Relevant XKCD https://xkcd.com/657/ and the reason I watched Primer in the first place. After dozens of watches I think that perhaps it's possible the graph is relatively correct (maybe)
This was such a good interactive story. Took me less than a day to go through it, but there are some sections I will never forget. The bathtub and the fish plant created some crazy emotions, I was happy to piece together what was happening, but then I had to see it through without any way to avoid the inevitable.
(Trying to stay ambiguous for anyone who wants to check out it. You totally should!)
Hollow Knight was just so much well-curated content for the price. I got it on sale for $7.50, and after I played through it, I had to go buy it again at the full $15 because I felt like I'd ripped Team Cherry off.
I actually only first played it in 2020. I had missed it when it first came out, and then a museum near me happened to have a big exhibit about it. I jumped in and out with several different people throughout the trip, but I hadn't been expecting a partner, just cooperation when we were near each other. I did have someone to stick with for the very last part, at least
Ooooo at least ya had a partner for the strongest bit!
::: spoiler This should probably be spoiler’d…
I was sooo lucky. I met my inagame partner pretty much as soon as you can meet a partner, and he was a straight-up Sherpa. I didn’t know it at the time, but he has special robes for, like, having all of the achievements? He let me bumble around and whenever it felt like I got stuck, he would chirp at me and guide me to where I needed to go next. I had to use the restroom at one point, so a made a circle, chirped twice, he chirped once, and I left for ten minutes… he was siting right there when I came back. He chirped with glee when I started moving again. He was with me all the way to the end. When the credits finished and it showed me his Steam name, I was OVERJOYED. I added him and waited… waited… boom, he accepted. We struck up a chat for a bit, and he sent me a ton of screenshots he took of our adventure. They looked like professional photos. I think he might have been using some external tool, but I’m not complaining. It was an unforgettable experience and I cried, and I never cry. 10/10
:::
Most indie games will end up better than pretty much every AAA title. The best games I've played in the last decade were either indie or AA.
Roboquest, Pathfinder WotR, Dyson Sphere Program, Outer Wilds, Balatro, Helldivers 2, Deep Rock Galactic, Rogue Trader, Darktide, Abiotic Factor, Rimworld, Stellaris, DV Rings of Saturn, Hardspace Shipbreaker, Voices of the Void, Expedition 33, Blue Prince, Tiny Glade, Witchfire, Instruments of Destruction, Heart of the Machine, Tainted Grail Fall of Avalon, A Webbing Journey, Planet Crafter, Kenshi, X4, Ultrakill, Schedule 1, the list goes on.
TUNIC
It's a good game in general, but
::: spoiler spoiler
If you, as a kid, had to decipher an older sibling's notes in game manual, it hits that nostalgia right on the nose. And then turns it on its head.
:::
Oh man. I played the original HL2 mod of that back in the day and the build I played was a bit glitchy. At various points of it, a silhouette of Esther appears in the distance to the point you're not sure if you've seen her, but on one play through, the silhouetted female NPC model didn't disappear for me and I was able to get up close to it. That was almost as eerie and profound as how the mod was supposed to be.
The original Stanley Parable was a HL2 mod around the same time as well. I liked that enough to buy the official release later. Not so for Esther.
Small indie film? Dear Zachary is a documentary produced on a shoestring budget, and it is an absolutely devastating piece of art. Just thinking about the film puts a lump in my throat.
Before Your Eyes. I was going through some major stuff at the time and I'll associate the game with that summer forever. It has a very unique mechanic and it ties into the game really well without feeling like a gimmick. Takes about 3 hours to complete, so not a huge investment either.
Applying the term "Indie" to a book feels interesting to me, because almost all books, even ones that are part of intensely popular franchises, are written by a single author - so in a sense, all books are Indy.
Of course team size is only one aspect. There's also budget and commercial involvement. But budget doesn't have to be a constraining factor for books the way it is for movies. And if you're the only person pushing the keyboard keys then you are the one with ultimate creative control.
If you are a penniless author and publish a hit and get rich, does your next book then stop being indie, even though it's still just you? Or maybe it's no longer indie because your circumstances have changed.
Many books are managed by a publisher, however. To varying degrees of control. The publisher can have significant sway in the process of writing and editorial control, depending on the contract.
I think the indie part is mostly to do with size and influence of the publishing house. As well as if the art comes first or market appeal. I think A24 in film are a good example of that question.
