Indie Game: The Movie Debut Trailer

By: Derek Yu

On: June 20th, 2011

Lisanne Pajot and James Swirsky have released an official trailer for Indie Game: The Movie. It focuses on the stories of Edmund McMillen, Tommy Refenes, Phil Fish, and Jonathan Blow. The filmmakers also announced that musician Jim Guthrie (Sword & Sworcery) is doing music for the movie, which has been shot but still requires post-processing. If you would like to help them fund this final push, head over to Kickstarter.

Posted in Community, Videos

Peevish

I feel wonderful right now.
http://about.me/ortoslon ortoslon

the Good, the Bad and the Unreleased
http://indieflux.com Uhfgood

Indie Game: The Movie doesn't look all that impressive to me. A bunch of guys whining about how if they don't make it, then it's like the end of the world…Making of the games would be interesting, not this sort of “Dear Diary” documentary

Monday June 20th: “Dear Diary, today I met the sweetest game idea. It really is a dream, and if he dumps me I'll just die!”

Tuesday June 21st: “Dear Diary, I just poured my heart out and wrote a design document. I hope my dreamboat of a game idea likes it, or my soul will be crushed!”
markhamcarroll

And the sequel, For a Few Months More
http://hxg.square7.ch/blog/ Metalhead

But unfortunately – for you – that is the way it is. It is okay if thats your opinion. From my point of view it looks very, very true. Have a look at Jonathan Blow's one hour talk for example. Everything he tried to deliver with Braid did work.
bm

“It focuses on the stories of Edmund McMillen, Tommy Refenes, Phil Fish, and Jonathan Blow.”
You mean just the trailer or the whole movie?

Also: that's right, making games IS just like concentration camp.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wi…
xot

Tuesday June 21st: “Dear Diary Vol. LXXXVI, I just saw another twat post on TIGS. Thank fuck for that.”
http://laserbrainstudios.com Christian Knudsen

They certainly seem to be pushing the “making games is serious drama” angle a lot. Still looking forward to it, though.
Nerdbot

Apart from the sliiiight relativization which is a facepalm of biblical proportions itself: If making games feels like a “concentration camp” to you: Get another job.
Nerdbot

Oh, that was not adressed to you, bm.
Greg_serg

This looks amazing, and for all you guys taking the piss out of the drama side, emotion = a good movie; also i doubt you've made a game as ambitious as phil/ed/jon, so you don't know shit do you!
Sph!nx

This is nice!

It is good to add the emotional aspect of the game designers. I'm one myself and can relate to that. It's the main ingredient of the game and will decide the end result everybody plays today. Don't forget, it's just a trailer and the real thing must include more angles ofcourse.

I'm tracking this for sure!
John

Omg, I have never seen a bigger whinefest. I mean, ok, I get it, making games takes a lot of time and effort, I know, I know. But being able to do it for a living makes us some of the luckiest people alive.

The comparison with a concentration camp especially needs to be cut, it is unimaginably offensive to compare having the complete freedom to spend your time on an entertainment product (or art, whatever) and presenting your vision to others to being forced to give up all that makes you human, work until your body breaks and then being dumped in a mass grave.

So yeah, here is a big fuck you to the people involved with this film, bunch of overly dramatic fools who can't even recognize they are among the luckiest individuals alive on this planet.
Peevish

Your FACE needs to be cut! BOOSH!
Raigan

wait… I thought Dessgeega was supposed to be in this? Was that a different one?
Peevish

Yeah, that's a different one. I think it was called You Meet The Nicest People Making Indie Games.
Greg_serg

“Omg, I have never seen a bigger whinefest”

… well i know i have now
TheShwan

I like the Sunn O))) shirt.
http://twitter.com/celluloseman Evan Balster

It can sound a bit whiny, yes. But remember that these are individuals investing themselves emotionally and practically in these projects, giving years of their lives to development. These efforts come to define them, and the end result is of vast importance.

Years into a project, penniless, and laboring late into each night, would you talk about your opus as if it was nothing?
Eric Bazilio

You know what these comments need? A dislike button.

Some people in here feel they need to come along and curse other people who are trying to make a living off of their dreams.

How unhappy are your lives that you need to come to the internet and do this?
DragonSix

Awesome.
David Holmin

This movie could become really awesome, and maybe even important. I hope they mix it up with other emotions/perspectives, though. For example, the Derek Yu clip was much lighter, and one of the best clips they released.
John

Hehehe, I am sure I deserved this :).
John

I know right! People post crap on the internet, it is a big shocker!
xot

Or in a slightly more pragmatic context: “well, looks like unless a miracle happens, in 9 days i am homeless. awesome.” — Phil Fish, earlier today
GamerGuy

It's interesting. I can understand their frustration, joy, and connection they have to their work (the indie game developers in the film I mean).

