Indie Game The Movie

Indie Game: The Movie is film by James Swirsky and Lisanne Pajot that shows the struggles of Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes making Super Meat Boy and Phil Fish during the development of Fez. Then the movie interviews Jonathan Blow, who reflects on the success of Braid, his own indie game. James Swirsky and Lisanne Pajot are frequent speaker for the purpose of making documentaries. Before filming Indie Game: The Movie, they both worked in BlinkWorks, in Winnipeg, Canada producing films.

Why does the film decide to include both two developers creating games and then one who has already successfully made one?

The usage of these two allows the filmmaker to contrast the struggles during the creation of an indie game with the reward that can result from its success. The initial portional detailing the creation of Fez with Fish shows the trials of making a video game in order to have the audience understand that making an indie game is no easy task. However, it is immediately followed in the film with the success story of Braid showing what all the developers are striving for.

In what way does using interviews improve the film compared to a more documentary style?

This style of interviews combined with narration and slice of life engages the watcher with a more personal feel of the game making process. Instead of having a descriptive but dull information giving session, interviews give a bit of life to the film that allows the people’s personalities to show through.

How does the film portray the different struggles that indie developers have compared to AAA ones?

The film shows the struggles that the developers have through showing the lack of resources and funding that the indie developers have compared to the larger companies. In the interviews, the filmmaker asks questions about the development of the game and naturally, the developers talk about the difficulties in making the game. All of the preconceptions of making an indie game are either confirmed or rebutted by the reality.