Take a break and play someone else’s game

A lot of people put up a links page, a page where they link to other people’s indie games that they like. Some of these pages list hundreds of other indie game, and chances are they only do it so that maybe some of those sites link back. I find it difficult enough to play a handful of the hundreds released every month so when I see pages with over a hundred links I find it a bit dubious.

But whether or not all of them get played, I still think it is important to read other peoples’ games. Obviously you can continue to make indie games without ever seeing somebody else’s work, though I think you’d be missing out. For one thing, you miss out on one of the best parts of indie game development, the amazing community. By not playing any other games you are cutting yourself off from a large part of this community.

However, more importantly, by not experiencing other people’s work you lose out as an artist, designer and as a developer. The best inspiration comes from other places, and other games are a fantastic source. And the same goes for exploring other games business models, approaches to marketing and how they have tackled the pricing strategy. Seeing the multitude of different styles, game play and business models can not only be a great inspiration to work harder, but also to try things in a different way, to approach things from a different perspective.