Becoming Indie

Weapon of Choice creator Nathan Fouts left mega-studio Insomniac to make games on his own terms. But is it worth the trouble? And will anyone follow his lead?
2/2/2009 7:30 PM | 0 Comments | Page 1 of 4

The historic Mezzanine bar in downtown San Francisco drips trendsetting cool from every inch of its rustic warehouse interior. Hosted in the cavernous space are concerts, video shoots, fashion shows, art exhibits and film screenings. In the past, musical acts like LCD Soundsystem, M.I.A. and Grizzly Bear have pumped the room full of noise. But tonight, the indie artists schmoozing with journalists are videogame developers. Microsoft has rented out Mezzanine for its XNA Community Games launch party and flown in some of the channel's star talents.

Because AAA blockbuster games currently require the combined effort of hundreds of programmers, artists and animators, it's easy to forget that the industry's early hit games could be developed by a single dude working feverishly away in his bedroom or garage. But individuals haven't stopped making games. Some have even abandoned lucrative jobs at major studios to work on their own indie projects.

"You feel like crap," says Nathan Fouts, who left Insomniac Games to begin working on his indie debut, Weapon of Choice. "You're leaving people that relied on you."

The news that Fouts would be leaving Insomniac Games blindsided many of his friends at work. But he had been planning his departure from the world of AAA game development for some time. He'd already logged a decade in the industry, working what he refers to as "retarded hours." While employed at various studios, he'd tried to make games on his own after work, but found that he didn't have enough fuel left in his tank after burning it dry each day in the office.

While Fouts was still at Insomniac, he and his wife Amy saved for two solid years, socking away every bit of extra cash that came through the door. Once the Insomniac job drew to a close, the couple moved back to Indiana -- Fouts' home state -- because its cost of living was better than that of sunny, expensive L.A. It was such a family effort to get his indie outfit up and running that Fouts decided to call his new company Mommy's Best Games.

"We had a baby in 2006 ... I'd think, 'Oh my gosh, I'm going to fail him. I'm going to sink my whole family if I don't do this right,'" says Fouts.

The channels to get indie games out into the world have been relatively scarce until just recently. The Internet would seem like the golden bullet, but it also introduces the concern of rampant piracy. Now, Microsoft's XNA tool set allows developers to make games for the Xbox 360, digitally distribute them on the console, and keep 70 percent of the revenue. Indie game designers can also develop games for the iPhone and iPod Touch, thanks to the App Store and Apple's downloadable SDK tool set. For the first time since the early '80s, when you could bag up your indie game and take it down to the local computer store, indie developers have distribution options readily at their disposal.