PizzaTheHutt wrote:> I will say though, the indie scene has changed. They're no longer the risk takers
> and innovators they used to be.
There's still a lot of good and fresh stuff coming out but as indie has become more mainstream there are definitely some crutches that a lot of them are using.
Part of that is because it is now mainstream, a lot more copycats are jumping in on the trends they see.
Farming/crafting/roguelike/metroidvania backtracking are ways to significantly increase the length of your game without as significant an investment in time/resources.
Because like it or not, people still get offended if your game is short. Adding padding might dilute a game's strengths, but as long as it keeps people's interest long enough to get past the steam refund window...
> Remember that one infamous Nindie Direct that was
> remembered only for having all those farming sims? If it's not that it's roguelikes.
I don't think that was a Nindie, I think that was a regular one. I remember there being a lit of farming/crafting in whatever one Harvestella was featured (square enix so definitely not an indie ).
Or it could have just gotten so bad that they are multiple Nintendo directs with this issue and even the big publishers want to churn out farming games.