Supporting Indies

I recently bought tickets to a movie like 2 months in advance, something I’ve never done before. For what movie? Well…

I was in a call with some friends and we all saw the announcement for the theatrical release of the final episode. For context, most of us weren’t really big enjoyers of the show, maybe mildly entertained, but the idea of seeing the finale in a theater was exciting so we all ended up buying tickets. Good thing too, cuz they were selling out FAST! It was kinda mind blowing just how much this series had exploded; I’ve been following Gooseworx’s silly little cartoons for nearly 15 years (real ones remember Banjo-Kazooie Gruntilda Battle Orchestra Remake) and to see her latest series all over the place with enough interest to sell out theaters within hours of announcement is crazy. I’m super excited and I’m not even a big fan of the actual show. Why is that?

Indie content has gotten more and more popular in the past decade. Industry-grade software has become more accessible, so we can now get shows from random hobbyists just making a passion project in their basement all the way to industry veterans banding together and launching a crowdfunded game. Being independent means there’s no Big Wig Higher Ups coming down on you saying they need more predatory gambling mechanics or to redesign that one character because it hurts their puritanical eyes; you get to make the stupid sexy character as sexy as you want!!! When the people who are making the projects are the ones in actual control, you get that element that corporate products tend to dilute: the soul. I know that’s a little cheesy, but when you remove the layers of corporate interference with decision making and just get the raw exposure of someone making what they want, you get to see into their personality a lot clearer which makes the experience more personal. Why is the character a rabbit? They probably like rabbits or had a pet rabbit. Why is the show a musical? The creator probably grew up with animated Disney movies and likes broadway now. Why is there lesbians? Because the creator is probably a shameless lesbian (power to you, girl) It lets you look into the soul of the creator; you see their skills, however amazing or limited, and learn more about them in the process. When the veil of creativity gets lost and the thing you are engaged with begins to feel like something engineered for you to stay committed to watching or playing in order to maximize the possibility of you spending more money on it in the form of merchandising or continued installments, you no longer feel like you are playing a game, you feel like you are playing a product. Even in indies, you will get that same feeling with someone trying to sell you something for a quick buck so they can make their next get-rich-quick scheme, but it feels slightly more honorable when someone is trying to sell their personal interest amongst people who might have a similar interest, rather than sanitizing their taste to maximize profit.

The other awesome thing with indies is how engaged it can be with the fans. Since the manpower is so limited, there’s often overlooked elements to its production that a corporate studio would handle with ease. Games will often be shipped in an uncompleted state as “early access” so you can support its active development financially while also providing feedback that can change the overall product on its full release. Many indie shows release for free on the internet which makes it accessible to a larger audience who either can’t afford the countless subscription services to watch everything or literal children (probably explaining the majority of immature fans these shows tend to get) This cut of an entry fee usually makes these shows rely on merch or crowdsourcing from charitable fans willing to bite the cost for those who can’t afford to support the show they enjoy. The involvement can even go beyond the finances of the project as well, as many fans will band together in order to bring a project they enjoy to more people. UNDERTALE has never had an official translation besides English and Japanese (which is kinda crazy to me) so this excludes a large majority of the world from being able to play the game. Many fan lead projects have been made to translate the game in languages like Italian and Spanish and created unofficial patches so that those who don’t have the skill to translate it themselves can get to experience it with ease. There’s also accessibility options that aren't always shipped with games, making a lot of gamers with disabilities unable to play some games at launch (if ever even added) A couple of fans of Stardew Valley worked together to create Stardew Access, a mod which adds accessibility features focused for blind gamers (and was even translated with the help of additional fans)

Now this brings us back to the Digital Circus and fan involvement. Upon the announcement of the finale being in theaters, there was only a limited release in select countries that were primarily in North America, so if you’re a super fan but also super French, sorry buddy, better luck next reincarnation. It was up to fans to show interest in wanting to see a finale which would be released 2 weeks later on the internet completely for free in an actual theater (for NOT free) which is probably the first time that has ever happened for an internet series. So far, its been pretty successful with becoming available in more countries, and its something the community will get to remember being a part of making happen. You can argue this is just free labor but in the indie scene I feel that sometimes it isn't really with malicious intent. Not every game is selling Balatro numbers of copies, so they can't afford the money or time to bring their things outside their native region. With Digital Circus, it was such a new territory that theater companies didn't know if it would even be a financially wise investment. A show that's FREE being shown in theaters for NOT FREE? Who's gonna buy that? (A lot of dedicated fans, thats who)

So that's why I'm excited for the Digital Circus movie. Not because I'm a diehard fan who wants to know the conclusion of the funny rabbit and anxiety-riddled jester 2 weeks early, but as someone who wants to see passion projects in the future have the chance to be screened in theaters or to get a DVD release or some other ambitious idea that has never been done before. I may have been privileged enough to live in a country where lots of cool exclusive events like this get to happen, but my hope is showing an overwhelmingly large success for this event makes it more likely that more audiences in different regions or different modes of experiencing will get to experience an event like this in the future.