User Reviews

For many people, there is never a second thought going in to how a game is developed; they will never stop to think how it materialised into the finished piece of absorbing, slice of entertainment that they hold in their hand (or download manager!). This film helps to put human faces and personalities on to the development process, and offers a truly unique look into the pressure and personal sacrifices that can often be found for a new (or experienced) indie developer.

Make no mistake, this film will be interesting to you even if you are not much of an indie games fan yourself and you would rather stick with the shiny, big-budget productions such as Halo and Call of Duty. It might however, even go so far as to change your mind and give the underdogs a shot when looking for a new game. As this film shows, these somewhat socially-hermitted developers (due to their passion for perfection) go to extreme lengths to provide a thoroughly engrossing and enjoyable experience for you, the user. You will see them eat, breathe and live for their games, with the possibility of failure truly emphasised when they are asked what they might do if their game is a failure.

The film focuses on two major story lines, the development of two eagerly awaited indie games that are being developed by only a couple of highly-focused people for each game. You will begin to learn why they chose the hard-life they now live, how it has affected their social, emotional, physical and financial lives and you will most-likely develop a respect for these guys that you wouldn't necessarily associate with a game developer. Watching the stories unfold will leave you longing to know what is going to happen next, if they can overcome the problems they face; but mostly, if they are satisfied with the life they have chosen.

While the film could have benefited with perhaps waiting a little longer to allow for all of the stories to unfold fully, this is one of the best documentaries (and the first of its kind of this subject I have seen) released in the last few years, and I would urge anyone to watch it regardless of how much the behind-the-scenes of the indie game industry interests you.

Oh and of course, you should go and buy the games featured in this film because they are just as good as the developers describe them. You can check out the websites of the associated games and their developers to check out the progress they have made since the film was released, it will likely be of some interest to you after watching this!

One of the many reasons why Indie Game: The Movie is such a fascinating and riveting documentary is because it raises questions for gamers, aspiring creators, and even the most casual viewer to deeply, thoroughly contemplate. One in particular is while we have fun playing independently made games we find aimlessly scrolling through the Xbox Live Arcade, the Playstation Network, and WiiWare, we begin to wonder if the creators truly enjoy making them. Obviously, there's the pull-factor of showcasing creativity, genuinely original concepts, and sort of avoiding the shackles of mainstream gaming, but you may have to sacrifice your social identity, close friends, relationships, luxuries, etc and almost confine yourself to the life of a hermit.

The documentary takes the extreme and surprising route of showing the agony independent game designers face. Either they hit it big and are possibly excelled in the world of gaming, and have the ability to recoup all the luxuries they might've given up, or they can fade into dire, muddled obscurity, to never be heard from again. I experienced a very rare, unplanned depression while watching this film, but that feeling is moot compared to the fear and anxiety faced by these hard working engineers every single day. I'll be blunt and honest and say I could never put up with this. I'd be more paranoid than I am right now.

We follow the lives of four independent game designers, two whom work together, and they all have one seemingly simple goal that sounds fun to achieve; creating an independent game to sell on the Xbox Live Arcade. Two of the first people we meet are working on the video game, Super Meat Boy, an inventive and delightfully quirky platformer where you play as a plain brown square of meat and must navigate your way through fast-paced, adrenaline-testing levels that require much trial and error and a helluva lot more patience than I could probably possess. One of its many creative touches is how you must learn the control, and there are no menus or directions on how to do certain things. The game will test you with levels where pulling off a specific move is required. But you must figure that one out yourself.

The creators of this game are Edward McMillen and Tommy Refenes. These charismatic men make it very clear to the audience that they don't care if this game isn't what you want, as its job is to pay homage to the game they would've loved unconditionally as kids. It's the heart that counts.

Another man, the opinionated and intelligent, Pat Fish, is breathlessly trying to keep on keeping on with a game that he created years back that has remained in development hell ever since its debut at a gaming convention. The game is called Fez, and it is simple, effective entertainment, (much like the rest of these games) yet has a unique artistic approach to the platforming style as it is constructed out of painstakingly detailed Tetris-like blocks and its world continues to turn to the right a little bit every few seconds. Fish has been combating not an army, but a legion of internet users who have become slanderous and wholly impatient at the delay for the game, yet he is doing the best he can possibly do, after going through a parental divorce, a hazardous breakup, and many other dramatic life events.

The last game developer we follow is another opinionated man named Jonathan Blow, who is constructing his game called, Braid, another unique platformer game, boasting a "rewind" feature. After the surprise success of his game, he is still upset that many reviewers didn't see through his artistic vision, and because of it, he feels they didn't get the full enjoyment from the game, nor his special message for the players.

