ABSTRACT
Independent Videogames investigates the social and cultural implications of contemporary forms of independent video game development. Through a series of case studies and theoretical investigations, it evaluates the significance of such a multi-faceted phenomenon within video game and digital cultures.
A diverse team of scholars highlight the specificities of independence within the industry and the culture of digital gaming through case studies and theoretical questions. The chapters focus on labor, gender, distribution models and technologies of production to map the current state of research on independent game development. The authors also identify how the boundaries of independence are becoming opaque in the contemporary game industry – often at the cost of the claims of autonomy, freedom and emancipation that underlie the indie scene. The book ultimately imagines new and better narratives for a less exploitative and more inclusive videogame industry.
Systematically mapping the current directions of a phenomenon that is becoming increasingly difficult to define and limit, this book will be a crucial resource for scholars and students of game studies, media history, media industries and independent gaming.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part I|48 pages
Cultures
chapter 3|15 pages
Queering indie
chapter 4|17 pages
Virtually indie
part II|35 pages
Networks
part III|49 pages
Techniques
chapter 7|16 pages
The conditions of videogame production
chapter 8|19 pages
Boutique indie
part IV|30 pages
Politics
chapter 11|16 pages
Playing with risk
part V|86 pages
Local indie game studies