Inside the wide world of indie video games

Yes, the video game industry is in turbulent times. But there's also a vast ecosystem of games built by those outside the major studios.
Courtesy BlinkWorks Media

What it's like to create an indie film during the golden era of indie video games

May 21, 2024
Filmmaker Lisanne Pajot reflects on how the challenges she faced making an indie film mirrored the struggles their subjects faced developing an indie game.
Ed McMillen, one of the developers of Super Meat Boy, takes a break from coding.
Courtesy BlinkWorks Media

Indie games are a “heart-dominant” business

May 14, 2024
David Brancaccio on the parallels between Super Meat Boy and Picasso’s masterpieces.
Tommy Refenes, one of the developers of Super Meat Boy.
BlinkWorks Media via IMBD

Netflix looks to drive growth with games after boost from password crackdown

Apr 18, 2024
Netflix has bought game studios and made other investments, but it's playing at a "high-stakes table" with deep-pocketed competitors.
Netflix’s booth at the Gamescom video game fair in Cologne, Germany, last year. It's putting capital into its video game operation, but faces high-powered rivals.
Ina Fassbender/AFP via Getty Images

Gaming furniture levels up to a more decorative aesthetic

Apr 18, 2024
Ikea is launching a new line of gaming furniture more suited for the living room than the basement. It's a sign of how gamer demographics are maturing.
Back in the day, furniture designed for gamers may have looked more like fighter pilot seats than something you'd find in a living room. Increasingly, that's changing.
Courtesy Ikea

How the video game Dot's Home was adapted for the stage

"Dot's Home Live" has been performed in Detroit in an effort to share the game's housing rights story with the community.
The video game Dot's Home has been downloaded more than half a million times on phones and computers. But co-creator Christina Rosales knew that games are often played alone, and she wanted to bring the production to the “next level.”
David Brancaccio/Marketplace

For public good, not for profit.

Video game Dot's Home brings a story of housing injustice to life

The interactive game lets players follow one family's account of disadvantage and discrimination through the generations.
"We wanted to tell a multigenerational story, because when you think about housing disadvantage, it is cumulative," says Christina Rosales, above, co-creator of Dot's Home.
David Brancaccio/Marketplace

Why Microsoft is switching up its Xbox strategy

Feb 16, 2024
Microsoft sees the change in strategy as a revenue opportunity, explains Tom Warren, senior editor at The Verge.
Why might Xbox want to bring Xbox-exclusive games to rival consoles? For "the revenue opportunity," said The Verge's Tom Warren.
Matt Cardy/Getty Images

What drove the strong growth in GDP at the end of 2023? Consumer spending.

Jan 25, 2024
Nostalgia, cold weather and an uptick in business travel have been good news for three Baltimore businesses.
The bump in GDP reflects increased consumer spending on goods and services.
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