Recently when I attended the Boston Hassle Flea Market I found myself set up next to Sword and Kettle Press (check it out) and in the course of talking to them I came upon the (I suppose obvious) realization that what I was doing, what Indiepocalypse is, is small press. This should have been obvious to me, but the framework doesn't really exist in games.
Indie publishers exist but that's not really the same as (at least what I think of as) small press. To me small press is exists in that organized-but-not-quite-professional space. The hobby space, if hobby didn't have the sort of condescending "just for fun" connotation. But that's in a way what small press is, a hobby. It rarely pays the bills. "Peow never paid a salary" is a personal rallying cry of sorts. If a true institution of indie comics could never make a salary, then it's not too odd that I don't make a profit.
But a lot of that I think is the age of the medium. Games are a relatively young medium! The widespread ability for almost anyone to easily make and share games is just as young! To stick with comics (cause i like 'em), SPX for instance, started in 1994. I'm pretty sure I didn't have a computer then. Plenty of Indiepocalypse contributors weren't even born yet.
But, I think small press is the lifeblood of any artistic medium! They often publish whatever they want, often more alternative, less commercial, and more (in every sense of the word) diverse works. They (even nominally) pay artists. I think, maybe most importantly, they can provide a low cost entry point for people looking to get a foothold or some recognition.
I think small press is a great starting point for artists and that "starting point" is very different than "for beginners". You can make art for years and be quite accomplished but never receive any recognition for your work. Small press publishers (which often publish anthologies/compilations/low print runs) can very easily be that first entry point. Now someone's paid you for your work! They not only paid you, they like it so much they feel confident that other people will pay for it as well. It's something you can put on a resume!
Game publishing doesn't really operate on this scale. After all I have it on good authority that you can't make and indie game for less than $4 million USD. (nobody tell the Games Industry™ that the budget for Indiepocalypse commissions is $150 and that the games made are quite good(it's also waaaaaayyyy to low but it's what i got))
Instead of feeling desperate and looking for my space in games I know realize that I have a space, there's just not as many other people in here with me as there are in the wider game industry. There are more anthologies than when I started 3 years ago and even more on the way. The Hand Eye Society Mixtape even hits what I think are the essential criteria of
- Open submissions
- Paying contributors
- Having (for now) a semi-regular flow of releases
Most important I think is open submissions since that's the best way to prevent whatever you make from just being another collection of opportunities for the same people.
I think we are at exciting time for alternative self-published and small press games. And now that I've stopped trying the impossible task of fitting myself into the established game industry I'm excited about it as well!