On further thought, I think one possible criteria may be: Was this work completed independently and then subsequently published, or did this work have a publisher prior to completion?
To your question, if the author gets big off of an indie work, then writes another, independently, which gets published again, then it's still indie. But if that author agrees a contract to write said book with the publisher before it is written, then it is no longer indie.
Basically, has the creator taken it on their own risk to make this thing and then tried to publish it later? Or did a publisher take the risk by funding it and then therefore may have some degree of control?
This post kinda implies that OP thinks the default is that blockbusters have more soul and hits people harder than indie and passion projects, which is the opposite of the truth.
Art made by fewer people generally has more soul and a stronger personality which translates to feelings by the person experiencing the art. They aren't put through a grinder of corporate bullshit to not be offensive or say anything of actual value.
M137
to
Ask Lemmy
•
Which “small” indie game/film/book hit you harder than most blockbusters?
4·
1 day ago
This post kinda implies that OP thinks the default is that blockbusters have more soul and hits people harder than indie and passion projects, which is the opposite of the truth. Art made by fewer people generally has more soul and a stronger personality which translates to feelings by the person experiencing the art. They aren’t put through a grinder of corporate bullshit to not be offensive or say anything of actual value.
I think you misread me 🙂 I wasn’t implying blockbusters have more soul by default. I’m genuinely curious which indie projects hit people as strongly (or even harder) than blockbusters. Just a straightforward question.
I thought a game like To The Moon would have been high up, but everyone has their own tastes.
Though, I will say, the sequel, Finding Paradise, is definitely worth it and is my choice. Even with the little bits of comedy and things that take away from the seriousness of the story, it's still an amazing story. Just as good as To The Moon, if you ask me.
Ooooo rare movie! Excellent pick that nobody I know has ever seen hahaha
On a similar theme (fire), the Canadian movie “Ash” is incredible and shot at the unfortunately “perfect” time (wildfires happened just as they were filming so they didn’t have to CG them) and the movie is stellar.
Mine is music and the answer is essentially literally any Indy band that I like, I like WAY more than any mainstream artist.
but like I have several Indy bands that do different styles, so I don't know what my actual taste is.
here's my recent plays if anyone wants to tell me :)
I donyeven know tbh. I stumbled across that short accidentally, and the music soundtrack slaps. The design choices is something i haven't seen before. That guy firing radioactive (?) laser which slightly corrupts the camera footage is so damn cool. And the laser just lingering around. It's these small details that makes it a real piece of art to me and i wish more science fiction movies would dare something other than "people in the future have funny hats."
I remember a game I played a long time ago touched me, but I can't find my review of it.
I found the VR title Surge was great, but it doesn't seem to be available in the Steam store anymore. I sat down and watched and looked around, and the music and visuals had great impact.
I've been a pretty big fan of both Elex games from Piranha Bites.
In terms of world design, scale, etc.. It's rare that I come across a game that actually sucks me into exploring every part of the open world map like Elex and Elex 2 did.
They're also games that don't hold your hand. Enemies don't level with you. Meaning that if you wander into an area with strong enemies, that's on you. A lot of people complained about that aspect of it, saying that it leads to having to spend a lot of early game running and dodging fights. But to me, that's the entire point, finding creative ways to deal with the enemies that you're too weak to deal with.
I've lured stronger enemies into towns for the NPCs to deal with; adding just enough hits of my own to get the experience points. (added bonus of looting the corposes of the townsfolk that were killed dealing with it)
I've skipped entire minor fetch quests (like paying off a gate guard to get access to a town) by again luring an enemy to him and having it kill him because the games have very few non-killable characters.
I've spent an hour skirting along the edge of a crater riding the line between freezing by going any higher and getting one hit killed by enemies if I go any lower just to get to a hut that I spotted in the distance.
Honestly, for AA games that certainly have their flaws, there are parts of both that blow the modern Bethesda games out of the water.
I just finished ViewFinder. It's peaceful, surreal, beautiful, and poignant. Highly recommended if you like puzzle games. The end hits you in the feels.
A couple of games from recent years: Chants of Sennaar (linguistic puzzles and incredible vibes) and 1000xResist (this game had something many big game devs seemingly have completely forgotten about, specifically, writing).
