While big developers and loaded publishers provide fodder for the growing industry, at the other end of the spectrum lies the lifeblood of the gaming industry that fuels the creative passion to innovate – independent developers who work without time constrains or pressure from publishers. The big development houses have tried to emulate the creative genius of these small developers time and again, but none of them have manage to capture their free-spirited urge to create something unique, as against simply turning a profit. As a tribute to these game developers, I present the top five indie games...
Dwarf Fortress
While games like Spore fake randomly generated universes, Dwarf Fortress is a game that actually presents a randomly generated world to you every time you play! Developer Bay 12 has made it such that every time you start a game up, Dwarf Fortress initiates an elaborate process of creating a world from scratch. First, the topography is created through randomized calculations, followed by random NPCs populating the realm (with a different, random back-story for each of them), creating a world that’s truly one big unique adventure. In this world, you start your own settlement, which eventually grows into a stronghold that brims with activity – including everything from petty squabbles between foreigners and locals to simple trade.
The only factor that may deter you from playing this game is that it lacks an elaborate GUI and is completely ASCII-based. But if you’re willing to spend time to read through the instructions and figure out how to play and don’t mind the primitive graphics, you’ll be rewarded with a unique experience that's richer than anything you've had so far. Download the game here.
Good games, but its kinda hard at present to pick only 5 out of the flourishing Indie market.. I mean Braid, Flow, N+ etc are good examples of popular ones, but there are some really unique free and indie games out there that dont get the spotlight.
