Short Answer: An indie (independent) game developer is an individual, or a small group of individuals, who come together to make a video game, often with a small budget.

Long Answer: Indie game development is a rather new concept in the game industry. Since the game industry is now moving out of the basement and into cubicles, the world of  bedroom coders is now falling back on smaller scale operations to satisfy their creativity. Instead of focusing on ground-breaking graphics technology or cookie-cutter million dollar MMORPGs, it often concentrates on simplicity, innovation, and healthy addiction.

Some big players in the industry started off as independent game developers (look up the story of Casual Collective). Games don’t need to cost thousands of dollars to be fun.

What successful independent game developement teams need is:

  • Passion into making fun games
  • Determination
  • Artistic abilities
  • Programming abilities
  • Teamwork

One word of warning: Don’t jump into the indie movement thinking of making lots of money from very start. You might not earn a penny until 1-2 years into the business.