Jay Barnson Interview

Alley of Infinite Angles has put up the second part of their interview with indie RPG developer Jay Barnson. The interviewer also offers his own thoughts here.

What kind of impact can indie games such as Aveyond, Eschalon and your upcoming Frayed Knights make on the RPG market in general, and mainstream RPG designs?

Because of expense, mainstream games are becoming increasingly risk-averse. They want proven designs and properties wherever possible. I think in part, indie games may be proving that there’s still a solid market for types of games that have lost favor as game design has been riding the coattails of the most recent best-sellers. Maybe a few successful indie RPGs will shake things up. Maybe not.

Really, I don’t care if indie RPGs make an impact on mainstream games or not. While I wouldn’t mind more mainstream RPGs that match my sensibilities, I’m pretty happy so long as there are indies out there making the kinds of games I want to play. I think doing just that – addressing the niche audiences – is the biggest contribution and impact indie RPGs – and indie games in general – can make for the market.

Is it really necessary to be able to sell a million copies to that theoretical “Mass Market” in order to stay solvent as a game developer?