Xbox Live Indie Games (previously called Xbox Live Community Games) were video games created by individual developers or small teams of developers released on Microsoft's Xbox Live Marketplace for the Xbox 360. The games were developed using Microsoft XNA, and developed by one or more independent developers that are registered with App Hub. Unlike Xbox Live Arcade titles, these were generally only tested within the local creator community, had much lower costs of production, and generally were less expensive to purchase.
The service was released to widespread use alongside the New Xbox Experience, and as of November 2014, over 3,300[1] games had been released on the service, many receiving media attention. All Indie Games currently require the user to be logged into their Xbox Live account to initiate the start-up of each game. Indie Games were not available in Australia due to local classification requirements which were unable to be fulfilled, though there were workarounds which allowed Australian users to download them regardless. The Xbox Live Indie Games program did not continue with the release of the Xbox One, and the marketplace for these games was shuttered on October 7, 2017.
History
Initial tools for the development of games on the Xbox 360 platform were bundled in the XNA Game Studio Express 1.0, released in December 2006, as a means of introducing newer programmers to the steps in game programming.[2] Additional releases of the XNA Game Studio added further features with the core software libraries, but the created games were limited to the developer's own console unit and could not be shared with others. During the Game Developers Conference in February 2008, Microsoft announced that it would be bringing the Xbox Live Community Games service to Marketplace, allowing these games to be shared with others.[3] According to Microsoft's David Edery, portfolio planner for Xbox Live Arcade's, the company envisioned the Community Games as a way for programmers to bring niche experimental games to wider attention without justifying the cost of a full Arcade title with only a limited audience, while still potentially earning some money for the effort.[4] Edery also cited the Community Games as a potential differentiator from either of the PlayStation Store and WiiWare services.[4]
Game development
Xbox Live Indie Games were developed under certain distribution restrictions:
Indie Games were created and added to the Xbox Live service by a four-step process:[2][19]
With an August 11, 2009, update to the Xbox Live system, Xbox Live Indie Games supported user ratings, a feature which was also applied to other content in the Xbox Live Marketplace.[18]
Most XBLIG games had been developed by students or hobbyist developers, who have invested a minimal amount of money, including the yearly fee for the App Hub membership, to develop their games.[24] However, at least one game has incurred much larger development costs: Biology Battle by Novaleaf, developed by Novaleaf Software, took eleven months to complete the game with development costs just under $100,000. The game was originally planned as a standard Xbox Live Arcade title, but was rejected by Microsoft about seven months into the project; Novaleaf decided to press forward and release the game as an Indie Game.[24]
Promotions
Developers had come together to promote Xbox Live Indie Games with community driven promotions featuring select games, called the Indie Games Uprising. There had been four "uprisings", the "Indie Games Winter Uprising", which took place during December 2010, and the "Indie Games Summer Uprising" which took place during August 2011, and the "Indie Games Uprising III" which took place during September 2012.[28] On September 28, 2015, the Uprising returned with a tribute page showcasing developers that got their start on XBLIG and are now working on projects for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Wii U thanks to the platform.[29]
End of service
As Microsoft transitioned from the Xbox 360 to the Xbox One, the Xbox Live Indie Games program was not brought over to the new platform. The XNA software was discontinued in 2013, and in September 2015, Microsoft emailed developers outlining the end-of-life of the Xbox Live Indie Games program.[30] The Indie Games Marketplace was originally scheduled to be shuttered on September 29, 2017; users that had already purchased these games could continue to play and download the titles.[31] However, due to player demand, Microsoft extended the shutdown date until October 7.[32] Microsoft has stated they are interested in helping to bring more successful titles from the program into their Xbox Live Creators Program, part of their ID@Xbox indie game initiative, to help preserve these titles.[32]
Notable games
- Apple Jack
- Biology Battle
- Blocks That Matter
- CarneyVale: Showtime
- CastleMiner
- Flotilla
- FortressCraft
- I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES 1N IT!!!1
- Kodu Game Lab
- Snops Attack! Zombie Defense
- Solar 2
- Super Amazing Wagon Adventure
- Techno Kitten Adventure
- Total Miner
- Weapon of Choice
External links
References
- Indie Games retrieved 2014-11-08^
- Dax Hawkins. Sponsored Feature: Democratizing Game Distribution: The Next Step Gamasutra, 2008-02-22, retrieved 2009-06-08^
- Matt Martin. Microsoft: User created games will help us leapfrog WiiWare and PSN