Interviews

JA – Is there a sense of comraderie amongst you guys?  Do you touch base with each other from time to time, give each other advice, encouragement, or assistance?

Steve Ince -Unfortunately, I have little contact with other developers on a regular basis, mostly through lack of time, which is a shame as I enjoy discussing ideas with other creative people.  I certainly wouldn’t presume to give advice or assistance unless it was asked of me.

Jonathan
Boakes – No, not really. I haven’t chatted with
developers for a while. Oh! Actually, that’s not true.
I do chat to developers. I’m often swapping emails with Agustin about
skin care, and Matt Clark of Barrow
Hill is always trying to persuade me to take more
interest in ancient pagan rituals, and poisonous flora. He’s
that kind of guy. I’ve also kept in touch with Knut (of the Rhem games),
as he helped me convert Dark Fall: The Journal to
a fully functioning Mac version (coming soon from TAC!). 

Britney
Brimhall – Definitely.  When
we were first working on the Sierra remakes,
we felt lucky to receive a lot of support and assistance from
previous Sierra employees.  We also answer
questions and provide encouragement to developers who contact
us.  Journalists and developers alike have been very supportive,
offering advice along the way.  We’re in this together
and all want to release games people are going to enjoy.

Tamás
Marosi Z. (Pierrot) –
I don’t think it’s really characteristic of us, although there
has been some correspondence with other independent developers. Here
in Hungary, we are quite far from the epicentre, in addition our situation
is rather unique with this, so far only downloadable, episodic game,
so maybe this is not an accident why this is so… But I am sure
there would be need for some mutual assistance, idea, relationship
etc.

Mikael & Eleen Nyqvist – We’ve had contact with some of the other independent game makers, but not prior to the release of our first game. It’s never been about the game making process itself, however, but mainly mutual feedback on the finished games. 

Matt
Clark – I talk to, and work with, a few other Independent
Developers. Jonathan Boakes is
great for support, and exchanging ideas, but I’ve had to add him
to my SPAM list. He does go on, and on, and on! 

Cos Russo – I got some valuable advice from Knut Mueller.
  

Agustin Cordes & Alejandro Graziani – Yes, certainly. There always are happy thoughts crossing the internet and reaching each other, creating a tangle of what we like to call “Indie Force”. I regularly hug my computer, knowing there’s another indie somewhere else doing it for me. At least that’s what they told me.

Anyway,
based on my experience, I definitely feel there’s a sense of comradery
and support. Chances are that any independent developer out there
will help another out of interest, other than wish the best for
everyone. We ourselves have been known to share resources for a
very fair price: your soul.

I think the whole independent community has been bursting into activity lately and I foresee a great future. These fine group of developers could be the ones carrying the torch of the adventure genre in a few years.

Chris
Brendel – I
keep in touch with a few people in the community, though – overall
– I
suppose I am a bit of a loner, albeit not intentionally.  I still
consider myself new in the developer crowd and haven’t yet
had the chance to meet everyone I would like. 

Bryan
Wiegele – While
I think the ‘walls’ are a little lower among smaller
developers I don’t think they’re completely gone.
There’s definitely friendly communication and exchanges
among developers but I think in general we’re all so busy
in our own projects that finding the time to communicate regularly
falls to the wayside.

Gey & Silvio Savarese – We live 10,000 miles apart. Gey lives in Italy and Silvio lives in the U.S. But we talk almost every day and we exchange an amazing number of e-mails every week. We try to decide most of the things by e-mail. We discuss over the phone the most important and difficult matters. Once every 4-6 months we meet and we review the work done so far and brainstorm about the future one. 

Michael
Clark – I
do feel a sense of comradery with other game makers.  We
are all in the same boat together.  I’ve
worked with Chris Brendel several times, and thoroughly enjoyed
the experience.  I’ve learned a lot from Chris, and hopefully,
along the way, I’ve been able to teach him a thing or two. The Adventuremaker
program we’ve used to make our games has an excellent forum
where game developers can share ideas and learn from each other. It’s
a wonderfully enriching environment. 

Knut Mueller – I’m glad and grateful to know some of the other Independent Developers. Sometimes we exchange questions and answers. I enjoy their creations.
 

Keith Nemitz -The Indie Gamer Forum has brought together a
professional, mutually supportive community. We really respect our need for each
other. It’s a great group!