Authors
Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Independent videogames (also known as “indie games”) have experienced an increasingly
prominent role in the videogame industry. In the last decade, this particular genre has seen an
exponential growth, filling its own niche in the market.
Furthermore, the low level of investment required by this genre (both in terms of economical
and human resources) makes it a favoured path for small companies to start producing
videogames. This paradigm of low resources, allied with the technological limitations of
mobile devices (this genre's most common platform) defines the “indie game's” playability
and visual/narrative aesthetics; the result being a peculiar creative simplicity.
We believe this simplicity to be the source of the independent videogames' appeal to the
general playerbase. In other words, these videogames engage the player by presenting him/her
with a simple yet rich storytelling experience, where complex elements such as long
cinematics are eschewed in favor of a more primal and direct experience. Simply put, by
investing on a solid narrative and fleshing out interesting, relatable characters, an independent
videogame manages to achieve the engagement potential of its commercial counterparts,
while doing so with a fraction of the cost.
In this dissertation we aim to understand exactly how independent videogames achieve this
phenomenon of player engagement through their narrative and characters. We will do so by
allying theoretical research on these two creative resources with a the practical exercise of
developing our own videogame concept (as a part of our Master's Degree project). Strictly
speaking, we will study tools and techniques relating to achieving engagement through
narrative and character development, subsequently testing them out in our own project and
drawing conclusions on their effectiveness in the process.
Description
Keywords
Independent Videogame Character Development Narrative Engagement