Notch: Mojang No Longer "Indie"

[Atmos Duality]

Yeah....I'm pretty sure when we talk "Indie" we're talking "Self-funded/without a major investor/backer/Publisher".

So unless he's found some new investors or gone public, his "Indie-status" (and "indie-cred") is still firmly intact.

But has been stated earlier, Valve and some other very large companies fulfill these criteria. I think the 'indie-cred' and connotations games like Terraria and The Binding Of Isacc have is different than, say, Half Life.

There is something to say about interpretation.
I'm going by the logic of "self-publishing", which basically equates to having more control over your company's own destiny, ie, "being independent".

If your company is owned or contracted by a Publisher, you're more or less at their mercy.

 

[Android2137]

Mojang is no longer indie? All right people, let's start whining about how Notch sold out and make post-modern ironic jokes.

 

[veloper]

If Mojang ever grow to have multiple design teams, where the lead designer is nolonger Notch, that's where I'd draw the line.
The lead designers wouldn't be independent anymore, so the games wouldn't be indie either and with that, the whole game company.

For now, just the money without the ties, only makes being indie easier I say.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

I've always wondered what most people considered 'indie.' Is it mainly working without some financial backing, without a publisher, or is it just being 'a small group working on something.'

Either way, I suppose it doesn't matter in the end. The way Notch seems to define means that he isn't indie anymore, which... oh well. Being 'indie' does make a difference as long as the game is good.

I've always used the term to describe devs without a publisher. So I've always thought of Valve as indie. So really it doesn't make all that much of a difference.

That's why I've wondered that, as people seem to think of indie as different things. Also, for Valve, I wouldn't say they're indie. I would say that they're more their own publisher then anything, given they actually own one of the major platforms they release their games on. Of course, if a publisher makes their own game, does that make them indie? After all, they aren't getting any backing (presumablly) from outside sources, so...

That has always been what I thought, yes. A lot of people seem to use it to describe the culture of the developer, but for me it's purely a business descriptor.

 

[Akisa]

I associate the term indie with a developer that has no publisher or shareholders to answer to, thus allowing them the freedom to make what they want how they want(within their own means). If Mojang ever wants to make a game but doesn't because it's too much of a financial risk, then they will not really be indie any more IMO.

So Valve is an indie?

 

[samsonguy920]

Not sure what Notch's approach to saying this is. These days being called Indie garners you a lot more respect than if you came from the big titles. As some have pointed out, the title Indie is still deserved since Mojang still self-publishes and doesn't answer to an over-inflated corporation that starts with the letters A, E, T, U, or Z.
I hope is approach is to remind other indie devs that there is still plenty of pie left for them, and they don't need to feel Mojang is there to loom over them.

I'm surprised the conversations gotten this far without someone hating Notch.

Seriously, a burning hatred for Notch seems to be the new thing all the cool kids must have

You should read the forum a little more thoroughly then. Dig your avatar, btw.

Considering the update schedule that Minecraft recieves I'd be hard pressed to even call them a game company anymore.

As compared to who? Mojang's actually been more diligent with their updates than most other developers. Far as I am concerned, 1.1 is above and beyond considering that Notch stated multiple times that they were going to take a big break from the game when Release came out. And now we already have another update coming with big additions. So I have to wonder, just what standard are you comparing Mojang's update release schedule to? Valve? They are an example of too much updating on one title, Left4Dead 2, and nothing to others. Even TF2 seems to be feeling dry on attention, lately. If L4D2 was a steak I wouldn't even feed it to my dog by now.

Every since the whole Notch vs Yogcast thing I can't help reading Notch's comments is a really pompous voice.

You do know they had their talk and moved on from that. Maybe it is about time you did, too.

Actually, he said he would charge for DLC from near the beginning, so you're just being cynical for the sake of being cynical.

Actually, that was never set in stone or said in the affirmative. It was always stated that those who purchased the game after it went Beta might be charged for updates after Release.

If Mojang ever grow to have multiple design teams, where the lead designer is nolonger Notch, that's where I'd draw the line.
The lead designers wouldn't be independent anymore, so the games wouldn't be indie either and with that, the whole game company.

For now, just the money without the ties, only makes being indie easier I say.

Consider the line drawn then. Minecraft is solely under the administration of Jeb(Jens) and Jon, while other parts of the company are working on Cobalt, Scrolls(I can still call it that!), and the ports of Minecraft, as well as a third party game that has yet to be named(maybe it has and I just missed it, haven't been keeping up on Notch's blogs for a while now.).

 

[Grey Day for Elcia]

Doesn't seem like news to me.

 

[Scars Unseen]

I associate the term indie with a developer that has no publisher or shareholders to answer to, thus allowing them the freedom to make what they want how they want(within their own means). If Mojang ever wants to make a game but doesn't because it's too much of a financial risk, then they will not really be indie any more IMO.

So Valve is an indie?

Valve's a weird case. They are independent, yes. Given the type of games they make(and budget they work with), one would think that they would have to take financial risk into account, thus keeping them from being truly "indie". But that's all meaningless due to their somewhat successful side business [http://store.steampowered.com/]. And with that as a source of revenue to fall back on, they could make a game called My Little Pony's Shop of Horrors if they wanted to. Even if the only people that bought it were MLP fans(and possibly people that would like to see the MLP cast get eaten by zombies and carnivorous plants), Valve would still be okay, financially.

So basically yes. Also no.