I liked it. Just as a informative watch at these three games. I didnt take it as everyone is like this or anything like that. Just as three specific case studies and to see how games can affect people and the work they can put into them.

Not very high at all on my list of documentaris though. Much preferred With Great Power, Restrepo and Undefeated.

I am a big documentary guy, and they usually don't get me unless there is some real emotion (reality tv shows barely get me).

I just couldn't get with this one though, because it seemed over dramatic. I have seen documentaries about people in far worse situations in other countries and stuff. I do a lot of the old documentaries about the World wars and such, and to get so sentimental over a story like this was hard for me. Mainly because there are far worse struggles a person can go through.

But you are right, that cinematography and stuff works. If their soundtrack was better, it would have worked even more.

I think the documentary kind of presents you with 3 "types" of indie developers, and maybe leaves you asking which one would you want to be more like. To be sure, all 3 games are excellent in their own right, and I'm not in a position to criticize them directly simply because I haven't made any game of that calibur, and not for the lack of trying.

For instance, Jonathan Blow(Braid) seems fairly balanced, although quite an introvert(as many of us, I guess), probably a bit pretentious, and he is known for making somewhat grandiose statements and analysis of the state of gaming, its relation to the "human condition", indie vs "AAA" games and so on.

On the other hand, it is probably known that Phil Fish(Fez) is, well, kind of a mess. As of now, he has abandoned the development of Fez 2 because of a quarell he had with a video game reviewer, and the subsequent twitter flamewar. So it seems he does invest an unhealthy amount of emotions into this whole ordeal.

And lastly, Edmund McMillen(Super Meat Boy) strikes me as the developer who is just passionate about making fun, good games, and that is it. His game is the least "pretentious" of the bunch, just excellent platforming goodness with a deep understanding of the genre, and he's also the one who went to make a second indie "hit", with the Binding of Isaac, which is also pretty awesome.

So I guess it's not strange that we all liked "the guy with the cat and the wife" more

I disagree, I thought it was quite inspiring. As said, it's a documentary, add some music and selective editing and you can squint reality quite a lot. They were ordinary people living their lives the way they saw it while trying to make a living.

The guy who was talking of killing himself, his father had cancer, his girlfriend left him, his parents got divorced, and his partner also left in bitter circumstances,then all the stress and isolation of creating the game, lack of funding and uncertainty, well.....

Apparently the guys at id were very similar when they finished Quake, 'broken' in their own words, and only JR turned up on the last day to package and upload the game to shareware.

So I didn't see the problem. All the isolation and uncertainty of being indie would/could be really depressing. I would find myself similar I know.

you've got to crack a few eggs to make an omelette

Have a nice evening(it is evening here in the cold North right now).

I have been hearing of "The Binding of Isaac" but I didn't know the guy with the cat and wife was the one who did that one. Now I guess I will see what it is about, although that title has me a little prejudiced.

One thing I also like about documentaries is that there are often afterstories.

Two of the guys in the film are dealing with mental illness - you've got to take that into account when trying to judge their personality.

They've also made the huge decision of gambling their own livelihoods on a little game project. They've got no money, no disposable incomes... they've sunk a countless amount of time into trying to make their project, and they've got such a sunken cost that they can't escape it. You can't take a break, because your life is on hold until you finish this -- no money for a vacation, and no prospect of money until you're done. You're so close to the game that it's not even fun any more, you're desensitized to it, you've lost perspective. They've got very few social outlets, they're just stuck in their work. There's no boss to tell you what to do either, to tell you to work 9-5, show up on time, shave, shower... When there's no standard routine or other people sharing an office with you, then the difference between normal work and crunch time isn't apparent. Their futures in the industry are also at stake -- if you go through years of that only to be bankrupt and ruined at the end of it, emotionally exhaused, and taunted by online rants of 15 year olds calling your game a fag, then you're going to want out. If you've spent your whole life wanting to be a game-dev and then that happens, it's going to completely destroy your worldview (which is extremely mentally destabilizing)... Until you start missing your rent and utility payments, max out a credit card, and deal with the very real prospect of losing everything you've spent your entire adult life building, then you probably won't appreciate the stresses that can exist in giving up paid work to try and form a startup around your own product.