A game released in 2008 called Iji. At first glance, it seems like a simple platformer, but think again. It's an amazing blend of platforming and RPG mechanics. The game reacts to the decisions you make resulting in multiple endings.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primer_(film)
Relevant XKCD https://xkcd.com/657/ and the reason I watched Primer in the first place. After dozens of watches I think that perhaps it's possible the graph is relatively correct (maybe)
Disco Elysium
Cuno hurt your feelings too, huh? I had to find health and recover after I spoke to him.
That fucking little rat, played this game so long ago but still remember his voice.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/972660/Spiritfarer_Farewell_Edition/
Its fantastic.
What Remains of Edith Finch. Is that a 'small' enough game? Affected me deeply, tho.
This was such a good interactive story. Took me less than a day to go through it, but there are some sections I will never forget. The bathtub and the fish plant created some crazy emotions, I was happy to piece together what was happening, but then I had to see it through without any way to avoid the inevitable.
(Trying to stay ambiguous for anyone who wants to check out it. You totally should!)
Jeez the fish plant hit hard. As it would for many gamers.
This game singlehandedly destroyed my negative perspective on walking simulators. Legit must-play for everyone. Lewis' scene still makes me tear up.
I absolutely agree.
Maybe. I consider Greedfall as indie game as not really known. I love it. So, maybe, yes. the "small" is little bit too much.... 😅
Hollow Knight! Got me into indie games.
Hollow Knight was just so much well-curated content for the price. I got it on sale for $7.50, and after I played through it, I had to go buy it again at the full $15 because I felt like I'd ripped Team Cherry off.
$5 here! indie games have such great value.
Let's hope so!
<2 days
Cube.
https://youtu.be/shcK9b-TQIo
Made for $365,000 Canadian.
Love the Cube series, knew it was low budget, but not ‘that’ low!
I'm sure the others had a bigger budget, but yeah, the first one was hardly anything.
Of course they only needed to build one room, part of another, and then just change the lighting over and over.
I disliked the second one specifically because they gave it a decent budget. The original is genius for how it does so much with so little.
The third is an oddball. Made-for-TV budget and quality. It's interesting for fans of the series, but nothing special.
Cube > Saw. First time I watched Saw the only thing I could think of is "This is Cube with a different aesthetic and a creepy puppet."
Disco Elysium
.
I'll second Swiss Army Man. Very weird, very enjoyable.
We watched The lobster for a family movie night, they never let me pick the movie again 😅. I enjoyed it, watched it twice.
Journey!
The game that somehow managed to make random online co-op not toxic
Also you just got me to realise that Sword of the Sea is actually out literally today
My partner played Journey after I played it all the way through with my first matched partner and cried a lot.
My partner was matched with two deserters and a speedrunner. Then their last person quit near the end. They left the game frustrated and hated it.
I was very sad.
Aww that sucks, what an unfortunate experience
I actually only first played it in 2020. I had missed it when it first came out, and then a museum near me happened to have a big exhibit about it. I jumped in and out with several different people throughout the trip, but I hadn't been expecting a partner, just cooperation when we were near each other. I did have someone to stick with for the very last part, at least
Ooooo at least ya had a partner for the strongest bit!
::: spoiler This should probably be spoiler’d… I was sooo lucky. I met my inagame partner pretty much as soon as you can meet a partner, and he was a straight-up Sherpa. I didn’t know it at the time, but he has special robes for, like, having all of the achievements? He let me bumble around and whenever it felt like I got stuck, he would chirp at me and guide me to where I needed to go next. I had to use the restroom at one point, so a made a circle, chirped twice, he chirped once, and I left for ten minutes… he was siting right there when I came back. He chirped with glee when I started moving again. He was with me all the way to the end. When the credits finished and it showed me his Steam name, I was OVERJOYED. I added him and waited… waited… boom, he accepted. We struck up a chat for a bit, and he sent me a ton of screenshots he took of our adventure. They looked like professional photos. I think he might have been using some external tool, but I’m not complaining. It was an unforgettable experience and I cried, and I never cry. 10/10 :::
I just played about an hour and it's so beautiful!
Primer. Like $12k budget, mostly cost of film.
Think it’s time for a rewatch thanks for the reminder
Games:
Movies (this list I had to think about for a while...):
Books:
Edit: spelling
Diving bell+butterfly was so fucking good
gris froze for me at the bird fight, uninstalled because the game was unplayable
Most indie games will end up better than pretty much every AAA title. The best games I've played in the last decade were either indie or AA.
