This documentary definitely provided the feels.

The film follows the production of 3 Indie Games and the lives of their developers: Super Meat Boy (Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes), Braid (Jonathon Blow), and Fez (Phil Fish). I can’t even come up with words to describe the emotions I felt while watching Indie Game. As someone who aspires to enter the game industry, it was a great experience to be able to see into the lives and minds of the creators of some of the greatest games of all time. It was unreal how much I connected with everything that each developer was saying. To some viewers, I’m sure looking at these middle-aged guys put themselves through years of stress to “express themselves” in video games seems so odd or socially unacceptable, especially when there is no guarantee for profit in the long run. But, I look at them and say, “Wow, that’s me!”.

I’m your socially atypical kid whose ideal Saturday night is spent in my room playing video games. Do I take a lot of crap for it? Certainly. But, I keep doing it anyway because it is what I enjoy. It is extremely refreshing to see 4 guys just like me make it in the gaming world.

Something I always wonder (like many college students) is what I’m going to do with my life. I could practice my programming skills and apply for a job at some large AAA studio and make a consistently large amount of money writing boring code for a game that I have little influence over. I could also put myself through the same hell as the developers in Indie Game in order to create my own game where I am in control of everything. After watching Indie Game, I’ve definitely been swayed more towards the latter, even if it means a high-probability of failure and monetary strain. I found it so interesting in the film that all of the devs lived in such similar environments and were more stressed about the quality of their game than their quality of living. But, at the same time I could see myself in the same situation. I would be totally content with a little studio apartment as long as I had a computer, electricity, internet, and water (and essentials like food, etc…). I can’t help but wonder if this is a cultural thing (i.e. would all gamers think like this?) or if people like myself and the devs in Indie Game are a small minority even within the minority of gamers? I’m not entirely sure how to get an answer to that question other than go around asking everyone if they play games and if living like that would be acceptable…xD

One thing is for sure, I’m currently debating purchasing the special edition of Indie Game in order to see all of the extra interviews and the epilogue with Phil Fish.

I highly, highly, highly recommend watching Indie Game: The Movie, even if you have absolutely no interest in gaming at all, I still think it is a valuable insight into why gamers are the way they are.