It ain't easy being indie
^M00:00:01
[ Music ]
^M00:00:04
>> That's a scene from World of Goo, one of the game titles soon to be released through Nintendo's WiiWare service.
>> You grab a ball, you drag and build and someone else can also build at the same time.
>> And that's Kyle Gabler, the game's creator who is still marveling at his good fortune to have a major gaming contract.
>> For preordering it so we can use if they believe in us and what we can make which is humbling and I can't thank them enough because it's enabled me to pay rent and buy food.
>> Ah, the glamorous life of an Indie gamer who is trying to go it alone in the billion dollars video game industry.
>> They are a little bit stupid or crazy because I guess you kind of have to be so that you don't notice that what you're doing is probably not financially viable.
>> But let's backup. For Kyle, it wasn't always about Nintendo contracts. While earning a Master's Degree at Carnegie Mellon's Entertainment Technology Center in Pittsburgh, he created what's known in a gaming world over as the experimental game play project.
>> The hypothesis of the experience of the game play project was that you don't have to have a complex idea or a complex analogy to make a game fun, you can have fun with squares and rectangles and circles. In fact you can make that kind of game in one week.
>> The idea for World of Goo came out of one of those games then known as Tower of Goo. Also popular is the Swarm, another of Kyle's creations. [Sound effects]
>> The goal of the game is to drop humans with a maximum possible splatter velocity.
>> Chalen Showden [assumed spelling] was a teammate of Kyle's in the game play project and was best known for his game On a Rainy Day.
>> And if you see all the games they're all style over substance, like they're all extremely polished and the main criticism that we get is that the game play is quite shallow.
>> You start off with this tree made out of hands, and you collect other hands falling from the sky and then umbrellas all to protect the little paper boats that are floating by. And the more boats that you help cross to safety, the more hands and umbrellas that fall from the sky. The esthetic is so creepy and that's what makes it so much fun to play.
>> Unlike Kyle, Chalen has gone on to work for a major game developer but says even his current work is influenced by that student project.
>> I don't approach it from a game design perspective. I approach it from an esthetic prospective. I think about how I want it to look and how I want it to feel when you play it but I don't try to take on any game play to it.
>> For any Indie game developer, the trick is to find an audience.
>> The paradigm shift is going to be in the way we think about marketing the games and who we're targeting.
>> It seems obvious that we should take art from Indie games which happens to be made by people who make the games feel entirely untouched and in love and rip out the art and stick it on shirts and sell it in major retailers.
>> And that's how experimental game play T-shirts ended up in Target stores. The blog sphere caught on and helped field Kyle and his games to more popularity.
>> Suddenly your like 100,000 people will download it within 24 hours of putting it on the Internet.
>> For now, he waits the success of World of Goo on WiiWare Service. But in the meantime he'll ride the thrills.
>> A game developer is kind of the new rock star for suburban kids.
>> And what are the pitfalls?
>> I've eaten rice everyday for the last week.
>> Harving [phonetic] his Indie niche in the mass market. I'm Kara Tsuboi, CNET news.com.
^M00:03:15
[ Music ]
^M00:03:21
Up Next
What is the Fediverse?
Up Next
What is the Fediverse?
The Missing Piece to Apple's Eco-Friendly Mission
The Missing Piece to Apple's Eco-Friendly Mission
Boston Dynamics Retires Its HD Atlas Robot
Boston Dynamics Retires Its HD Atlas Robot
Apple and Disney's Unique Bond: Why Vision Pro Needs the Mouse
Apple and Disney's Unique Bond: Why Vision Pro Needs the Mouse
The Ocean Cleanup's System 03 Collects Plastic Pollution at Record Levels
The Ocean Cleanup's System 03 Collects Plastic Pollution at Record Levels
Latest iOS 18 Rumor Roundup: New Designs, AI Tricks
Latest iOS 18 Rumor Roundup: New Designs, AI Tricks
Apple to Talk AI in June: This WWDC Is a Big Deal
Apple to Talk AI in June: This WWDC Is a Big Deal
What Google Gemini AI on the iPhone Could Look Like
What Google Gemini AI on the iPhone Could Look Like
Microsoft Surface Pro 10, Surface Laptop 6 Are Here
Microsoft Surface Pro 10, Surface Laptop 6 Are Here
Everything Just Announced at Google's AI Health Event
Everything Just Announced at Google's AI Health Event
Tech Shows
Latest News All latest news
What is the Fediverse?
What is the Fediverse?
The Missing Piece to Apple's Eco-Friendly Mission
The Missing Piece to Apple's Eco-Friendly Mission
First Drive in the All-Electric 2024 Fiat 500e
First Drive in the All-Electric 2024 Fiat 500e
Laptop Buying Guide: What to Look For
Laptop Buying Guide: What to Look For
Boston Dynamics Retires Its HD Atlas Robot
Boston Dynamics Retires Its HD Atlas Robot
Taste-Testing 6 Apple Cider Vinegar Drinks
Taste-Testing 6 Apple Cider Vinegar Drinks
Most Popular All most popular
First Look at TSA's Self-Screening Tech (in VR!)
First Look at TSA's Self-Screening Tech (in VR!)
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review: More AI at a Higher Cost
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review: More AI at a Higher Cost
'Circle to Search' Lets Users Google From Any Screen
'Circle to Search' Lets Users Google From Any Screen
Asus Put Two 14-inch OLEDs in a Laptop, Unleashes First OLED ROG Gaming Laptop
Asus Put Two 14-inch OLEDs in a Laptop, Unleashes First OLED ROG Gaming Laptop
Samsung Galaxy Ring: First Impressions
Samsung Galaxy Ring: First Impressions
Best of Show: The Coolest Gadgets of CES 2024
Best of Show: The Coolest Gadgets of CES 2024
Latest Products All latest products
2025 Audi Q6, SQ6 E-Tron: Audi's Newest EV Is Its Most Compelling
2025 Audi Q6, SQ6 E-Tron: Audi's Newest EV Is Its Most Compelling
Hands-On with Ford's Free Tesla Charging Adapter
Hands-On with Ford's Free Tesla Charging Adapter
Nuro R3 is an Adorable Self-Driving Snack Bar
Nuro R3 is an Adorable Self-Driving Snack Bar
First Look: The $349 Nothing Phone 2A Aims to Brighten Your Day
First Look: The $349 Nothing Phone 2A Aims to Brighten Your Day
Best of MWC 2024: Bendable Screens, AI Wearables and More
Best of MWC 2024: Bendable Screens, AI Wearables and More
This Concept Laptop from Lenovo Has a Transparent Display
This Concept Laptop from Lenovo Has a Transparent Display
Latest How To All how to videos
Tips and Tricks for the AirPods Pro 2
Tips and Tricks for the AirPods Pro 2
How to Watch the Solar Eclipse Safely From Your Phone
How to Watch the Solar Eclipse Safely From Your Phone
Windows 11 Tips and Hidden Features
Windows 11 Tips and Hidden Features
Vision Pro App Walkthrough -- VisionOS 1.0.3
Vision Pro App Walkthrough -- VisionOS 1.0.3
Tips and Tricks for the Galaxy S24 Ultra
Tips and Tricks for the Galaxy S24 Ultra
TikTok Is Now on the Apple Vision Pro