Roboquest, Pathfinder WotR, Dyson Sphere Program, Outer Wilds, Balatro, Helldivers 2, Deep Rock Galactic, Rogue Trader, Darktide, Abiotic Factor, Rimworld, Stellaris, DV Rings of Saturn, Hardspace Shipbreaker, Voices of the Void, Expedition 33, Blue Prince, Tiny Glade, Witchfire, Instruments of Destruction, Heart of the Machine, Tainted Grail Fall of Avalon, A Webbing Journey, Planet Crafter, Kenshi, X4, Ultrakill, Schedule 1, the list goes on.
All amazing games, none of them AAA.
TUNIC
It's a good game in general, but ::: spoiler spoiler If you, as a kid, had to decipher an older sibling's notes in game manual, it hits that nostalgia right on the nose. And then turns it on its head. :::
Thomas was alone. Never have I had such strong feelings for a bunch squares and rectangles
Totally agree. Such awesome writing!
Dear Esther
Oh man. I played the original HL2 mod of that back in the day and the build I played was a bit glitchy. At various points of it, a silhouette of Esther appears in the distance to the point you're not sure if you've seen her, but on one play through, the silhouetted female NPC model didn't disappear for me and I was able to get up close to it. That was almost as eerie and profound as how the mod was supposed to be.
The original Stanley Parable was a HL2 mod around the same time as well. I liked that enough to buy the official release later. Not so for Esther.
Man from Earth.
Coherence.
Unpacking (game)
Small indie film? Dear Zachary is a documentary produced on a shoestring budget, and it is an absolutely devastating piece of art. Just thinking about the film puts a lump in my throat.
It's a roller coaster of uncontrollable tears and searing anger in equal parts. Devastating is the perfect word.
I think I went through an entire box of tissues with this one.
Before Your Eyes. I was going through some major stuff at the time and I'll associate the game with that summer forever. It has a very unique mechanic and it ties into the game really well without feeling like a gimmick. Takes about 3 hours to complete, so not a huge investment either.
Nice try, deep state.
17776, especially the start and end (you do not need to care about American football at all to enjoy this story)
SIGNALIS (indie horror game). Very good, scary, I cried. Strongly recommend.
Some of the radio puzzles are unforgettable
Applying the term "Indie" to a book feels interesting to me, because almost all books, even ones that are part of intensely popular franchises, are written by a single author - so in a sense, all books are Indy.
Of course team size is only one aspect. There's also budget and commercial involvement. But budget doesn't have to be a constraining factor for books the way it is for movies. And if you're the only person pushing the keyboard keys then you are the one with ultimate creative control.
If you are a penniless author and publish a hit and get rich, does your next book then stop being indie, even though it's still just you? Or maybe it's no longer indie because your circumstances have changed.
Many books are managed by a publisher, however. To varying degrees of control. The publisher can have significant sway in the process of writing and editorial control, depending on the contract.
I think the indie part is mostly to do with size and influence of the publishing house. As well as if the art comes first or market appeal. I think A24 in film are a good example of that question.
On further thought, I think one possible criteria may be: Was this work completed independently and then subsequently published, or did this work have a publisher prior to completion?
To your question, if the author gets big off of an indie work, then writes another, independently, which gets published again, then it's still indie. But if that author agrees a contract to write said book with the publisher before it is written, then it is no longer indie.
Basically, has the creator taken it on their own risk to make this thing and then tried to publish it later? Or did a publisher take the risk by funding it and then therefore may have some degree of control?
This post kinda implies that OP thinks the default is that blockbusters have more soul and hits people harder than indie and passion projects, which is the opposite of the truth. Art made by fewer people generally has more soul and a stronger personality which translates to feelings by the person experiencing the art. They aren't put through a grinder of corporate bullshit to not be offensive or say anything of actual value.
I think you misread me 🙂 I wasn’t implying blockbusters have more soul by default. I’m genuinely curious which indie projects hit people as strongly (or even harder) than blockbusters. Just a straightforward question.
DELTARUNE. toby's been changing my brain chemistry for 10+ years now
Chappie might be borderline, but it goes so hard emotionally for a movie that basically had no critical reception.
