Indie Game Reviewer

Indie Game Reviewer (IGR, also stylized as IndieGameReviewer.com) is an independently operated game journalism website based out of Los Angeles and Toronto established in March 2008 with a strong focus on independent video games - also often referred to as "Indie Games" - and their developers.

Featuring a growing archive of over 500 unique reviews and preview articles spanning 2008 through 2015, a period considered a golden age for independent game development, IndieGameReviewer.com is not limited to a website as the brand also uses various social media platforms that include Raptr ^[2] and Lunch.com^[3] to further distribute its content that focuses heavily on game reviews with the stated aim of helping the "consumer" decide where and when to spend their money. The ratings are also used in finding average scores for newly released game titles at various review aggregation sites.

Publishing breaking news stories from the independent game industry, opinion articles and intimate video or audio interviews with recognized and leading game designers, the site is often referenced by its peers at online indie game journalism sites.^[4][5][6]

The site is not affiliated with any major corporate companies, emphasizing that it is "a truly independent opinion site...without any corporate agenda looming over its shoulder.".^[7]

Event Coverage

IndieGameReviewer.com covers events and conferences throughout North America as official "gaming press" - a colloquialism for Video Game Journalism. Based on their coverage, their accreditation includes IndieCade^[8] in Culver City, California, Penny Arcade Expo (PAX Prime)^[9] in Seattle, Washington, the NAB Show in Las Vegas and Hand Eye Society^[10] events in Toronto, Canada. Because of its writers are located around the world, the site has broken stories about games sometimes years ahead of their official announcement by virtue of its interviews with developers.

IndieGameReviewer.com produces cinema-quality video features based on intimate conversations with notable leading game developers and designers that include:

• Andy Schatz - Game developer Monaco and host of the Independent Games Festival
• Alexander Bruce - Lead game developer - ("Antichamber")
• Chris Hecker - Game developer Spore and editor for Game Developer Magazine
• Jane McGonigal - Leading game designer and best-selling author of "Reality is Broken"^[11]
• Jason Rohrer - Lead game developer - ("Sleep is Death," "Inside a Star-Filled Sky")
• Jesse Schell - Professor at Carnegie Mellon and author of "The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses"
• Jonathan Blow - Lead game developer - ("Braid")
• Zak Smith - Artist, author - ("Vornheim")

Not limited to programmers and game designers, the interviews and articles also feature artists in other facets of game development, for example authors and composers that include Jeehun Hwang (MechWarrior 2, Quake and Heavy Gear for id Software), Mikolai Stroinski (The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, Mousecraft) and the Czech band "Dva" (who scored Botanicula by Amanita Design).

Indie gaming niche focus

The writing team comprises a rotating lineup of independent journalists, game developers and new media producers from various countries including Canada, United States, Australia and United Kingdom, which information is provided in their author bios at the end of articles, with distinctive styles, who write in a form that mixes academic analysis and colloquialisms about independent game development and releases.

The vast majority of IndieGameReviewer's articles focus primarily on reviews of independent video games of all genres and production budgets, culminating in a "Top Ten Indie Games of the Year" list that also features an extended list of honorable mentions and most anticipated games for the following year.

"IGR", as the brand is known in the short form, often makes controversial choices in its "Game of the Year" list, having chosen to forgo such titles as Minecraft, Super Meat Boy, Journey and The Walking Dead so as to feature lesser known titles ^[12] and introduce even more obscure indies to the public. Its top choices were Sleep is Death (2010), Bastion ^[13] (2011), Fez (2012), Don't Starve (2013) and Transistor (2014).^[14][15]

The site accepts unsolicited submissions of games through its contact page, and though highly selective, they are as likely to cover a one-person operation as a title that blurs the line between independent and "AAA" titles, in addition to mobile games for iOS and Android, helping to draw attention to games that may not be covered by the typical mid-level game review outlets.^[16]<ref name="Cipher Prime Official Site - "Fractal: What the Press is Saying">Cipher Prime Official Site - "Fractal: What the Press is Saying"</ref><ref name="Magrathean Games - "IndieGameReviewer checks out Incognito Episode 1!">Magrathean Games - "IndieGameReviewer checks out Incognito Episode 1!"</ref>

Ratings Scheme

Reviews are typically five hundred to a thousand words in length and feature between two and five screenshots and a video game trailer. The site uses a 5/5 star grading system but uses half stars to give it a ten-point granularity in its rating scheme.

IndieGameReviewer.com's scores are also used to calculate overall scores for games at the iPhone and Android Quality Indexes^[17][18] and Linux Game Database^[19] respectively - all review aggregator sites.

References

External links

• IndieGameReviewer.com - Official Site
• IndieGameMovies - YouTube Channel