A) Choose one of the indie designers / developers and outline why there work and approach is of interest to you.
(Offworld Industries, n.d.)
The indie development team that stands out to me largely is Offworld Industries. This 22-strong team began from one founder, a continuation on the much older Battlefield 2 Mod ‘Project Reality’. Offworld Industries’ current project is called Squad, a first-person shooter ‘FPS’ aiming to take multiplayer to the next level of realism. Throwing 50 vs 50 players into a scenario with; highly realistic sound effects, control systems and team communications to work as closely to modern day military combat. Now with all this in mind, the original team of modders have realised that there is an audience out there, enjoying the fantasy of combat realism in video games. Their approach to building Squad is purely natural because of the spirit they work with from the beginning with Project Reality.
It’s in taking the basis of a AAA title and deciding it’s not what ‘we’ want or not what it should be is what I find so intriguing. If the tools and skills are there, inspiration from a game can lead to more intricate and more detailed versions. Furthermore, the team have even released their own modding development kit, encouraging the community to continue the development of ideas around the tactical FPS genre. “Squad currently had a mod-friendly SDK….ready for modders to get their hands on and develop their ideas on Squad’s code and asset base.” (Offworld Industries , 2017). I enjoy watching the development of Squad because Offworld know where they came from and make sure to listen to the community, asking how to improve and what to add next.
(Offworld Industries, 2015)
> B) What do you think could be the most exciting indie projects that are in development
For me, continuing with Offworld Industries’ Squad would be most appropriate. Even though a military simulation game is the type of game that I am personally into, it is a game that is using the Unreal Engine 4 game engine to develop and test the modern boundaries of gaming technology. The fact that; 50 players can face another 50 players, separated into combat style squads, using military based communication systems to talk through a chain of command, is pushing the FPS shooter genre into newer boundaries.
(Squad Ops, 2017)
Because of the Early Access possibilities which digital gaming now provides, the gaming community supporting the developments can play and test the game during its Alpha and Beta stages in development. What is so exciting about this project is that it has such an impact on its fan base with such a thinned-out game already.Communities such as Squad Ops. This community is run by gamers for avid gamers who want immersive, tactical teamwork, (Squad Ops, 2017) creating an even more realistic gaming experience over the already focused indie game that is Squad.
These aspects, including the previous question’s make this game a very ambitious, yet impressive indie project. Even though it has a moderate size team, it is still indie; they want to create a game which is for them and the like-minded players willing to help fund and test through development. (Squad Ops, 2017)
References
http://joinsquad.com/about
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/offworldindustries/squad
https://press.joinsquad.com/#factsheet
https://squad.gamepedia.com/Squad_Wiki
https://squadops.gg/about https://squadops.gg/
http://www.pcgamer.com/50-vs-50-military-fps-squad-heads-to-early-access-next-month/
Bibliography
Industries, O., 2015. Squad – Communicate. Coordinate. Conquer. [Online] Available at: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/offworldindustries/squad [Accessed 26 10 2017].
Offworld Industries , 2017. Description. [Online] Available at: https://press.joinsquad.com/sheet.php?p=squad [Accessed 26 10 2017].
Offworld Industries, 2015. Squad – Communicate. Coordinate. Conquer. [Online] Available at: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/offworldindustries/squad [Accessed 26 10 2017].
Offworld Industries, n.d. Logo. [Online] Available at: https://press.joinsquad.com/squad/images/logo.png [Accessed 26 10 2017].
Squad Ops, 2017. [Online] Available at: https://squadops.gg/ [Accessed 26 10 2017].
Squad Ops, 2017. About Squad Ops. [Online] Available at: https://squadops.gg/about [Accessed 26 10 2017].