It has come up before: I love artistry and I love gaming. I have been following the gaming industry for years now and amid all the bombastic releases–Modern Warfare, Grand Theft Auto, Assassin’s Creed–there are always a few very small developers who release games that blow people away with their originality and heart. Great examples of these are Super Meat Boy, Braid and Fez. Three games that show us that there is more to videogames than just shooting people or tending your farm on Facebook. Indie Game: The Movie shows us the story behind these games and it shines a light on the people behind them.
The way Indie Game: The Movie tells its story is great. We follow Super Meat Boy, Braid and Fez at various states in their life-cycle. Braid had been released at the time of filming and we see the impact it has on its developer Jonathan Blow, who couldn’t really handle the way people received his game. Super Meat Boy was on the verge of being released and we see the way Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes cope with the tremendous pressure of setting free their creation and seeing it go out into the world. Fez was still very much in development and had been for several years. Phil Fish, Fez’ creator, very much wants to present his creation (again) to the world, but experiences serious doubts and has to deal with business problems when he really just wants to start promoting his gaming vision.
The choice to frame its narrative in this manner creates a surprisingly complete picture of the world of independent gaming and the toll it takes on the minds that think up these brilliant games. Some people who refuse to take gaming serious, because they still think gaming is just for kids, will probably dismiss the musings of these gentlemen as whining. Because, after all, how hard can it be? Very hard, actually. Not to diminish the work of the people at larger gaming companies like EA or Ubisoft, but these guys think up everything themselves, program it (sometimes with one or two partners) and have to carry the burden of their creations on their own shoulders. If that isn’t the very definition of art, than I don’t know what is.
The people I took the most to were the guys behind Super Meat Boy. Their game may not have been the most innovative game out there, the platforming genre has been done a million times before, but their enthusiasm and passion for the project are infectious. Tommy and Edmund make a great duo: Tommy is a bit squirrelly and Edmund is more of a jolly good guy. Their dynamic is fantastic, even though they never share a single moment on-screen. Braid’s Jonathan Blow seemed to be the most introverted of the principals. He really had a hard time excepting the fact that his work of art was going to be interpreted in a different way than he intended it to. He is probably not the first artist to deal with these issues.
Fez’ Phil Fish is kind of a character in the gaming world and it shows here. I had a hard time relating to Fish, because he comes across as someone who likes himself a lot. He clearly shows a deep affection for his creation and wants very badly for others to feel the same way. He is, however, plagued by business problems that could seriously harm the creation of Fez. It is heartbreaking, no doubts there, to see him struggle with these problems, but there was also a lingering feeling in the back of my mind that told me this might be a little bit his own fault. He redesigned Fez three times and the frustration that comes from that was probably what drove his business partner away. I am glad it all worked out for him in the end, but still… Fez was released earlier this year to great acclaim and probably good sales. Let’s hope his next project will be developed a little bit more smoothly.
All of these elements make Indie Game: The Movie an intensely watchable documentary about the anguish of making art. The fact that you have to finish your creation someday and release it to the world is nothing less than putting down your paintbrush and deciding that a painting is done and ready to be hung in somebody’s living room. It is like sending your kids off to school, like Tommy says in the movie, and that is one of the scariest things you will do, I can tell you from experience. I heartily recommend Indie Game: The Movie to gamers and non-gamers alike. It is not only a great story about art and its artists, it is also a damn good one to boot. I’ll be seeing it again.
My Movie Year 2012 
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