Documentary, 2012
Directed by James Swirsky, Lisanne Pajot
Starring
Edmund McMillen
Tommy Refenes
Phil Fish
Jonathan Blow
"If this fails, I'm done, like, I don't think I'll work in games again. And its not just the game, I'm just so closely attached to it, its me, its my ego, my perception of myself, is at risk. This is my identity... I would kill myself. I am dead- I would kill myself. That's like my incentive to finish it, is that I get to not kill myself." - Phil Fish
Documentaries have a strange power that many other kinds of
films do not. They have the power to teach and inspire because the stories are
completely real. Indie Game: The Movie
is one of those rare inspirational documentaries about guys who create video games.
Not just games, but indie games. For those who don’t know, most big release
franchise games such as Halo, Call of Duty, or Grand Theft Auto cost millions to make and hundreds of programmers
and designers. Indie games on the other hand, are usually designed by a couple
of guys on the shoe-stringiest of budgets who are in it for their love of video
games.
The movie follows three highly successful (critically and
commercially) indie games: Super Meat
Boy, Braid, and Fez. While Braid has been out since 2008, the film follows the development of Super Meat Boy and Fez while using Braid to provide much needed perspective. The movie follows the anxieties on the development and eventual release of the games in question.
While Tommy and Edmund, the developers of Super Meat Boy, are still very interesting characters, their story isn't in comparison to Phil Fish, the developer of Fez. The film, if you ask me, is more of Fish's descent into madness as he puts his heart and soul into the game than anything else. Fish has a lot riding on this game; four years of development and anticipation is actually fairly high. While the game has already been released (after the film) and has done quite well, it's interesting to see the stages of incredible grief and anxiety that Fish goes through.
Indie Game: The Movie isn't really for everyone. Despite being very well made, it probably isn't very entertaining for non-gamers. As someone who has enjoyed these games myself, I find this to be very insightful. Even anyone who just enjoys games as a whole, indie or big release games, should watch this movie.
Too Long Didn't Read: A well made documentary that gamers will enjoy.
Score - 9.5/10
While Tommy and Edmund, the developers of Super Meat Boy, are still very interesting characters, their story isn't in comparison to Phil Fish, the developer of Fez. The film, if you ask me, is more of Fish's descent into madness as he puts his heart and soul into the game than anything else. Fish has a lot riding on this game; four years of development and anticipation is actually fairly high. While the game has already been released (after the film) and has done quite well, it's interesting to see the stages of incredible grief and anxiety that Fish goes through.
Indie Game: The Movie isn't really for everyone. Despite being very well made, it probably isn't very entertaining for non-gamers. As someone who has enjoyed these games myself, I find this to be very insightful. Even anyone who just enjoys games as a whole, indie or big release games, should watch this movie.
Too Long Didn't Read: A well made documentary that gamers will enjoy.
Score - 9.5/10
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