This year has seen some of the most anticipated titles in the indie game industry, such as Animal Well, Clown and Nine Days. In particular, "Clown" has not only won wide acclaim from players, but also won the TGA Best of the Year nomination and the Best Indie Game of the Year awards. The game's producer also said publicly that he achieved financial freedom through this work, which is undoubtedly the best reward for his hard work. However, just as there must be shadows behind the sun, it is inevitable that the indie game industry will encounter some challenges and dilemmas as it booms. For now, the indie game industry is still struggling to get rid of the shackles of the "28 rule", with a few successful titles accounting for the vast majority of the market, while most of them are facing the fate of obscurity or even failure. Overall, the outlook for the indie game industry is not entirely optimistic. The recent closure of indie studios such as Black Flag and Studio Thunderhorse for a variety of reasons is a wake-up call for the industry. In this context, foreign media GamesIndustry.biz recently had in-depth exchanges with some indie developers to discuss the most pressing issues facing the indie game industry in the current market. These issues include, but are not limited to: how to increase the exposure of the game, how to get more financial support, how to deal with the fierce market competition, etc., which the matrix compiles.
There are so many options for players that it's even harder to play alone

First and foremost, of course, is the difficulty of obtaining funding. Aurélien Condomines, co-founder of Humble Reeds, the developer of Camaro: The Frog Paradise, points out that the fierce competition in the market makes everything challenging.

"There is a problem with the products offered in the market, and there is also a problem with the pricing, because a lot of developers are ready to sell their games at a low price," he explained. "When you combine this with the question just now, there's a real price war, in the long run...... Or it's happening right now – studios are closed and people can't make a living from game development. ”

Finji CEO Rebekah Saltsman agrees, adding that there are pressures from long development cycles; The team is small and also needs to make sure that they can complete the task without "burning themselves"; And in front of an "astronomical" budget, everything looks useless. "We have to make enough money from the project and then look for outside funding or publishers, which is often a stressful and fantastical process. In the past, we also had quite a history of successful fundraising for our own studio. Now, everybody in the studio is [feeling] the toughness — whether it's looking for a $100,000 or $10 million investment. "Another problem for Finji (and many other indie developers) is with third-party engines like Unity, because as development cycles become longer and longer, it becomes difficult to keep up with the pace of technology iteration." These engines are like a moving target, but because the game takes so long, you think you've set everything up, but the underlying logic of the engine moves a little bit," she noted. "The quality of your graphics has to be improved at launch, because it takes you two to five years to complete the game, especially when you set up the project." Another challenge is the creative process itself. Every game has a story to tell, and it has to start somewhere. For Luc Baghadoust, Studio Executive Producer at Don't Nod Montréal, the process is a major challenge for any studio. (Strictly speaking, Don't Nod is no longer an indie studio.) It's also worth noting that this interview took place ahead of the Cologne show, when Don't Nod had not yet announced plans for layoffs. "You can't say that your original design was necessarily right," Baghadoust said. "Iteration is key, and technology is always changing." The hardest part is making sure we can leave room for ideas and don't procrastinate or [go over] budget. "It's easy to have a consistent idea, but it's not really easy to get your game out there and get people to pay attention to it. Exposure is a concern for all developers. Mélanie Christin, co-founder of Humble Reeds, said it was very difficult to make a splash in "so many good games", both on digital distribution platforms and at events like Cologne. "It's really hard to stand out and get your game seen by the right players," Christin said. "Some people will be interested in your game, but they just won't be able to reach it because there are so many other good games around. It may seem like it comes down to a marketing issue, but even in marketing, things change so quickly that it's hard to know how to reach your audience. Condomines added: "Players have so many options. Even as a player, you have so many options that in the end you don't know what to choose, so you keep playing the old games from before. Christin responds to this sentiment, especially when deciding between a new game and an old favorite. For old games, you spend a lifetime accumulating. Half of the game time is occupied by service-based games or old games. It's hard for new games to stand out and show them to people who will love them. "New games are lost in a sea of titles, and players are wandering between the current hits and old classics, especially on platforms like Steam, and as Alison Czarnietzki, CEO of Only By Midnight, the developer of Ctrl.alt.DEAL, mentioned, there is a dizzying array of options." When you look at Steam data, there are millions of people logged in and always playing those 16 games like Call of Duty. If you remove the top products and look at the number of people playing indie games alone, you will find that this number is pitifully small. And then all these indie games are vying for exposure. For example, new features on Steam, like coming soon, only last a few hours. It's one thing to develop a game, but it's another thing to market it. "A lot of good games disappear in silence".

So, what can the gaming industry do to support indie developers, Czarnietzki highlighted how events like Cologne and its indie pavilion, the Indie Arena Booth, can be one of the ways people can focus on solo play. "Everything here is the fruit of their labor. There's real artistry on display here – I'd say more innovation than you'd see in the triple-A space. But we're all trying to catch the eye. So when I see events like this celebrating indie projects, I think [the industry] needs to focus on these cool ideas. Condomines feels a similar way, adding that these concerns are particularly important for indie games in the release phase. We're all trying to make our games stand out. Games may have a long lifespan, but the time you really get noticed is really when it's just released. There used to be a lot of good games that disappeared in silence. "In addition to visibility, the industry can also support indie development by taking care of the next generation of developers. For Finji's Saltsman, this comes in the form of mentorship and mentorship. "For those who are reluctant to lend a hand, there has to be a serious knock," she said. "If we can free up our hands to pull the people behind us, that's the only way for our industry to grow, to keep improving, and to create cooler products. This heavy responsibility is on the shoulders of those of us who are already busy, and at the moment we may still have families and children to take care of, and at the same time, we are involved in countless directions. "We can't just let the people behind us push us, we have to take the initiative to give them a hand, find mentors, give feedback, and help projects that already have funding and teams. They'll be able to make a game, but maybe just a mentor to show them what that means. "It's a successful model for indie developers, but we need to keep it that way, and we need to make it accessible to the entire industry, not just in the indie world." "Indie developers have historically done pretty well. But for now, I'd like to extend an invitation to everyone, whether you're in the offline or online community, to help mentor newcomers whenever you have time. It's not about telling people what to do, it's about standing by their side and giving fair feedback and support. "Truth be told, most games make money with a little extra help, like from the platform or the publisher. Although not every game can be a big hit, many games can be profitable, even if it doesn't make much, that's money! That's how we survive. "So, we have to keep making games, and as long as we can make a little money, we can keep the studio running." We can continue to do this because that's our mission and our responsibility. If I quit, I'd probably choose to retire and do something else — honestly, it's easier to do anything than that. ”

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