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How to make the best indie game ever: Lessons from J-Force Games
When J-Force Games released Avatar Massage Online in 2010, they were clear about their intentions -- they wanted to make money. Avatar Massage wasn't a genre-shattering revelation of graphics or gameplay; it was a mindless yet entertaining time-waster, or a clever way to buy a vibrator without worrying your mom would come over and find your secret stash. The J-Force team had dreams of developing the "best indie game ever," and to do that they needed money. What better way to fund an indie game, than with an indie game? "We just saw a bunch of mini-games and little apps in the top-sellers on XBLIG and said hey, we could do that too," Jeremy Eden of J-Force said. "Since we needed money it was a no-brainer." The 16,000 people who bought Avatar Massage seemed to agree with this sentiment. But a slew of other people did not -- many argued that releasing a "crappy" game to make quick money and fund a more ambitious project was "immoral" on a deep level, according to the (very secret) Rules of Gaming Ethics and Morality. J-Force didn't expect a violent backlash, but they were prepared with a response regardless. "The nutshell argument is this: There's no difference in making a game for the money versus working any other job for the money -- most people hate their jobs, but they put up with them just for that paycheck," Eden said. "People then argue, 'But you're releasing crap for money!' And by 'crap' they mean basically any type of game that doesn't suit their superior taste. If Avatar Massage Online was crap, why have 16,000 people bought it?"
