I really enjoyed watching this film, more than I thought I would. It was competently shot and directed, and all of the technical aspects (sound, angles, pacing, etc.) were done well. More importantly, I found the actual content of the film to be quite inspiring. So much of the struggle that comes with entering the game development space is seeing the swarms of competition both in person and online, but strangely enough, that’s paired with the struggle of feeling like your alone if that makes sense. By presenting and all these indie game developers and humanizing them by giving exposure to their personal lives and the ways making games intersects with that, I do feel less alone.
It’s interesting to see how far the industry has come now that almost a decade has passed. The problems they bring up with AAA games (they’re much more homogeneous with a lesser tendency towards innovation due to the danger of ballooning budgets) are more prevalent if anything, while the indie scene has continued to grow at an incredible rate.
It was also very interesting to see the unlikely partnerships that formed, as I did not expect the creators of Enter the Gungeon to say they did not like each other very much, yet were still able to create something so acclaimed. It speaks to the fact that the act of creation is something incredibly fluid, and both in methodology and output there is a massive range, with many experiences yet to be discovered. The sound game without an elevator pitch about achieving zen through humming is barely a game in the traditional sense yet still a very interesting and by the looks of it an engaging piece of art.
Ultimately, I leave watching this film with a renewed passion and drive to make games, as I see there are so many more fighting that same fight and chasing their dreams.