GameLoading: Rise of the Indies began life as a Kickstarter project in July 10, 2013, started by an Australian couple Lester Francois and Anna Brady. After $57,667 was given to them by 1,232 backers, they interviewed various industry figures and on September 17, 2014 launched a second Kickstarter for covering production costs. The second project received $60,901 from 950 backers. So, after $120,000 dollars sunk into it, is GameLoading: Rise of the Indies any good?
Creating video games is magic!
The documentary is comprised of a series of interviews. However, because the cast is so hopelessly diverse and none of them say anything truly insightful, the entire documentary comes down to a procession of obscure industry figures and anonymous indie game developers, who can be best described as hipster indie wannabes. Comic relief is provided by the likes of Ben Kuchera and Nina Freeman from Code Liberation.
She is edgier than edgy.
Of course, what kind of indie video game documentary would it be without Zoe Quinn? She is the absolute star of the movie and can’t stop whining about the foul Tweets people send her. Instead of just doing her thing, Zoe intentionally puts herself in the limelight and then complains about the attention she gets. What gives Game Loading: Rise of the Indies a melancholic note is seeing old school figures, such as John Romero and Tom Hall, both from the original cast of id Software, thrown into the movie to give it weight and legitimacy.
We will never forget Daikatana.
GameLoading: Rise of the Indies has toured the world, appearing in numerous cinemas and festivals as a legitimate representation of the video game industry. Curiously enough, the documentary was actually sponsored by Intel during its U.S. tour, going so far as to actually replace their failed laptops when needed.
GameLoading: Rise of the Indies is a story about a group of pink-haired hipster indie devs who travel across the world in their bus and pretend to code. They are living the Patreon-funded dream in which the worst thing that can happen to them is a mean Tweet or a satirical forum thread. This documentary has no content and aims at the feelings of its audience, just like SJW video games do. Despite getting $120,000 via Kickstarter, the documentary is still not free and can be viewed (not downloaded) via Steam for $8.99.
Read More: Zoe Quinn Announces “Anti-Harassment” Initiative Called Crash Override
