This past Wednesday, we were presented with an Indie World Showcase livestream. It was jam-packed with approximately 20 minutes of content, and boy did I walk away with a handful of games to look forward to this year and beyond!
It’s no news that indie games have taken the gaming community by storm by providing us with refreshing content that seems to satisfy a thirst that’s hard to quench. The last Indie World Showcase was on 12.15.20, so it’s safe to say that Nintendo continues to support their fans by providing them with innovative and creative works of lesser known developers.
Did you think it was a home-run or a disappointing dud?
Firstly, I’d like to address the modality of these announcements (e.g. directs). In an increasingly digital and mobile world, players are primed to consume faster and demand more. Toss in some pandemic action as well, and we see the value of bite-sized announcements that can be streamed anywhere. Then, there’s the niche effect.
This wasn’t a Nintendo Direct. It was an Indie World Showcase. These smaller titles get more visibility and grants them an opportunity to grow. Granted, some love to nit-pick what it means to be an “indie game”. If you Google search the definition, you’ll find:
An independent video game or indie game is a video game typically created by individuals or smaller development teams without the financial and technical support of a large game publisher, in contrast to most “AAA” (triple-A) games.
–Wikipedia
That covers a broad spectrum of developers, and yet it garners so much love from gamers of all kinds.
Lastly, let’s take a look at the presentation itself. Twenty-one titles were shown, from 2-D runners to story-driven games. The variety of art styles and gameplay proves that there is something for everybody. And of course, they included ground-breaking content such as additional information of the new Ninja Turtles game– Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, two new games from the beloved Annapurna Interactive studio, and the surprise Oxenfree sequel at the end.
To me, this Indie World Showcase knocked it out of the park! I am very excited for indie games for 2021 and beyond. Of course, there are many people out there who hold certain expectations during these presentations. Maybe they are expecting a certain title or update and are let down when they don’t see it.
What do you think? Did the April 14th Indie World Showcase get you all hyped or not? If you are, what do you think made it the most successful?
If you haven’t seen it already, check it out and let us know what you think!
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