Indie Game wisely depicts the independent gaming world as a stressful cacophony of deadlines and time limits at the creators' expenses, and rather than the alleged barrel of lackadaisical fun and silliness I believe some of us believe the industry is bent on, shows the high levels of sweat, tears, and poignancy that plague the community itself. To see these men, tired, worn, and restless over a game they are unsure of is heartbreaking and it shows that even the most unique and visionary are some of the most vulnerable.

Much like the work of independent cinema, one of the perks to being free from the monopolizing industry, is the vast freedom of expression and strong limitless qualities one can possess. The similarities between the conventional and the independent in both film and gaming are not that far off, and the picture provided me with some insight on how the indie gaming world is far more bent on idealistic intentions and expressionism rather than just a rehashed sequel of a proved money-maker. The only week point I can find in this documentary is its lack of opinion on the mainstream gaming world. Repeatedly, these men mention what great disdain they have for the mainstream world of video games. Refenes even goes as far as saying it would "be hell" to work for a company like EA or Epic. Never do these opinions explode into more than just simple ranting.

With that being said, without hesitation do I recommend Indie Game: The Movie. It is one of the most touching and emotionally challenging films of the year, something I rarely say about documentaries. Its stern poignancy provides eye-opening levels of insight to people possibly wanting to get into the field and those wanting to go into the bigger field. Its characters are anything but dull, and have enough charisma and charm to fuel three films. I have yet to see a documentary as touching as this one.

View the full, more complete review on my website, http://stevethemovieman.proboards.com. Click "Steve's Reviews."

There aren't that many documentaries about video games so to say that this is easily the best of the bunch might not mean much to many (that's a lot of M's right there), but it is. It's also one of the best documentaries I've ever seen. If the film-makers idea was to first give you a really great view of how some of these indie developers do their stuff and why, then have you on the edge of your seat as release day looms and problems arrive, then finish by leaving you a little bit misty and in a really good mood? If that was their idea then it worked for me.

It's every bit as brilliant as the games that are featured. I think people owe it to themselves to watch this.

Lisanne Pajot and James Swirsky knocked this out of the park. It is a film that follows three indie games at different parts of their development that have a story worth telling.

Indie Game: The Movie so well crafted that my wife (non-gamer, non-geek, but appreciates movies) enjoyed and was interested. The pacing and storytelling invokes a wide range of emotions. The artistic choices of cinematic style are spot on and consistent throughout the film.

The fact that it was mainly done by two people... puts me further in awe.

Before the end of this movie, I cried, cried twice. I deeply realized that it is never ever easy for an ordinary man to get huge success. But there is still some chance to help you get here only if you are open-minded to yourself and throw yourself into the business totally, work hard, delay gratification, you'll see success beckons to you. To implement that goal, you need to have an extremely clear understanding of yourself, such as what you want most out of life, what you are best in, what things you are really really want to do, what's the goal of your life and so on. Now then you have the direction, the rest of the way is pursuing it, straining all your nerves to it. Don't worry when there's no any joys, no social in your along way, hold on, finally, you'll can't help crying out because you made it.

I don't know how to react to this intriguing and engrossing documentary. We are voyeurs into the lives of a few Indie game computer programmers who produce and distribute their products alone, as against the vast corporation produced games we are more familiar with.

There are three different projects examined here in the run up to their release of their creations, and it's a rough and at times uncomfortable viewing. Their road to release is really quite hellish.

Very basic low budget filming puts the onus on the conversations with these programmers. In truth, of the four programmers it's hard to believe you'd wish to have a drink with three out of the four of them and in any case the other one is so busy he'd likely pass you up. Yet you still seem to empathise with them and the key of this documentary is how you do hang out to the end wishing them to succeed.

As said, at times you will feel uncomfortable watching these guys. They've all admitted to practically cutting themselves off from normality and having social lives, and it shows. One is married and that marriage seems to make him the most grounded something that becomes clearer as the film moves on when you compare him to the rest.

I'll state that I don't play computer games at all and have not done so for donkeys years, bar Angry Birds. So really the twee type of games these gamers are making appeals to me as I'm not familiar with the modern gaming market. I don't fully understand their world and maybe I never will, but I did like their products and maybe that's why I wanted the best for them.

However, I still admired these guys through their travails and stresses. The documentary doesn't build them as heroic but they are winners in my eyes no matter their quirks, and as viewers we are given a very broad overview of them to form our opinions.

Enjoyable and engrossing. I'd say it's worth a watch.

**Includes some minor spoilers. will not spoil your experience**

I watched the documentary last night and was just simply blown away about the people, their life-philosophy and the motivation to push forward and create something new.

In one scene one of the protagonists told that "he would never want to work for EA or Epic cause he would lose his freedom of creativity in it".

This in essence is what makes Artists great - they create something new and do it so well that it transcends the normal standard of standardized "materialistic" work processes - by far.

It was interesting to see how the video game gurus in this documentary were actually even sad for people not understanding their work. In essence - they were disappointed for people doing shallow reviews after testing their games.

