I’m not sure many people visualize the world of groupies and “makin’ it rain” in the strip clubs when speaking of the game industry, but one developer compares the current indie scene to the hip-hop realm.
In reference to how independent game development is taking root outside mainstream, Rami Ismail (who works at Vlambeer and made Ridiculous Fishing ) called it “…so close to punk rock or hip-hop. What’s happening in the games industry is so similar. We’ve got our Jonathan Blow, our Phil Fish, those names. But we’ve got this really divided industry at the moment, where a large part of the people who play games just know FIFA and Madden , or racing and shooting games.”
While indie gaming has certainly found its legs and is steaming along at a rate not seen in the industry for years, there is a perception among some that feel it will always take a back seat to mainstream developers. However, with games popping-up in more places than just the traditional platforms these days (on the Android and Apple markets for example), this boom has provided more opportunities for developers to create content. Ismail says it has made it “… accessible enough for people to make more games that were more accessible to more people, and this just keeps happening over and over. And now we’re at a point where gaming is starting to get everywhere.”
Of the $15 billion spent on games in 2013, mobile made up a significant portion.