Aspects of Independent Game Production
- 12 November 2018
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) in Computers in Entertainment
- Vol. 16 (4), 1-16
- https://doi.org/10.1145/3276322
Abstract
Recent years have witnessed independent game production rise to a prominent position in the digital game industry. Be it by the fresh, innovative take it brought to the scene or by its rebellious attitude towards what is perceived as mainstream, the term "indie game" has become somewhat of a buzzword. The following study displays a series of findings of research fieldwork aiming to advance the study of indie game development by investigating organizational and managerial practices commonly adopted by these developers. Relying on semi-structured interviews conducted with lead developers of seven Brazilian indie game firms, the connections, similarities, and differences among these developers' firm structure and project management practices and those of the larger game industry is explored, utilizing the lenses of scope, organization, time, cost, and quality management as a starting point. Given the growing and significant relevance of the game industry as a whole, this empirical study offers pragmatic data on the still-niche research topic of indie games.Keywords
This publication has 39 references indexed in Scilit:
- Paradigm shifts in the video game industryCompetitiveness Review, 2010
- The Independent Production of Culture: A Digital Games Case StudyGames and Culture, 2009
- Opening up to agile games developmentCommunications of the ACM, 2008
- The mod industries? The industrial logic of non-market game productionEuropean Journal of Cultural Studies, 2008
- Technological, Content, and Market Convergence in the Games IndustryGames and Culture, 2008
- Playing across the playground: paradoxes of knowledge creation in the videogame firmJournal of Organizational Behavior, 2007
- From conception to consumption: creativity and the missing managerial linkJournal of Organizational Behavior, 2007
- Management of Creativity in Video Game DevelopmentServices Marketing Quarterly, 2006
- Challenges of open innovation: the paradox of firm investment in open-source softwareR&D Management, 2006
- Commentary – The value and importance of the small firm to the world economyEuropean Journal of Marketing, 2000