An indie game, short for independent video game, is a video game created by individuals or smaller development teams without the financial and technical support of a large game publisher, in contrast to most "AAA" (triple-A) games. Because of their independence and freedom to develop, indie games often focus on innovation, experimental gameplay, and taking risks not usually afforded in AAA games. Indie games tend to be sold through digital distribution channels rather than at retail due to a lack of publisher support. The term is analogous to independent music or independent film in those respective mediums.
Minecraft is a 2011 sandbox game developed by Mojang Studios. The game was created by Markus "Notch" Persson in the Java programming language. Following several early private testing versions, it was first made public in May 2009 before being fully released on November 18, 2011, with Notch stepping down and Jens "Jeb" Bergensten taking over development. Minecraft has become the best-selling video game in history, with over 300 million copies sold and nearly 140 million monthly active players as of 2023. Over the years following its release, it has been ported to several platforms, including PC, mobile and various consoles.
Minecraft – Volume Alpha is the first soundtrack album by the German electronic musician Daniel Rosenfeld, known by his pseudonym C418. Created for the 2011 video game Minecraft, it is the first of two albums to come from the game's soundtrack. It primarily consists of simplistic ambient music, though some tracks are more upbeat. The simplistic nature of the album's music was caused by the technical limitations of Minecraft's sound engine, which made earlier concepts unfeasible. Volume Alpha was released digitally in March 2011 as Rosenfeld's first commercial release, with a physical release issued by record label Ghostly International in 2015.
0x10c is an unfinished sandbox science fiction video game previously under development by Mojang AB. It was announced on April 3, 2012, by Markus Persson, the game's lead designer. The game was indefinitely postponed because Persson found himself burned out and demotivated after so much early effort were spent into planning and designing the game, up until the point that it "sucked out any fun from the project". Persson then stated he will instead most likely continue to work on smaller projects for the rest of his life, rekindling the reason he loves programming games in the first place. The game was later cancelled.
The music of the 2009 video game Minecraft, developed by Mojang Studios, primarily consists of two soundtrack albums by German musician Daniel Rosenfeld, better known as C418. American composer Lena Raine has also contributed music for four major updates to the game since 2020, alongside Aaron Cherof and Kumi Tanioka who worked on the most recent version in 2024. Music included in downloadable content (DLC) for legacy console versions of the game was handled by British musician Gareth Coker.
Minecraft: The Story of Mojang is a 2012 documentary film directed by Paul Owens. It is about the history of the company Mojang and its creation, Minecraft. The film features interviews with company personnel such as Markus Persson and Jens Bergensten and insights from people involved in the gaming industry and from players profoundly impacted by the game. The film was produced by 2 Player Productions. The production was funded through a Kickstarter campaign and spanned nearly two years in locations across North America and Europe.
The Stanley Parable is a 2013 story-based video game designed and written by developers Davey Wreden and William Pugh. The game carries themes such as choice in video games, the relationship between a game creator and player, and predestination/fate.
Daniel Rosenfeld, better known as C418, is a German musician, producer and sound engineer. He is best known as the former composer and sound designer for the sandbox video game Minecraft. He is a co-founder of independent video game developer Ivy Road with Davey Wreden and Karla Zimonja.
Fullbright is an American indie video game developer based in Portland, Oregon, best known for its 2013 title Gone Home. Before forming Fullbright, Steve Gaynor, Johnnemann Nordhagen, and Karla Zimonja had worked together on Minerva's Den, the single-player expansion to BioShock 2. During the development of Gone Home, the team worked and lived together in the same house. After its release, Nordhagen left to found a new studio, Dim Bulb Games. Fullbright's next game, Tacoma, was released in August 2017. As of 2023, Gaynor is the sole employee of Fullbright.
Stardew Valley is a 2016 farm life sim video game developed by Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone. Players take the role of a character who inherits their deceased grandfather's dilapidated farm in a place known as Stardew Valley. The game was released for Windows in February 2016, before being ported to other platforms. Stardew Valley is open-ended, allowing players to grow crops, raise livestock, fish, cook, mine, forage, and socialize with the townspeople, including the ability to marry and have children. It allows up to eight players to play online together.
The Beginner's Guide is an interactive storytelling video game created by Davey Wreden under the studio name Everything Unlimited Ltd. The game was released for Linux, OS X, and Windows on October 1, 2015. The game is Wreden's follow-up to the critically praised The Stanley Parable, his previous interactive storytelling title that was initially released in 2013.
Minecraft – Volume Beta is the fourth soundtrack album by German electronic musician Daniel Rosenfeld, known by his pseudonym C418. It was independently released on 9 November 2013 as the second installment of the soundtrack for the video game Minecraft, and has been physically released by record label Ghostly. The album peaked twice at number 14 on the Billboard Top Dance/Electronic Albums Chart in 2013 and 2023.
William Pugh is a British game designer best known for his work on The Stanley Parable, and for founding the game development studio Crows Crows Crows.
Annapurna Games, LLC is an American video game publisher and developer. The company is a division of Annapurna Pictures, and was founded in 2016. Notable games published by the company include Donut County, Kentucky Route Zero, Outer Wilds, Sayonara Wild Hearts, Wattam, What Remains of Edith Finch, Telling Lies, Neon White and Stray.
The following is a comprehensive discography of C418, the pseudonym of German electronic musician Daniel Rosenfeld and who is best known for producing the majority of the soundtrack of the 2011 video game Minecraft. His discography comprises eight major studio albums, five Bandcamp exclusive studio albums, nine compilation albums, seven EPs, two mixtapes, 11 remixes, seven singles and three music videos. Rosenfeld has also completed a third volume of the Minecraft soundtrack, but citing licensing issues with Microsoft, the album has not been released.
Jessica Mak is a Canadian video game developer known for designing the music-themed games Everyday Shooter (2007) and Sound Shapes (2012). In 2021, it was announced that Mak was developing a game with Annapurna Interactive.
Douglas Scott Wreden, better known by his online pseudonym DougDoug, is an American YouTuber, Twitch streamer, and former Hearthstone caster and producer. He makes gaming videos that revolve around him doing various gaming challenges, often involving the use of artificial intelligence, modifications to games, or giving his Twitch chat heavy control of the game or stream. In 2023, he won the "League of Their Own" award at The Streamer Awards.
Davey Wreden is a game designer and developer, best known for his work on The Stanley Parable and The Beginner's Guide.
The Narrator is a fictional narrator who first appeared in the 2013 video game The Stanley Parable. The game follows The Narrator attempting to narrate and guide the player character, Stanley, to the end of the story of Stanley's missing co-workers. However, the player can deviate from what The Narrator wants them to do, which will cause the story to diverge greatly from its original plot in ways The Narrator tries to dissuade the player from taking.
Wanderstop is an upcoming video game developed by Ivy Road and published by Annapurna Interactive. It is written and directed by Davey Wreden, composed by C418, and created with Karla Zimonja. The game is scheduled for release in 2024 for PlayStation 5 and Microsoft Windows on Steam.
