7. Why So Serious?
Xbox Indie Games is a great place to get goofy and have fun. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of serious games on the service, but if you’re looking to make something you wouldn’t normally see on Play Station Network or Xbox Live Arcade it’s the place to be. There are dozens of developers on the App Hub trying out new things all the time. If you don’t take Xbox Indie Games with too much reverence you’ll be able to have a lot of fun making games. We at Silver Dollar love games that make us laugh. For example, our latest game ‘Xbox On The Go’ is a joke about unpractical applications for the Xbox.
Another example of goofiness in indie games is the really cool song in I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MBIES 1N IT!!!, which I read was sung by the programmer himself. Also Baby Maker Extreme is a hilarious physics game that will have you laughing. There are plenty of other examples of fun and experimental ideas people have tried, just look through the catalogue and you’ll see what I mean. If you have a goofy game idea, Xbox Indie Game is a great place to try it out.
8. Jim Perry and the Other MVPs
Jim Perry, Mach X Games is his App Hub name, is a MVP for the App Hub and a huge supporter of Xbox Indie Games. He’s been an App Hub member since the beginning, when it was called Community Games, and knows the system inside and out. He has over twelve thousand posts on the forums, most of which are helping others in need. I’ve read a few posts in the App Hub forums about the lack of support Xbox Indie developers get from Microsoft. From my experiences, Jim Perry and the other MVPs really have filled that gap. Jim Perry has been on the front lines of every problem, listening to every complaint and he’s done everything within his power to make things right.
In my opinion they’re two kinds of problems new developers can have when working on The App Hub. The first problem is figuring out how the whole process works. What content can you have in a game? What are the rules of the Peer Review process? How to summit a game to Play Test? The second problem is technical, which encompasses every question you could possibly have about XNA. Both of these questions Jim Perry has helped out with hundreds of times. His well rounded knowledge makes him one of the most valuable people involved in XNA and Xbox Indie Games.
I should mention that all the MVPs on The App Hub are extraordinarily helpful, but I wanted to highlight Jim Perry because I feel his efforts go far beyond the call of duty. I’ve seen activity from him almost every day for the last three years and all he’s tried to do is help make Xbox Indie Games a special place for everyone. I didn’t consult Jim or any of the other MVPs when I wrote this and this comes purely from our experiences.
