Tomorrow, July 4, is Independence Day in the US, when people across the country get together and set things on fire to celebrate Jaden Smith punching out a xenomorph. The relevant point is that a number of indie developers have also come together to celebrate their own "Indiependence Day," by not putting their games on sale.
Indiependence Day is a response of sorts to the deep-discount game sales that we all take for granted, and that are especially prevalent among indie games. "Players have been conditioned, through bundles and mega-sales, not to pay full price," the site states. "And although money isn’t the primary motivating factor for a lot of us, if the dynamics of the industry don’t change, indie games will become an unsustainable model. Indie games have been such a source of creativity and originality over the last 10 years, and we want to keep them going!"
The games in the non-sale are still relatively inexpensive, topping out at $20, and the ones I've played—among them World of Goo, Tengami, 7 Grand Steps, and Hot Tin Roof—are really quite good. Of course, a game's "value" can only be determined by the individual gamer, and lots of people will argue that the "race to the bottom" has actually invigorated the indie scene. After all, when has it been better than it is right now? Even so, I like the idea, but given how accustomed we all are to buying games at 80 percent off, I can't say I'm entirely confident that it will be a runaway success. You can take a look at Indiependenceday.com.
