The Bottom Feeder

MARCH 5, 2024

I've been writing indie (aka shareware) games as the nearly sole source of my family's income for 30 years. During those decades, I've written a ton about the indie business, for money and on my blog. My most popular article , written wayyy back in 2013, was about the creation of the Indie Bubble. And indie games!

Indy 114

Indy Writing Games Fighting 114

The Bottom Feeder

DECEMBER 15, 2021

If you've played a decent indie game in the last five year, It Takes Two probably has you play a superior version of that game for 10 minutes. It's really sharp and well-observed, and it isn't a cutscene. Fellow indie devs have privately, harshly turned on me for saying this, but it is true. The gameplay is infinitely varied.

Art 52

Art Writing Indy Fighting 52

Played with Fire

DECEMBER 4, 2021

Player-guidance Traditionally scripted camera sequences (cutscenes) are very helpful to direct the player’s gaze, Unfortunately won’t work in VR – would cause locomotion sickness.

UX 52

UX Puzzle Animation Animation 52

Radiator Blog

MAY 19, 2023

Before The Green Moon (on Itch and Steam ) is a post-apocalyptic indie Harvest Moon / Stardew Valley / Animal Crossing inspired farm life sim about scraping by, in a decaying rural truckstop town with bored depressed locals you gradually befriend (or ignore). SPOILER ALERT: This post SPOILS what happens in Before The Green Moon.

NPC 147

NPC Cutscenes Animation Animation 147

Radiator Blog

JUNE 2, 2023

Instead there's cutscenes without animation, scripted conversations without choreography, and readables you rarely read because the game never pauses. All the dynamic cutscenes and dialogue sequences relied on 4 player characters all bantering amongst each other like in Buffy or something. But not really.

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Studios Co-op Open World Cutscenes 246

Radiator Blog

MAY 5, 2021

It's probably not worth the hassle for a solo indie. This is a convenient diegetic way of locking the player in-place for a cutscene, while also priming the player for an extended cutscene. Sit and listen. Whenever an NPC is about to dump backstory and exposition on you, they'll ask you to take a seat. Expendable companions.

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Open World NPC Cutscenes Terrain 130

The Bottom Feeder

DECEMBER 13, 2021

There was a depressing and largely forgotten 2013 indie game called The Novelist, about a depressing husband, wife, and child. You can’t put the nuance of human relationships in gameplay, and telling story through cutscenes kind of sucks. The sons go on an adventure. But it's just pretty standard puzzle-solving and troll-dodging.

Art 52

Art Point and Click Games Writing 52

Radiator Blog

NOVEMBER 10, 2021

I know it's easy for armchair indies like me to complain about pulling punches. TUTORIAL The tutorial happens across 3 in-game loops. During this time, mission selection is restricted and progression is heavily scripted / controlled. Deathloop couldn't trust the player as much as Outer Wilds.

Fighting 130

Fighting NPC Puzzle AI 130

The Bottom Feeder

SEPTEMBER 26, 2024

Because the activities you actually do in a video game, in-between the cutscenes and the conversations, may be part of the story, but they don't move the story forward. Indy's side quest to find the ark's location led to a really exciting scene with snakes. The main story had a ton of stuff, but it was disconnected.

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Games Fighting Fantasy Writing 119