Recently I've been thinking a lot about how I feel weirdly indifferent about most Indiegames that have been comming out over the last few years and if maybe it has something to do with how a lot of them are designed to specifically game the recommendation systems on digital storefronts (Steam specifically).
Here's an excerpt for you folks to read:
People have now spent so much time understanding how to game algorithms in their favour, that slipping past them is almost impossible. That in turn creates both a push for higher production values (meaning higher budgets) and with higher budgets automatically comes the need to create safer works. Not only in terms of their underlying message, but also in terms of ambition.
I’m not saying that indie games from the late 2000s to the mid 2010s were somehow more real and less commercialised, that’s definitely not true. However, looking back at these times, it does feel like the space for which kind of game could wrestle itself into the public consciousness wasn’t as narrow as it is today.
And here's a link to the full piece:
A Deadzone of living games