Posted in: Games, Movies, Video Games | Tagged: Colleen Wilson, entertainment, gaming, indie game developers, Indie Teamup, Justin Hammond, Shawn Deprey, video games

Indie Teamup – A New Home For Indie Development With Games Potential

By Phil Harris

The world of indie game development is as broad as it is tall. From keen amateurs developing their games in their bedrooms to larger more established companies with people on their payroll, the amount of games constantly in development across the globe must be staggering. However indie game development isn't simply coders, artists and designers, it also incorporates audio, marketing, media, management, customer support and the vast variety of sub-classes which fit within these categories.

Whilst often it is the case that all these tasks are being done by a small group of individuals it would also help to have an address book of potential contacts who could help you out and Indie Teamup is just the address book you need. Its certainly not the first and I'm sure it won't be the last but in the way it has been established and run it feels like the start of a far more inclusive than some other sources and whilst I would always advise people to spread their name far and wide, when seeking employment, mentors or simply someone who can help it wouldn't hurt to sign up for Indie Teamup too: Especially because its free.

What's more, the whole layout of the site is simple and friendly to surf and use; profile possibilities are versatile, allowing you to add personal keywords to tailor which searches you are part of and this same keyword system allows you to search for people who fit into a specific skill set. In fact sometimes half the battle is won and barriers are broken down because like minded people are bound to use similar keywords to the ones you use also allowing disciplines often not covered by this type of site, such as audio, marketing and media specialists, to promote themselves and their work within the medium. Add an excellent support team and I'd hope any indie developer reading this should have signed up already.

What this means, in realistic terms, is that Indie Teamup is also a site anyone looking for a game developer should consider. With the growing need to create educational games, games to fit with a product release or even simply add gamification elements why not seek out people who can help from the massive register of the possibilities listed because, being honest here, most in-house games developed by non-games studios stink – since making a good, addictive game is not as simple as many people think.

We caught up with one of the three founders of the site, Shawn Deprey, to ask him a few questions about how they see it developing.

Phil Harris: The site has many significant draws for indie developers from all walks of life. Do you see a time when the site will, through necessity, become one they need to pay for or would you try and gain funding through crowdfunding, advertising or another means?

Shawn Deprey: Indie Teamup is pretty expensive to run, but this is a project we are passionate about in a space we live in. We do have plans to offer certain paid features in the future in order to cut down on the operational costs, but we aren't in this to get rich or anything. We just want to create a space to connect indies and produce real outcomes for people.

PH: What inspired you (in the plural) to start the site and what are the initial aims you hope to fulfil in the first year?

SD: Well, we have all lived in this scene for years. It's kind of part of who we are and as a result we are very in-tune with the needs of this industry. We saw a gap in offerings for this space and decided we would try and create something to fill it. It started as Colleen's hashtag, and then Justin grabbing the domain and finally me creating the ITU product. It's just kind of been growing from there and the support we have been getting for it has been constant inspiration for us.

In terms of what we plan to achieve in the first year, I would say that we want to become the leader in this space and a large voice in the indie community. We want indie devs to feel that this is the best place to find that team or indie they are looking for. We would also like to eventually become a good and trusted source of news in this industry, but that's still in the works.

PH: Why is it so important for indie developers to be able to communicate with each other and what are the benefits for getting involved?

SD: This field is educational and we grow through experience and collaboration. We want to encourage people to participate not only help themselves grow, but help their fellow indies grow as well. I think this is more than a hobby for most people involved, and I want to give people succeed.

I find this exceptionally important for the younger crowd who may not have the level of experience some of the older crowd has. Education and teaching is a direct outcome we have seen on our platform already and we are totally stoked about that!

PH: Indie Teamup was founded by Shawn Deprey, Colleen Wilson and Justin Hammond and both they and the site have their own twitter feeds, they do regular podcasts and they probably get as much sleep as yours truly: That's dedication for you.

If you're interested in learning more about the people involved you can find more details here and whilst you're on the site why not consider registering and searching for some other likeminded people or you can find the other projects I've been involved with if you use the keyword "bald head".

Indie Teamup deserves strong support from the community and we'll certainly be keeping an eye on their progress.

Phil Harris (@PhilipGHarris) is a games developer and writer currently working with One Thumb Mobile on their MMORPG Celtic Heroes. He also helped design Nevistech's Pet Roulette for Android devices and is the story writer for Blazing Griffin's new space strategy game Distant Star: Revenant Fleet. To read more about Phil check out his profile on Indie Teamup.

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