Deep understanding of others creative work often springs into criticism - but thats only positive since it means that the other one has understood the creation and is able to add something new into it - thus being part of the logics of progress.

9.5/10 for the best documentary/movie I have seen this year.

The game developing process. What goes into it? What are the stresses that one may endure? This documentary takes a fairly in depth look at the lives of 3 particular games being developed, and the personal lives of those creating it(Fez,Super Meat Boy and Braid). Focusing more on the positive and negative aspects of how the process effects the people involved is what draws you in. There is no acting, action, etc. just the real life drama that goes into deadlines, marketing, and all things aside from what code to put on what page. The presentation may not be for all viewers but it definitely is interesting to see where a person can snap, or reap the rewards of years of hard work even when others wrote them off as crazy. I was personally drawn into the inner conflicts that were shown to real feel the real life emotions. Must see for gamers, that is for sure, but also for a casual viewer, I believe that it is something interesting to see just what goes on day by day (they seem to keep hours like me). 6.4/10

The filmmakers focused on four of the most eccentric, pretentious, controversial indie developers they could find -- three of whom were essentially starving themselves while working on their games. It makes for an entertaining film, but it doesn't really represent indie development. That being said: I watched the film 5 times. 9 stars.

Telling the story of how to make a game by yourself by successful creators, and the life and problems that incur working without the financial support and security that a big company offers but also without the creative oppression so common in the mass media industry. Is especially commendable for non-gamer people and even game-haters that say things like "videogames are entertainment, not art nor beautiful": here you can see with your very eyes the same struggle that a painter, or a filmmaker has when its out of budget, out of time, etc... Very well made and well presented, almost empathic documentary. 7 of 10

I never thought much of indie games. I always thought people got off easy developing a simple game and making millions off it. These were my thoughts before I saw Indie Game: The Movie It is a documentary any fan of video games needs to see. This documentary dives deep into the world of independent games and how they are made, also the stress the developers are under to make their dreams come true. This was certainly unexpected from this documentary but the film was very well made and being a fan of video games, I learned a lot and have a great respect for these games.

Big games like the Halo series and Call of Duty is made by thousands of people over a course of a few years. These games are very detailed and take a lot of time and effort to make. An indie game is made by a small group of people over a course of a few years. One thing I did not expect from this documentary was the emotion from the developers. They fell in love with their characters, even though they were so simple. The games in the documentary were Fez, Brine, and one about a meatball trying to save his bandager girlfriend, I just forget the name. Maybe it was Mr. Meat Boy or something like that. Anyway, these games became their life and they get attached to these games and it becomes their child in a way. This was a new take on video games for me. It made me think how the makers of Call of Duty and Halo can't really get into their characters because there are so many people developing the game. An indie game is just so simple but so advanced.

I did not realize all the stress and hard work than went into making an indie game. A small team of people have to draw everything and develop puzzles for each level and then go into a computer and design it. The documentary really goes into the making of games but making it is half the battle. Then the game needs to be known and sell. There is some sort of indie game convention where developers go and show their games and try to get a deal. I had no idea all of this even happened. The developers talked about being depressed and how the stress of possible failure can ruin their life and end their dream.

This was something else I did not expect. The documentary was just as much about the developers as much as the game. We see real emotion from the developers. I'm, glad the network that made this movie did not bleep out swears because it makes it more real and the frustration more believable. We learn of their stories, their success, and their struggles. There is one poor guy who just has no luck. His father got diagnosed with a very bad disease, but he recovered, his girlfriend left him, his partner in their company left him, his game got pushed back, he suffered from depression, and it just looked hopeless. This all happened in a year. The stress got to him and when it was his turn to be big at the convention the first person who played the game got a bug and the game was not working. Everything that could go wrong for this guy went wrong. I felt so bad for this guy and I wanted him to be successful. I connected with him and I did not expect this from a documentary. Is this movie for everybody? No, if you are not a video game fan then do not see this documentary. You will not care and not be entertained. This is a big problem for this movie. It only appeals to one kind of audience. Also, it showed the developers still complaining when they had all the success. One guy tried saying all the success and his dream coming true was too much to handle and he became depressed. I was like, oh come on. Your dream came true and you are successful, you have absolutely nothing to complain about. No reason to be depressed. If anything I wou8ld want to see them more grateful. These developers are almost characters in a movie, rather than people in a documentary. Overall, Indie Game: The Movie was an incredible documentary with its focus on how games are made and the struggles that come with it. It opened my eyes and gave me a lot more respect for the genre of indie games. A few things I did not like about it made me tune out at times but still very enjoyable. Any fan of video games in general, old or new, should check out this movie and enjoy. It is unfortunate that this documentary will suffer and only appeal to a certain audience but that's just the way it is. Indie Game: The Movie gets the WillyT Honorable Mention.

