ABSTRACT
This article argues that the notion of “indie” in indie games is a specific and limited cultural construct – one that can be made visible and radically destabilized when considered alongside the experiences of LGBTQ (queer)-independent game makers. Rather than being a distinct category of videogames or game production, indie is best understood as an imaginary: a set of dominant narratives about what independent games are, who develops them and how, and what makes these games meaningful. Here, I draw from a series of interviews with contributors to what I refer to as the “queer games avant-garde”, a vast and broad contemporary network of queer and transgender-independent game developers, to demonstrate how these dominant narratives fail to account for significant portions of indie game-making. The experiences of the queer and trans game makers interviewed also reveal how queer indie game-making, as a broader artistic and subcultural practice, resists and reimagines the problematic ideological underpinnings of “indie”. It brings into question the very identity of indie games, challenging notions of authenticity, diversity, and even independence. It also offers alternative, queerer, and more socially just visions of what independent games might become.
