The Rise of IndIE Gaming Small, independent game designers such as Dinofarm are riding the wave created by the accessibility of social media and mobile platforms. A simple $100 gaming license allows anyone to distribute games through Apple’s App Store, for example. Without a budget for the extravagant animation, celebrity voiceovers, and massive marketing campaigns of the triple-A industry, independent designers are left to compete where they can: on gameplay. This reflects the era in game design before technology allowed for much else. “It’s kind of come full circle. We don’t have the resources to compete on that axis, so we can circumvent them by making an interesting play experience,” says Reynolds. Cook describes the world of social, mobile, and independent game production as “the Wild West, compared to traditional video games—there’s a lot of room to create a successful game with a much smaller team, and the game itself is oftentimes able to step out of the boundaries that would normally confine your average PC or console game.” The flip side of course is that indie game designers require a broad set of skills that encompass branding, marketing, publishing, social media, and more. “What’s happening in the indie game industry is similar to the change in the music industry: you must be able to market yourself, to put yourself out there, be willing to use Kickstarter to fundraise. It requires social skills, confidence, and understanding of the new model of arts marketing,” says Ohring. Burgun and Reynolds plan to spread the word about Auro through a vast network of contacts. “It’s all guerilla; the development is guerilla, the marketing is guerilla,” says Reynolds. “But that’s the world we live in. Even if we had a million dollars for marketing, what would we spend that on? We have a better shot because of our connections,” adds Burgun.
Screen shots of Auro, Dinofarm’s new mobile app.
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