We just got back from A MAZE Indie Connect festival in Berlin. On the way back to Prague still with a little hangover from yesterdays great party we discussed our impressions. Thorsten S. Wiedemann, the main organizer, asked us for any ideas and toughs about the festival which was a good kickoff for a deeper reflection. So here is some food for thought, Thorsten.
Manifest: “Indie games success"
The festival should mainly present success stories. How to achieve excellence in creativity, art, sound… What led authors to breakthrough ideas and even business success (because indie doesn’t necessary mean for free or just for fun). This is much more important then some academical talks about culture and geeky sound design for only a couple of interested guys.
Form: Best practices
Learning by example is much more effective then general speeches. Speakers should be specific, show a lot of tips, how to’s, discuss their personal approach, etc. This also stimulates Q&A’s and networking.
Goal: indie games influence mainstream
From our point of view, indie games should influence mainstream. Same as in the movie and theater industry where independent authors and teams do niche stuff which is adopted by the mainstream the next season. Look around: AAA titles are mostly franchises and only rarely we can see something exceptional and truly innovative. On the other hand there are hundreds of amazing unique games coming from the indie community which can publish them on App Store or Google Play. We have to push the mainstream further!
Topics
The festival should have three main pillars covering all areas leading to success:
1. Breakthrough concepts
2. Visual and sound esthetics
3. Marketing&Communication
The thing with this concept is that it can attract both "art indies” who create games just for fun or as a form of personal expression and “business indies” who want to make games for living. Because we all want to create fun and enjoyable games, don’t we? We would be very glad for any comments, ideas or improvements. If you have any please let us know at twitter @Flow_Studio or email weare@flowstudiogames.com.
More about AMAZE IndieConnect.
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