The Escapist has an interesting article up on mainstream industry types who went indie — it delves into the reasoning behind a move, as well as the challenges and the positive aspects of moving from big studios to independent development. People making the transition have had to unlearn ‘mainstream’ habits or pick up new skills (like learning the tools of the PR trade) — and even with the plethora of portals and distribution options, the ‘independent’ distribution channels are still fraught with pitfalls, from distribution limitations to piracy:
Chris Plante has posted a plea over at GameSetWatch — one for bringing more global entertainment to the West (well, America specifically). His idea? Some sort of portal that will be able to showcase games from all over the world, dragging American gamers kicking and screaming into acknowledging foreign countries that are outside of East Asia. Interesting concept, and one that could theoretically be implemented right now:
Daniel Cook of Lost Garden has another thought provoking article up on Gamasutra, this one on the casual games market. Targeted more at developers, it’s still an interesting look at the promises and pitfalls of the current distribution models:
