We cover many games that could be considered “independent”, so it was with interest that we noted that The Game Awards have nominated Dave the Diver for Best Independent Game. Nothing strange about that, you might think, but the nomination has sparked online debate about what constitutes an “indie game”.
The controversy originates from the fact that Dave the Diver was published by Nexon, a huge South Korean publisher with a valuation in the billions. Can a game published by such a large company truly be classed as “independent”? VGC have reported that The Game Awards host Geoff Keighley argues that it can, quoting him as saying that “[y]ou can argue, does independent mean the budget of the game, does independent mean where the source of financing was, does it mean the team size? Is it the kind of independent spirit of the game, meaning a smaller game that’s sort of different?
X/Twitter user Nirbion has a simple theory for how Dave the Diver ended up being nominated for the category: “Unfortunate actual truth:
Dave The Diver is considered Indie because it has pixel graphics.”
This debate has parallels to a similar debate that’s raged for decades around “indie music”, with the term originally meaning music that wasn’t released on a major label, but later referring to a particular style of music and aesthetic, regardless of what label it was released on.
So, what are your criteria for a game to be considered an “indie game”? Released by a small publisher? Self-released by the developer, developed by a small team/solo dev? An indie aesthetic? We’d love to know…
The Game Awards take place on 5th December and can be streamed live.
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