There's a current trend in the video games scene to abandon the strict conditions synonymous with large-scale major name development studios in favor of smaller teams that focus on projects they are highly passionate about. This one of the major shifts that's currently changing the way we look at RPGs.

Once role playing games were associated with developers like Square, Atlus, or BioWare, but now smaller teams, some the size of a household family, are making names for themselves. They are the new trailblazers who are defying today's RPG status quo. They are the passionate creators who work on projects that are labours of love. Whether the game is the result of artistic expression or love of the bygone golden era of RPGs, these new names in the gaming market are generating a lot of buzz.






Take for example, Charles DeYoe, the mind behind Unemployment Quest. DeYoe is a long-time fan of the role playing genre citing Dragon Quest as his favourite series. "What I like about them is how they are consistently fun to play," says DeYoe. "Even when you're talking to people in a town or exploring a dungeon, the player always feels engaged by working towards their goals." This streamlined approach to game design is what motivated the developer to economize the length of Unemployment Quest. He wanted to avoid having the game feel padded, yet wanted all the content to be relevant. DeYoe values the player's time and opted to make the total playtime of Unemployment Quest around two hours.

The decision to independently release his game was a simple one. Unemployment Quest is the result of the creator's frustrations of being a degree-holder unable to secure a job. When asked to describe his game, he states that it is "the result of the extreme emotional frustration that comes from being unable to find a job manifested in video game form. The protagonist is as blank a slate as possible and goes through the experiences of looking for work using RPG tropes as a thinly-veiled metaphor. So you go from place to place looking for work, all the while doing battle with your fears and doubts with the ultimate "villain" being Uncertain Future."

Considering the subject of the game, it is safe to say that Unemployment Quest offers the chance to make sense of the daunting uncertainty many graduates face. A project of this size and theme would quickly be overlooked by a major development house. The love of the genre is often the driving force behind an indie RPG.


Pier Solar and the Great Architects is a game with very humble beginnings in 2004 that within the past couple of years, expanded into a hugely successful Kickstarter campaign. The game's origins can be traced back to a Sega homebrew website called Eidolon's Inn. The project, which began as a basic RPG revolving around members of an online community that gathered on the message board called "The Tarvern" was consequently titled Tarven RPG."

As development continued the team opted to drop the original idea and instead chose to create a full-fledged role playing game. Eventually, Pier Solar was released for the Sega Genesis to great praise among genre fans and Sega collectors. Fast forward to 2012, Watermelon, now an indie studio, created a Kickstarter fundraising campaign for an HD remaster of their 16-bit homebrew. Their story is that of success and an example of what a dedicated, passionate team is capable of producing.

Unlike many independently released games which tend to be available on one platform only, Watermelon ambitiously plans to release Pier Solar HD for PC, Nintendo Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Playstation 3, PS4, and even Sega's Dreamcast.


The exciting world of indie games allows anyone to become a content creator. Alonso Martin is a Mexican film industry employee who is currently working on a Metroidvania/action RPG called Heart Forth Alicia. His game features a day and night cycle, over 40 spells, vast environments, and beautiful pixel art. Heart Forth Alicia was also funded via Kickstarter, which indicates that there is still a lot of passion in the RPG community.


Whether a veteran of an industry or entirely new to game development, anyone can create games now. Experimental Gamer, the team behind Boot Hill Heroes is working on their debut game. This band of industry hopefuls are creating a Spaghetti Western style Earthbound-like, "turnless" RPG that offers 4 player co-op, which is quite an ambitious undertaking for a first game. They want to highlight character growth as they feel that "the opportunity to watch your characters progress under your direction and watch the stories unfold, often makes RPGs more engaging... There are more opportunities for the player to feel connected with the characters, the world, and the story." They have also stated that the definition of an RPG is becoming more blurred as many games incorporate RPG mechanics and strictly turn-based games from Japan are labeled as "JRPGs."

Considering that gamers are expecting more memorable experiences, a greater focus has been placed on narrative. The Boot Hill Heroes staff points to The Walking Dead as an example of a successful, narrative-driven game. They don't expect to see a great deal of change with respect to RPGs within the indie scene, but look forward to a future with shorter, narrative-based, memorable games like Gone Home.

It's difficult to predict whether independently released RPGs will blossom into a whole new subgenre, but it is reassuring to know that dedicated and passionate creators are still keeping the genre fresh with new, innovative ideas and breathing new life into gameplay from that golden era of role playing games nearly twenty years ago. The pessimists like to call the genre dead, but (from what there is to see from these indie teams) the RPG is still going strong.

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