Independent Developers. That small group of individuals with an idea to carve their own path and create games they would enjoy. Unique people with bold ideas and the drive to see them through. In the last few years, their numbers have grown from a few to dozens. It seems like every few days another one crops up with a new adventure game announcement. Many of them never seem to get beyond the announcement stage and simply fade away.
Over the last couple of years I've gotten to know several of them, and have played nearly all of their games - I even got to beta test some of them on occasion! Being able to talk one-on-one with someone whose creation kept you transfixed to your computer screen for hours, even days, is pretty rewarding. I can only compare it to being able to talk to your favorite musician whose music you escape into. I think that is one of the things that set these people apart - they are for the most part, approachable.
I realized that I had many of the same questions for each of them and thought, wouldn't it be interesting to get them all to answer those same questions at the same time? I sent out my emails pitching the idea and was overwhelmed by the response. I figured if I had 25% participation, I would be lucky. They are VERY busy individuals afterall. Net result was around 90% and a really HUGE interview!
On G4 TV, a group of well-known developers in a roundtable forum were asked by the host their opinions of the potential for the Xbox 360. One of them responded that it would allow him to blow things up in bigger and better ways. And we still wonder why the mainstream community looks upon gamers as idiots.
My User Contributions master list - my initial post links are down but scroll down page to find list to active links
