Witness the birth of a monster called Phil Fish.

"Pay us 10 Bucks to see us whine for 90 minutes while becoming millionaires."

In all seriousness, this movie is too shallow for my liking. It focuses solely on 3 lucky hits and ignores the whole Indie Gaming and Dev community and its background. There is so much material, so much to know and learn and talk about, yet it still ends up as being only fanservice for those four devs.
The movie could have been so much more, but... it just did not deliver. It's not worth the 10$ or even 10€ (~14$) depending on where you live. Watch it if you get the chance to do so for free or very cheap, you won't be bored.

McMillen is hot though.

Well-crafted and intelligent, this film is an illumination of the agony of creation – the self-doubt, the obsession, the life sacrifices – that are the core, not merely the side-effects of those define themselves through "art."Video-game developers: Geeks, nerds, socially adrift obsessives. Indie Game thankfully gets past such base introductions in a flash and graduates to far more engrossing levels – levels which open up into the real worlds of the best independent game developers working their craft.The movie scores big points by drawing a sharp distinction between corporate vidgame programmers and indies.It makes a compelling case for games as not only clever hand-eye coordination exercises, but also as manifestations of their creators' emotional and philosophical viewpoints.This is a movie about a subculture, made for that subculture. It's a must buy for all indie fans and people interested in game development.

Before you ask "Why is a movie on Steam?!", allow for me to give you an explanation:


Indie Game The Movie is so much more than a movie or a game. It's a tool that allows ANYONE even remotely interested in the gaming industry to gain some powerful insight into the world of programming and creativeness as well as the obstacles that often come with it. What makes this so much more special is that it's all coming from indie developers (indie = independent).

Video games today are becoming arguably less interesting, unique or fun. A prominent example would be the Call of Duty series. Corporations or big companies that are pressuring developers to not take risks, to follow a formula or to indulge in what has been termed "shady game practices". I'm talking about controversial DLC or downloadable content (now associated with small content cut from the main game and sold for a large price afterwards), lack of support after a title's release, paid reviews, and more. Go back roughly 2 decades and there was a time when: developers were always seeking to create unique experiences for all platforms, there was never any hesitation to release free additional expansion packs and the consumer base weren't treated like bafoons and engaged with directly.

Indie games or indie developers are essentially a revival of that golden age of gaming. It's true, the indie scene have been around even in the early 1990s but due to advancing technology, growing expectations and an increasingly competitive market (consoles, PCs and other gaming platforms) -- small teams became big teams and big teams sought companies that would fund such large projects. Viewed initially by many as a good thing, it's attributed to what the majority now term a "gradual decline in game ingenuity". Indie is the response to that.

So that's what Indie Game The Movie is all about. It showcases what it means to be indie and some of the big names behind the indie rebirth in the late 2000s. Braid; Super Meat Boy; Fez. Video games which are now extremely recognizable but only because of how different they were to what else was being offered to gamers at the time. "Different" comes at a cost though. Risk. The teams behind these 3 video games contained groups as big as 5 or as small as just 2 people. Not only is their life being sacraficed but money, wellbeing and in most cases time that could be spent looking for a job elsewhere (that isn't dominated by well-known series and developers with precedented reptuation).

You will see the payoff in making something that's your own and that you can share; despite how impossible it may seem at first or the light at the end of the tunnel appearing dimmer than ever. This is especially true with Fez. Fez took 5 years and a large chunk is spent on Phil Fish and his life. Sympathy, disappointment and joy is what I felt when I saw the development journey or rather, development hell, of Fez. At the same time, Fish is also tackling the ongoing stigma against video games and hoping to prove it wrong. For example: video games are viewed as a lower form of entertainment and that they can't express ideas and concepts as well as any other medium.

Incredibly, all 3 indie games later go on to be some of the most critically acclaimed video games of all time. You might not have heard of them or before never realized that something like Minecraft or Amnesia was made with very little manpower but after this experience: you will hopefully begin to respect and appreciate this great twist in the gaming industry. I've always supported indie games and my expectations are time and time again blown away due to the chances taken by the amazing people behind these projects. Being indie was something that was initially laughed at or not taken as seriously as it should've been, and Indie Game The Movie goes to great lengths to make you believe and feel like you're a part of the indie scene.

That's why Indie Game The Movie is so good. I've never witnessed anything like it before, let alone for something video game-related. It's professionally made, has a great soundtrack and if you buy the Steam version: has tons of extras, additional commentary (from the developers themselves) and a hidden video game! If you do like Indie Game The Movie: buy the DLC "Special Edition DLC". It focuses on more lesser known indies and also follows up the 3 main indie game teams after Indie Game The Movie was finished in production.

TL;DR - If you're even remotely interested in the gaming industry and want to know what it's like to be indie: get this now!!
Rating: 9.3/10.

Must have seen this film like 50 times!
Just an awesomely inspiring film also funny and touching in places.

This movie is a must see for anyone. Of course it's about video games, but it's also about being artistic and doing your own thing, about failure and success, about living your dreams. This film would give motivation to a dead man.