Who do you think are the best indie devs?

[McNeil]

The Blizzard hearthstone team.

[Poppincaps]

The Blizzard hearthstone team.

You guys are bad at this.

[Tech614]

Most (good)indy developers are really passionate about a certain genre, make a really good game in that genre and then fade into obscurity outside of support for that game. Kind of hard for me to say who is the "best" because most are just born out of frustration that a particular type of game is no longer being made and their passion and love for said game shows when they make it come to be.

The only one I can think of that has made multiple games/genrea I enjoy would be Edmund McMillan but he's made those games with different people. He also chose the worst fucking developer in the world in Nicalis to ruin one of his IPs so there's that too.

[Kuhnta]

Larian Studios

[Cherrytie]

Behemoth and Devolver for me

[Tech614]

Behemoth and Devolver for me

Devolver is not a developer.

[Wondercrab]

It's tough because most of my favourite indie devs don't have more than one or two games published at the moment, so it's hard for me to give the likes of Moon Studios, Team Cherry, Yacht Club etc. my trophy of "best indie devs" without more of a proven track record.

In terms of people who've been around for a while with multiple excellent games published, I'd probably have to give it to Ed McMillen. He's put out consistently great work for many years now, with Super Meat Boy and Binding of Isaac both being pretty definitive titles in their respective (and very different) genres. McMillen's games aren't top-of-the-list favourites of mine, but if anyone's worthy of the title "best indie dev" right now I think it's hard to find many people who've earned it more than him.

[Cherrytie]

Devolver is not a developer.

I meant Dennaton
Sry its late

[Cæli]

does Double Fine Productions qualify ?

speaking of indie, and not "amateur", I don't think there is any indie games studio that shines enough to be remarkable, everytime the best they can do is release one gem which is fine.

however I know that Amanita design (Machinarium, samorost), thatgamecompany(Journey, flowers), Wadjet Eye Games(many point and click games with remarkable atmospheres) and telltale(walking dead, wolf among us) released valuable things, more than any other I can think of. lately D-Pad Studio(owlboy) was quite surprising but is still within the "one gem" rule.

if we had to choose one that had quantity and quality, I believe it would either be amanita design, or telltale.

[Poppincaps]

does Double Fine Productions qualify ?

speaking of indie, and not "amateur", I don't think there is any indie games studio that shines enough to be remarkable, everytime the best they can do is release one gem which is fine.

however I know that Amanita design (Machinarium, samorost), thatgamecompany(Journey, flowers), Wadjet Eye Games(many point and click games with remarkable atmospheres) and telltale(walking dead, wolf among us) released valuable things, more than any other I can think of. lately D-Pad Studio(owlboy) was quite surprising.

Uh that's kinda debatable. They've worked with publishers on several of their biggest titles (mainly Psychonauts) but they also have a lot of games self-published. I'd lean more towards saying that they shouldn't qualify.

[hulkgor]

Notch from Minecraft (before selling it for billions of dollars?) and GGG from Path of Exile (now massive).

For sure.

[Pendulous]

Double Fine is the first one that came to my mind. Cellar Door in a couple games. Rogue Legacy and Don't Shit Your Pants are well known.

WayForward would be my vote. Known for their Shantae and Mighty Series on Nintendo, and of course Duck Tales: Remastered - yet they worked with a lot of different IPs and Publishers, across many systems. They really know how to make some challenging, yet fun, 2D-Plattformers / Puzzle Games.

Double Dragon Neon also. Like, the only good Double Dragon game is the past several decades.

I'm sure they're talented but looking at that list, it seems like they have a ton of licensed shovelware under their belt. Hardly worthy of being considered one of the greatest. Just because Shantae is good doesn't make them worthy.

Also they constantly work with publishers. I'm talking true indies.

Everybody starts somewhere. Also working with other companies does not make you not a developer, or indie.

[Moxal]

For me: Double Fine. Crate Entertainment. Larian Studios.

[kail]

Of the games I really enjoyed:

Red Hook Studios (Darkest Dungeon)

Grinding Gear Games (Path of Exile)

Larian Studios (Divinity: Original Sin)

Supergiant Games (Bastion, Transistor)

I'd also put Obsidian Entertainment there, but I'm not sure if they qualify as Indie. Their games are funded by other publishers like paradox, but they also look to crowd-sourcing as well, like Pillars of Eternity.

Anyways, these games are those that end up matching/exceeding similar AAA quality games of similar genres. They get my support and following on any game they develop.

[Deleted]

Larian Studios for Divinity Original sin

Telltale for thier numerous games like Sam and Max, Wolf among us and Tales from the Borderlands

[8bithamster]

Red Hook
McMillen (Binding of Isaac!)

[Deleted]

GGG for sure.
Amazing game, amazing people when helping players, who like me do not pay a dime, whenever they have an issue, unbelievable pace of content, and for sure the best F2P model ever, a really free to play game, and for once justice is served, the game has a more than okish stream of revenues (truly deserved).
Honestly these guys and the ones from CD project red, are the best ones in the gaming industry right now.
I do also like a lot larian studios.

[Poppincaps]

Double Fine is the first one that came to my mind. Cellar Door in a couple games. Rogue Legacy and Don't Shit Your Pants are well known.


Double Dragon Neon also. Like, the only good Double Dragon game is the past several decades.

Everybody starts somewhere. Also working with other companies does not make you not a developer, or indie.

I never said that it doesn't make you a developer... that would be a ridiculous statement. But if we're going to try and determine the best indie developers, then it isn't exactly fair to include independent developers who've received help from publishers.