Poll: Do you prefer mainstream or Indie games?

Drathnoxis

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How is it that indie games aren't winning?? Has everyone forgotten about the never ending fountain of top quality games that was Xbox Live Indie Games? With classic hits like Cassie's Animal Sounds, North Pole Zombie Massacre, and all the dual joystick zombie shooters anybody could ask for it's clear that XBLIG is the ultimate gaming platform!
 

Bat Vader

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I prefer both. Sometimes I want to play games like The Witcher III, Dragon Age: Origins, Mass Effect, Call of Duty, Hitman, GTA V, etc. Sometimes I want to play games like Crusader Kings II, Mount and Blade: Warband, The Cat Lady, The Banner Saga, etc.
 

Rozalia1

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... Where is that middleground option? I enjoy games that wouldn't exactly be classed as Mainstream or Indie. Poll is worthless as a result.
 

Xerosch

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Chester Rabbit said:
I just like video games. I don't care if they come from an independent developer or a big money spending publisher. As long as I enjoy it. Doesn't matter to me.
Yeah, I feel the same way. In the past years I found that it's much easier for me to enjoy my hobby, if I just stay away from negative gamers who write their toxic opinion all over the Internet. As long as I'm entertained by whatever happens on screen, I consider the game a success.

Also, I'm having some trouble figuring out which game belongs on which side of the spectrum. The OP states that it's defined by the kind of studio, but I think I often confuse indie with niche.
 

jklinders

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Neither option has a monopoly on what I like. I enjoyed the HEll out of Space Pirates and Zombies, a game made by 2 people and I got for .99.

I've payed pretty good money for a mainstream game and gotten burned. Thing is, the overwhelming majority of the time I look at an indie game as say to myself, "aint no way I am paying real money on purpose for that shit." I say that about mainstream games too but in those cases I can at least see where the money is going.
 

Fox12

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I'll like anything that's good, but if I made a list of my top 20 games, all of them would probably be AA or AAA titles.
 

Nazulu

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If I was going to make a top 50 games list, 99% of it would be filled with big name titles from popular AAA developers.

I don't really separate them though. If a game is good, it's good. I have no problem calling games with amazing graphics average or crap when it doesn't do something interesting, while calling a 2D game the greatest when it actually does something special. Super Metroid still mops the floor with all the current big name titles, except The Witcher 3.
 

maninahat

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I like mainstream games for the polish and better spectacle. I like indie games more because they tend to try more different things. So neither one over the other, really.
 

SmallHatLogan

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Uh, both? My games of the year last year were Dark Souls 2 and The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth. If a game is good it's good.
 

DerangedHobo

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Both are peppered with garbage tactics at this point, indie just took a bit longer to catch up to their AAA counterparts. According to my game time though, I'd say that I play more "mainstream" games.
 

TomWiley

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Honestly, it's really hard to answer that question simply because the line between what one might call an indie-game and traditionally funded "mainstream" games is becoming increasingly blurred to the point that the distinction becomes practically pointless.


The games I play the most are definitely mainstream titles and for me to want to try an indie game from a smaller, unknown studios usually requires quite a bit of critical acclaim.

On the other hand, some of the most profound and touching experiences I've ever had with gaming have come from indie games. If not most. Journey. Gone Home. Dear Esther. Brothers. Ori. Valiant Hearts. Not to mention games like Amnesia and Hotline Miami. But how many of these games are actually indie? Many of them were founded by larger distributors and even have exclusivity deals and several years of development. Again, the line has been blurred.

Ultimately, the only thing that matters is whether or not I've enjoyed the experience I suppose.
 

CaitSeith

Formely Gone Gonzo
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I prefer good games. Whatever they are mainstream or indie is practically irrelevant.
 

Tanis

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D) 'Whatever is good'.

I don't care WHO makes it, as long as I LIKE it.
 

Morgoth780

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I play a lot of AAA games, and a sizeable number of indie games.

There are a lot of indie that I absolutely love to death, but they usually don't seem to have the longevity of AAA games I play. And I'm ok with that - I'm a competitive gamer, and although I really like rogue lites such as FTL, Ascendant, Hand of Fate, Binding of Isaac, etc., I eventually do enough runs to the point where I don't feel motivated to play any more.
 

Dreiko_v1legacy

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Actually, neither. Yes, there is a third option.

Niche games by non-indie publishers. Specifically, Japanese games which are not mainstream in this country but could not be called indie since they indeed are published by a company and have generally higher budgets than most indie games but which still are not mainstream in the US.
 

Neurotic Void Melody

Bound to escape
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Jul 15, 2013
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I'd say the same as if asked about films, music and art. Well, probably not music so much since they got their fingers in the indie sounding pies too now.
It depends oh so very much on a case by case basis. I look for escape and whatever gives me that in succulent dose, I take.
As others have said and will continue to do so like some strangely thin, long, digitised forum-cave echo; the line between the two is becoming harder to make out. Now I just base what a triple a game is by looking at the negativity surrounding it pre-release (or by seeing if it has a pre-order option).
 

Demonjazz

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Sep 13, 2008
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Indie... Why? Because it's usually cheaper, and due to being retro minded most of their games can play on my PC. There's nothing really else too it. I'd actually prefer to play newer games a lot of times, but it's just too expensive for me most of the time... Because I'm REALLY cheap.
 

ArcaneGamer

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thejboy88 said:
Title says it all. If you had to say which kind of game you prefer playing, mainstream titles or those made by Indie developers, which would it be?
What about both? They can coexist.
 

Chester Rabbit

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Xerosch said:
Chester Rabbit said:
I just like video games. I don't care if they come from an independent developer or a big money spending publisher. As long as I enjoy it. Doesn't matter to me.
Yeah, I feel the same way. In the past years I found that it's much easier for me to enjoy my hobby, if I just stay away from negative gamers who write their toxic opinion all over the Internet. As long as I'm entertained by whatever happens on screen, I consider the game a success.
I'm not sure if you are mocking me...or if I should be saying "Get out of my brain"...