Only the story doesn't have to be in the game.
Over the past several years I've become more interested in indie games. I love fresh ideas, unique takes, upgraded nostalgia and, in general, passionate people pursing a dream or a labor of love interests me. And that's the kind of indy game that tends to garner notice. It's the kind of life a younger Mike was drawn to.
The indie game that started it all was FTL. It was a kickstarter by a pair of guys who liked a lot of the same old games I did. They got funded and they delivered. Reviews were great, so I gave it a go. It did not disappoint.
That lead me to try a slew of other indie games. Next was probably Legend of Grimrock, an old-school dungeon crawl that reminded me of my early, early days in gaming (only updated!). Mark of the Ninja couldn't have been too long after. I liked that there were rewards for playing through levels without violence (the story and atmosphere were great, too). Orcs Must Die was another instant favorite for me (though it may be more of a "small developer studio" than indie). I blew through the sequel, too. I bought Defender's Quest after I noticed the developer took the time to write elaborate responses to people's reviews. One-Way Heroics was quirky and unique and translated into English (free in Japanese, I think). Carrie played A LOT of Rogue Legacy.
The list goes on and on. Not every game has been a hit. I bought Fez after seeing Indy Game the Movie, and I got Penny Arcade episodes 3 and 4 from Zeboyd games after stumbling upon their blog (I enjoyed the inside look). Neither purchase was really bad, but they didn't strike my interest for whatever reason. Thankfully, indie games tend to be much cheaper than big budget games. I don't regret spending a couple of dollars to try something new and support someone's dream (Especially now that I'm an adult with a job. I bought some really old Geneforge games on sale for a couple of bucks on a whim, because I remembered reading about them on a dial-up modem in high school). If anything sticks, it feels like a home run.
It also helps that I'm never in a hurry to buy anything. I read things out of curiosity. If something piques my interest, I read more. Steam usually has a big sale twice a year and I'll buy a slew of games for less than one console game brand new.
For example, Shovel Knight was game on my radar, but it remained on the periphery until the developers released a lot of statistics. That led me to click on some of their blog posts. I enjoyed reading about how much thought went into things I never considered and the behind the scenes money issues and history. I don't feel like big companies are anywhere near as candid or accessible. When it went on sale, I bought it.
Lately, I've been playing Desktop Dungeons. It's quick, but challenging. If Shane gets a TV break, I can play a quick round while I rest. The developers have stated that they want the alpha version of the game to be free....forever. And for anyone. And I like that. They want anyone who's interested to play their game whether they pay or not. I like companies/teams that try to treat their consumers well. The game has a large community/wiki, too. I finally got around to trying Braid, too. I gave up and used the internet on two puzzles to avoid spending forever to solve them.
The other type of games I've purchased are older games. I had a plan to play them with Shane at some point. I'd love to play Shining Force with him when he learns more about how to read, but so far most of what I've purchased hasn't been used. I got them all for dirt cheap on sale, so I'm not worried about it (Hurray, Steam and GOG!). We'll play them, or we won't. We have options.
NOTE: The original draw to "out of the box" games probably came from Portal. The game was brilliant. I showed it to Carrie and she fell in love (That's why we have a portal gun). It started off small, but was picked up by a big studio. My dad worked with the father of one of the programmers. I think she's the one who went on to make Quantum Conundrum, but I'm not sure.
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