An Indie Moment

Trying to make money as an indie game developer is something of a challenge. Gamers aren't willing to shell out between $10 and $20 for an indie game because they could get a "real" game for a bit more. Also, independent games are very platform limited, and by that I mean they barely reach the console market. It's gotten much better recently with some indie WiiWare and XBLM titles, but most indie devs aren't going to have to resources to get their games ported and accepted on these various platforms. Finally, piracy is a big issue with ALL software, but it hits indies games much harder for a few reasons. They already have a very small market of people to sell to coupled with the fact that their games get almost no promotion. Literally every sale counts toward, at the very minimum, recouping production costs. Secondly, they use almost no DRM of any sort and due to how most gamers view them, they just start distributing them like freeware. You might even pirate one by accident, who's going to question some 8-bit platformer they download, if it doesn't have 3D graphics at least one post-processing effect and some dude with a gun its probably freeware, right?

VVVVVV is a delightful 8-bit indie platformer with one simple mechanic, you can only reverse gravity up or down, no jumping. Its quite challenging and unlike other similar platformers you get a checkpoint after almost every obstacle rather then doing a whole set and dieing at one part then having to do the rest over and over and over again just to get one more crack at the difficult spot. The whole thing takes place in a trippy alternate dimension where you must find the crew of your spaceship. There are also challenging trinkets to collect that unlock bonus content. This game kept me glued to my screen for hours on end. Its fun, challenging and a nice throwback in terms of graphics and music. So, try it out here and if you like it consider buying it. If you don't this developer might have to end up taking your order at the local fast food establishment.