I was in Los Angeles for The Game Awards last month where I was able to witness a true David-and-Goliath moment — Balatro, a game created by a single developer, was up for game of the year honors against giants Black Myth: Wukong, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, Metaphor ReFantazio and Astro Bot.
While the “David” in this situation failed to emerge victorious — top prize went to Team Asobie’s Astro Bot — it still picked up three awards for best independent game, debut indie and mobile game. It was an impressive haul that had most of my friends, peers and colleagues going so far as to declare 2024 as “the year of the indies.”
Still, ask 10 gamers what “indie” means and you’ll get 10 different answers. In 2023, Dave the Diver somehow managed to fish out a nomination in the independent game category despite being backed by Nexon, a publicly traded company with offices in Japan, South Korea, China and the United States. Is “indie-ness” measured by the size of your team, or a lack of external funding and publisher? Some might argue that it’s all of the above, while others might shrug and say, “It’s just pure vibes, man.”