The first thing to say on this film is that you really will enjoy it more if you play indie games or know the couple of games that are mentioned here. This is not to suggest that the film will exclude you if you don't, but it is about these games and this culture but it will not hold your interest if you already have no involvement or interest in them. The film looks at the makers of indie games – ie not the 2000 people working on the next Grand Theft Auto, but the 2 or 3 people working on the game you'll pick up on Xbox Arcade or your phone for a few dollars and play to death over the following week or so. Early on it quotes many examples but mainly it focuses on Braid, Fez and Super Meat Boy in terms of experience development challenges, the feeling of success and the challenges of success.

In this way the film does it pretty well because we do get all these things. I'm not sure if the makers followed many people and then edited down to be these specific guys, but their choices are good either way because the film gets a lot from these guys throughout. It wisely doesn't go into the real detail of writing games but keeps it accessible to those of us who just play them and have no understanding beyond that, but it does enough to help the viewer understand the effort and obsessive nature of the work, even if it could have done with an example of a total failure (the closest the film has is Fez, which doesn't succeed when the film closes but we know does in the end). The people are mostly engaging despite some of them (unsurprisingly) not being the most socially confident people you'll ever meet, the regular clips of games and the gentle soundtrack does add to the feel of a quirkumentary – which I guess it sort of is, but it felt like less of one to me since I'm sort of part of that quirk I suppose.

It would have been good to have explored some bigger picture stuff above the characters here as well as following them, but the film still works well for what it does. It is limited a bit in its audience because the tight focus does need you to at least like gaming and to play indie games – but saying it like this makes me think it is not doing itself too much harm by "limiting" its audience to gamers, since there is a few of them around. So, if the film sounds interesting then it probably will be, as it captures the passion, frustration and success of the people making indie games in their bedrooms for years – and it mostly has engaging and likable characters to focus on while doing it.

It's not that I can't imagine how making new video games for major platforms would be stressful, but what seems life-threatening and intensely personal to the subjects of this documentary can often come off as a bit myopic/borderline-narcissistic. Ultimately, this movie illustrates not so much the sometimes-heroic, often frustrating creative process (and life in general), but good old-fashioned growing pains.

And that's just it. Essentially, these guys are still kids; they obsess about reviews, social media interaction, their futures in an industry they've only begun to participate in. I can understand that. But I could also tell they hadn't yet seen the other side -- that we can fail utterly, and yet come back in one piece to do something even better.

Still, there are certainly moments I rooted for the developers (except for that dude from Braid -- never complain publicly that people don't appreciate your work for the same reasons you do, *sheesh* NAGL). In particular, the bearded guy from Super Meat Boy comes off as humble, quirky, genuinely happy and surprised that people liked his game. Even the Fez developer, who at the beginning seemed practically a poster- boy for First World Problems, learns a lesson about life and perspective by the end. And maybe that's how best to enjoy this movie: as a snapshot of super-creative, ambitious young people dealing with adult problems, while wielding the emotional skill-sets of adolescence.

Excellent, in such an impetuous society, we need someone who can persevere in a little dream to the end

I was quite surprised by how well this documentary kept the viewer's interest. This is a documentary that follows three popular indie game makers. Some of the developers have had successes in the past and all of them had a lot of hype before the games were released. So the documentary is sort of biased in that it doesn't show a typical indie developer; rather, it shows the best of the best. As the title suggests, this documentary covers INDIE game-makers which means a team of 2 or 3 people developing a game. This provides a different perspective from big-budget studio games where there are 50+ people working on it.

The filmmakers had full behind-the-scenes access to the developers. So we get to see their personal life and the impact it has on some family members.

The film also imparts some good wisdom for indie developers. For instance, one successful developer that is profiled mentions how you don't want indie games to be fully polished and perfect like those blockbusters released by the big studios. Instead, being a bit rough around the edge, and having unique personality and feel is what one should aim for.

If anyone wants to see the struggles indie developers go through, this is a very good introduction. A lot of long days and nights working on a game that may or may not turn out to be a success. The saving grace is that if the game does become a big hit, you will literally become a millionaire overnight. In some sense, this no different than what entrepreneurs trying to start other businesses face.

A very well put together and intriguing documentary, no matter if you do not enjoy the subject matter regardless, for a director's first debut the movie was very well done, and looked like he had been making films for decades, and if you didn't appreciate the amount of effort that indie game developers put into there work, you should after watching it. Highly Recommended.

One of my favourite documentaries, maybe it's because i have a soft spot for indie games, especially The Binding Of Isaac, one of my favourite games ever made. The documentary centers around the creators of the games 'Super Meatboy' and Fez, the documentary also makes you hate Microsoft even more than you did before. It also gives you an interesting, back story to the creators, Ed Mcmillen and Phil Fish.