, with all updated player names and numbers. I dunno about you man, but I'm fuckin' stoked.

Why should gamers and industry bigwigs care if it's tough for the little guy? Because back when games were cheaper to make, the independents came up with the ideas that moved the business forward. Richard Garriott peddled Ultima, the first major role-playing title, in plastic bags. Sid Meier's Civilization and Westwood's Dune II cracked open the strategy genre. Id Software's John Carmack and John Romero created the pioneering first-person shooter Doom. Will Wright gave us SimCity and open-ended "sandbox" simulations.

The article goes on to examine the fates of the early pioneers, and gives hope for a new generation in the form of Manifesto Games owner Greg Costikyan. Costikyan plans to bypass the bloated distribution vectors entirely, by selling his games online. In turn, Costikyan's site links to the Independent Games Festival, which might be a good place to monitor indie delights like Dad n' Me, which I think started me well on my way to carpal tunnel just now, and delayed this post far longer than it should have. Perhaps all is not yet lost. Eliza Gauger

Why There Are No Indie Video Games [Slate]

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