Get someone who's already dealing with chronic depression and put them in that pressure cooker, and yes, you're going to get some good drama on film... and a lot of un-empathetic, ignorant, sociopathic internet jerks insulting them.

That video pretty much let you understand what feelings any start up feel. It ain't easy or pretty, it is pure madness and still people do it because they just cannot stop it.

Seems I exhibit very few of the qualities that define a good entrepreneur. Well, perhaps I do, but I haven't had the right opportunity to, and I have no idea what business I would start anyhow. I guess one thing I saw over and over in the Indie Game movie and this video is that you can't be afraid of failure. Although I would assume a person who has invested so much money and effort into something would be afraid it may fail. Seems like a natural phenomena. The thing is coping with failure and going at it again.

I need to watch it again this weekend. I certainly felt motivated after seeing it the first time, and I've been dealing with a ton of crunch at work and other things at home that are finally winding down, so a little boost would be a nice way to start moonlighting again.

Its clear that everyone is really invested in what they're doing, but each subject handles it more or less well. Some of these folks are betting their financial futures on their work, some their reputation, and a few, it seems, their self-worth. I don't think that's specific to indie gamedevs though -- Anyone committed to trying to start their own thing and make their own way would feel the same, especially if they've made the same kinds of sacrifices and big bets that these folks have made. Top it off with mental illness and you really have people who are desperate to succeed. I know people who are wildly successful by any objective measure and they similarly can wrap themselves and their self-worth around things that would seem trivial or inane to an outside observer. To some, all their success feels empty without that one thing that they think is their keystone.

Most people in this world will never fear that because most people in this world will give up long before they allow themselves to become so invested in any one thing (the exception seems to when it comes to finding love). But that's not to say that all you need to succeed is an ability to dismiss fear or doubt and press on. Sometimes fear is healthy and keeps you from doing stupid things like fighting bears or mortgaging your house to fund your turn-based unicorn-simulator ORPG. I think most successful entrepreneurs are a bit like professional stunt-men -- There's always risk and it can't be avoided, so you look around, measure it twice, figure out a plan, put redundancies in place, and surround yourself with people you can trust -- if at any time it looks like a bad idea you bail or go back to the drawing board, otherwise you put your faith in your plan and your people and go for it 100%. There's a huge difference between accepting risk and just ignoring it though. The one's that ignore it are usually the one's that wind up lost and overwhelmed when things deviate from the ideal; those who calculate the risks have a plan and pivot quickly.

Phil Fish of Fez seems to be more of the type who ignored or was unaware of the risks, being bedazzled by a lofty goal. I'm frankly amazed that he pushed through it in the end and I don't think he deserved the scorn and jilting he got from people. But he seems to have ended up getting through it by essentially mortgaging his self-worth when it was the only currency he had left. That is, when making a great game was no longer a big enough carrot, the specter of loosing his reputation and self-worth became the stick. But I don't know the guy, that's only from what I've seen and read. He seems like a guy that maybe bit off more than he should have but somehow, amazingly, stuck with it to completion. I don't think he's an asshole, I just think he was pushed to the breaking point. I'd have a beer with the guy any time. I hope he comes back to development after he's decompressed.

Jonathan Blow is pretty forthcoming about his issues, and its clear that he's pretty practiced in dealing with them. Phil is an example of someone who was breaking, Jon is an example of someone who knows how to recover (which is always easier said than done). He's clearly introspective and worldly, which is often a common manifestation of someone who's learned to deal with their illness. They spend a lot of time examining and reflecting. To people who spend less time doing that, it can come off as pretentious or arrogant. And the irony is that most of those people have opinions and views they might not ever have examined closely, and espouse them as truth, which is truly arrogant.

Edmund is clearly happiest -- he's also the one who's made the most games and built up over years from small scale. He's the stunt-man, knowing the challenges and risks and taking a measured shot. He's also got the support of his wife and AFAIK, no compounding psychological trauma's or mental illness. Its no wonder he's the most sound.