I couldn't get past the crappy acting. It was like watching high schoolers try to make Tarantino dialogue work
I thought a game like To The Moon would have been high up, but everyone has their own tastes.
Though, I will say, the sequel, Finding Paradise, is definitely worth it and is my choice. Even with the little bits of comedy and things that take away from the seriousness of the story, it's still an amazing story. Just as good as To The Moon, if you ask me.
Games: INSIDE, We Happy Few
Beat me to it. First thing to mind was Lake Mungo.
Honestly, all of them.
Game no one's mentioned yet: Look Outside
So good and so strange
The game I wanted to say was already said, so I'll go with a movie! The 2018 Korean film "Burning".
Ooooo rare movie! Excellent pick that nobody I know has ever seen hahaha
On a similar theme (fire), the Canadian movie “Ash” is incredible and shot at the unfortunately “perfect” time (wildfires happened just as they were filming so they didn’t have to CG them) and the movie is stellar.
Mine is music and the answer is essentially literally any Indy band that I like, I like WAY more than any mainstream artist.
but like I have several Indy bands that do different styles, so I don't know what my actual taste is.
here's my recent plays if anyone wants to tell me :)
Blood machines. It's only a half hour cgi movie. But it hits super hard for me.
It's the one with the OST from Carpenter Brut, right? I need to watch this short.
I donyeven know tbh. I stumbled across that short accidentally, and the music soundtrack slaps. The design choices is something i haven't seen before. That guy firing radioactive (?) laser which slightly corrupts the camera footage is so damn cool. And the laser just lingering around. It's these small details that makes it a real piece of art to me and i wish more science fiction movies would dare something other than "people in the future have funny hats."
It's so good. I find it wild that's it's basically a sequel to a music video.
Is the movie the sequel of Turbo Killer ?
† Carpenter Brut † TURBO KILLER † Directed by Seth Ickerman † Official Video †
Yup! That's the one.
Frisbee
What does hit hard mean? Does it have to be emotionally impactful? Is positively surprised enough?
I remember a game I played a long time ago touched me, but I can't find my review of it.
I found the VR title Surge was great, but it doesn't seem to be available in the Steam store anymore. I sat down and watched and looked around, and the music and visuals had great impact.
Game - Factorio. Literally broke my 5 year gaming fast. I've spent over 1000 hours in it.
Film - Boondock Saints. Not a fan of the gore in it, but damn is the rest of it amazing. Willem Dafoe, excellent as usual.
Book - I honestly don't know if I've read any indy books. I don't know the production status of books.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
It's an amazing punk rock musical and a kickass indie film.
I've been a pretty big fan of both Elex games from Piranha Bites.
In terms of world design, scale, etc.. It's rare that I come across a game that actually sucks me into exploring every part of the open world map like Elex and Elex 2 did.
They're also games that don't hold your hand. Enemies don't level with you. Meaning that if you wander into an area with strong enemies, that's on you. A lot of people complained about that aspect of it, saying that it leads to having to spend a lot of early game running and dodging fights. But to me, that's the entire point, finding creative ways to deal with the enemies that you're too weak to deal with.
I've lured stronger enemies into towns for the NPCs to deal with; adding just enough hits of my own to get the experience points. (added bonus of looting the corposes of the townsfolk that were killed dealing with it)
I've skipped entire minor fetch quests (like paying off a gate guard to get access to a town) by again luring an enemy to him and having it kill him because the games have very few non-killable characters.
I've spent an hour skirting along the edge of a crater riding the line between freezing by going any higher and getting one hit killed by enemies if I go any lower just to get to a hut that I spotted in the distance.
Honestly, for AA games that certainly have their flaws, there are parts of both that blow the modern Bethesda games out of the water.
I just finished ViewFinder. It's peaceful, surreal, beautiful, and poignant. Highly recommended if you like puzzle games. The end hits you in the feels.
Adastra.
I'm still infatuated with that dumb wolf. 😩
A couple of games from recent years: Chants of Sennaar (linguistic puzzles and incredible vibes) and 1000xResist (this game had something many big game devs seemingly have completely forgotten about, specifically, writing).
Harveys neue Augen, Edna bricht aus
A game released in 2008 called Iji. At first glance, it seems like a simple platformer, but think again. It's an amazing blend of platforming and RPG mechanics. The game reacts to the decisions you make resulting in multiple endings.