A Look At ‘Indie Game: The Movie – Special Edition’

Up until a few months ago I’d heard of Indie Game: The Movie , but I’d never watched it.

, but I’d never watched it. I knew there was copious amounts of hype surrounding the film itself so it seemed foolish of me (an avid video game fan) to not sample it’s delights.

Delights are in abundant supply in Indie Game: The Movie and even that was before the release of the Special Edition , which has just hit the Steam store this July.

For anyone clueless as I was as to what the premise of the movie is, it essentially documents the arduous journey that independent game developers have to go through, in order to get their game published. That and much much more, in all it’s raw, emotional glory!

Indie Game: The Movie focuses mainly on the development of three games: Braid , Super Meat Boy and Fez . It offers in-depth and utterly honest opinions from the developers of these titles, even in their moments of sheer depression and despair.

Don’t let that put you off though, observing these pioneers of the game industry reduced to stressed-out and panicky wrecks, is definitely worth it when they finally hit their targets. The make or break nature of their deals with big-time players in the industry, is a surefire crowd-pleaser and keeps you teetering on the edge of whatever you’re sitting on, the whole time!

The emotion that Indie Game: The Movie manages to evoke from not only myself, but thousands of other fans of video games, is just as powerful as any big-budget blockbuster action thriller.

If you’re curious or maybe I didn’t sum it up very well, here’s the official trailer:

So that’s the gist of the film really. Well not the plot, but what it’s about and how awesome it is. Now though, I’ll tell you a bit about the ‘DLC’. The Special Edition version of Indie Game: The Movie is cleverly pitched as DLC (downloadable content, for anyone who doesn’t speak the lingo).

Did you know that Indie Game: The Movie , is the first feature film to have it’s own DLC? It’s also the first movie to be released as an app on Steam. As if they weren’t already breaking boundaries with all that stuff, it’s also the first film to include Steam trading cards and achievements. Imagine that, an achievement for sitting down and watching a movie!

The DLC bolts straight onto the film, adding 100+ minutes of extra content – all in 1080p HD. This extra content includes a collection of epilogues from the likes of Phil Fish (Fez) , Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes (Super Meat Boy), and Jonathan Blow (Braid) .

Indie Game: The Movie Special Edition also boasts a collection of stories from other game creators, deleted scenes, ‘Team Meat Commentary’ and the swankiest menus in DLC history.

After watching the movie and the Special Edition in it’s entirety, I can safely say that you come to really care about and feel for the developers that you see on screen. The fact that they care so much about what they produce, instills an almost patriotic feel in your brain towards video games and their developers.

To catch a glimpse of this, check out the official trailer below…

It’s very difficult to give something as unique as this a rating, so I’d say that anyone remotely interested in video games should regard this film as a must watch. If you own a copy of Indie Game: The Movie on Steam, you can pick up the Special Edition ‘DLC’ for a small upgrade price here. Also, head over to the official websitefor physical DVDs, Blu-rays, poster, t-shirts and even more wicked merchandise!