I don't know why some people are taking the movie so seriously and out of context though. Over analyzing remarks made by some of these guys is kind of like trolling for reasons to bicker about something. I might be understanding if some just don't like the idea of the movie because they think it'll be boring, don't like the way the movie was filmed, or have a real critique about what's not to like, but calling other people douches and then acting like a douche yourself really doesn't help state a case regarding what one might think about Indie Game: The Movie. I might be more understanding to the people who are critical of this film and have negative things to say if by chance one or more people in the film (the indie developers I mean) did something personally to insult or harm them. These guys just happened to be chosen for interviewing and documenting. Perhaps it's because the producers / directors saw something in each of them that interested them or perhaps they saw qualities and habits and a quirky nature in these guys that they thought would be interesting to others. I don't believe this movie is just being made for other indie developers (ones that only frequent TIGS or other popular forums), but for anyone and everyone who might be interested in watching. Perhaps it'll be really entertaining once the whole thing is done. I think this could really benefit young developers and anxious young gamers who want to become developers.

The thing is when a lot of people end up bitching and complaining about the people that happen to be on display in a documentary it usually doesn't come across as in good humor, rather a bit of jealousy or perhaps envy. I don't know if that's really it, but that might be a small part of it. All I can advise is that people relax and try to enjoy it, or if it's not something you're interested in then leave it and simply don't bother with it, it probably just isn't interesting to you. No need to insult the people involved though. I mean, if you really need to thrive on negativity and bringing others down just go play some CoD on XBL or PSN with your headset turned on.

I'm not trying to be stuck up or anything but speaking negatively about people who are giving a piece of themselves to the public eye without actually knowing these people very well is something that any douche-bag seeking attention would do. That's unfortunate when we all know that for the most part we all have the ability to be decent human beings.

Anyway, I've said my piece.
Paul McG

Coming this fall… Fez. Woo.
Phubans

Yeah, well maybe he should have thought about a plan B instead of guilt-tripping everyone into buying his game so it would be successful. You know, if I had years to work on a game while getting funding from the government and help from a team, I'd make something just as good if not better than Fez. I shit pixels the likes of Fez when I wake up in the morning and I'm even better at design, but I don't have the privilege of sitting around on my ass smoking pot and making the games I dream of doing; I actually have to work to support myself while spending what precious little time I have to do my own stuff on the side. I have no sympathy for Phil Fish. I've been in his shoes and worse, and you don't see me in a documentary with thousands of fans at my beck and call.
Watcher

WIll definitely be looking forward to this
SOB SOB

Translation: Bloo Bloo Bloo I'm such a good designer and nobody cares about MY GAME THAT I MADE ESPECIALLY FOR TIG.
Eric Bazilio

Envy sounds about right.

If it were true disinterest, some people would just have moved on instead of lingering with their bile.

Great post, you've said way better than I did.
http://www.godatplay.com Godatplay

I would be in Phil's situation already if it wasn't for my wife. But she taught me something that I think a lot of indie game developers should learn from.

You can live VERY cheaply if you never go out to eat or go to bars for booze.

Any developer's time-to-homeless can be made much longer by avoiding those places. :)
Phubans

Wow, these imposters are starting to scare me with the accuracy of their statements D:
Svetob

Maybe he'd post your game if it was better? Just a thought?
Svetob

Or wait, is this someone logged into your account and trolling as you?
Zecks

For the nth time: we can't just disinterest everything these days. There's so much crap these days that you gotta dig in there to find something worthwhile.

Complainers gonna complain, some are stupid, yes, but some are getting genuinely tired of this bullshit because of reasons you probably would just “disinterest” because of our different standards. (that and i'm bad at explaining stuff.)
MatthewFBS

Exactly right. The opposite of love isn't hate; it's apathy.
Eric Bazilio

Since you replied politely, let's continue with this. What kind of bs are referring to exactly?
http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/EJUMVRTBBP5JEJ2JOTDNZCQQ5E Sum One

But a 6 pack of microbrews still costs $10 at the store! What am I supposed to drink? Toilet wine?
http://www.godatplay.com Godatplay

Be a tester for your local microbrew club! ^_^

BTW 'Toilet Wine' would be a great name for a game, haha.
0rel

_2_cents: if( definition_of_indie_games != _4_devs_making_retroish_games && games == vanity ) { rename_movie( “blah ad” ); realize( “indie games are stuck, because they became commercially successful” ); } // nevertheless, I'd still like to see it… ;)
Zecks

It basically boils down to:

Even discounting the “artfagots” indies aren't making “better” games or/especially-and stories to take games anywhere.

I originally had a few paragraphs, but that opinion says everything they would've, and I'm not going on with this “argument.”

You might think that I'm a self-indulgent shit or have some kind of twisted “too high” standards, but nope. I'm genuinely goddamn worried about the future of gaming, and the last years have been painful to look at. (ps. i'm certain that this is what some “indie haters” feel like)

It's just that this …thing is the absolute bottom of the barrel.
http://profiles.google.com/derek.kamal D Kamal

It looks beautifully shot. I hope it's not too artsy.