Indie Developer: Developing a game is “easier” without “a publisher breathing down my neck”

We recently had the chance to speak with Chris Zukowski, developer of recently released indie game City Tuesday.

When we asked him how different it is being an indie developer, without having a publisher behind your back, he said it’s easier to make the game without any pressure and that you can do it on your own time.

“I can make the game on my own time,” Zukowski told us. “So it is easier. But it did take longer than if I had a publisher breathing down my neck.”

When we asked him about his publishing partnership with Microsoft, he said it “isn’t really a partnership”.

“It is more of a marketplace that I pay them a cut in order for me to put my game there,” he said. “It was a great place to release your first game but I am moving on to more dynamic markets like the iOS.”

Well, it does make sense that the developer would have an easier time developing his own game without a publisher telling them when to do their work, and it also means the devs have a lot of creative freedom. But there’s also the issue of financial backing- without a good publisher backing your game, you often are unable to implement some of the great ideas you might cook up.

It’s a pretty balanced equation, I think. What’s your take on this? Tell us in the comments below.

You can read the full interview here.