What is the difference between the two.

I'm making a website categorizing different video game genre's and I have to know the difference.

Should I make a distinction at all? Will it offend certain developers if I choose the wrong one?

Ameture Game Design or Indie Game Design

What is the difference between the two.

I'm making a website categorizing different video game genre's and I have to know the difference.

Should I make a distinction at all? Will it offend certain developers if I choose the wrong one?

I think you've forgotten what "game design" means. Look, your question is incomprehensible. Are you equating game design with game genres? Or are you just asking what's the difference between an amateur developer and an indie developer? The difference between amateurs and indies kind of depends on context.

Like Tom Sloper said Amateur and Indie Game aren't genre but concern more the studio itself (or team or lone developer since many indie games aren't made by studios)

you should take a look here for some guide here.

Ignoring the bit about game design an amateur is a person with no professional relations to what ever he/she does ie. hobby game developer. An indie is a person or company, that works independent of any publisher ie. 2DBoy.

Where indie games and amateur/hobby games often look alike, is based on an often more experimental game play. Most AAA game developers stay away from experimental game play, because they cannot risk not to sell many thousands copies of their game.

id software was a independent developer, yet few would label them 'indie'...2,4, even 10 years ago.


Clearly, indie is not the same as independent. 'Indie' has become its own thing, with it's own scene and movement, it has become the brand name for "experimental" and "innovative" games.

I agree with MSW and would say that big companies would even use "indie" to label and market games with unusual and experimental game mechanics despite their status within the industry, with publishers, or with regard to their size.

"Indie" has been taken up fervently by so many because we hear about its successes most often and those games, like Portal and World of Goo, are associated with being new and exciting. Tell me a big game studio's marketing department wouldn't love to use that label.

'TheForgottenMindset' said:

Ameture Game Design or Indie Game Design
What is the difference between the two.

I think you've forgotten what "game design" means. Look, your question is incomprehensible.

Thanks for the english lesson
I just wanted your opinions, now I see the difference.
You're welcome. Still don't know what your question was. Apparently it's been answered, and I'm glad of that.
Moved to The Lounge.

id software is a independent developer, yet few would label them 'indie'.

Of course, id hasn't really been independent since it was acquired by ZeniMax in 2009.

Amateur = not paid or not professional (ie a hobby)
Indie = independent studio (not using a publisher)

An Indie developer can have many successful commercial games.

An amateur is just doing it for fun.

I think the distinction should be made. There are some really solid indie studios that make great games, they are in no way of the same caliber of the games that I (as an amateur) would make.

You wouldn't compare my Goo Defender game to Morning's Wrath. They had professional coders and artists working with the intent of making a profit. I did mine over a holiday weekend to give me something to do.

Certainly there are some amateur projects that are of sellable quality, but in general if someone is going to make a great game, they are going to attempt to profit from it in one form or another.

'MSW' said:

id software is a independent developer, yet few would label them 'indie'.

Of course, id hasn't really been independent since it was acquired by ZeniMax in 2009.

Yeah, I forgot about that...corrected to make point clear.



"Indie" is now a marketing term.