FRONTLINE

What are you Chasing?

Behind every indie game, there’s a chase. But not always the one you expect.

We love to romanticise the moment an idea strikes — a flash of inspiration, a world unfolding out of nothing. But the truth is, games aren’t built in moments. They’re built in the long, slow chase that comes after.

Some creators are chasing mastery — the idea that each game brings them closer to perfecting their craft.
Others are chasing freedom — the chance to break away from the constraints of ordinary life and make something that’s purely their own.
For some, it’s connection. A way to reach out and find people who love the same things they do.
And for a few, it’s about legacy. To be remembered long after the credits fade.

But not all creators are chasing something big.
Some are just tinkering, scratching an itch, living in the joy of making without a grand plan.
And that’s enough.

We spoke with a handful of indie developers — some just starting, some in the thick of it, some who are still dreaming of the first step.
We asked them a simple question: "What are you chasing?"

Their answers are messy, honest, and beautifully human.
And maybe that’s why their games feel different — because they’re more than games.
They’re pieces of the chase, brought to life.

🎨 Chasing Mastery

For some creators, the chase isn’t about making the biggest game or even the most profitable one.
It’s about mastery — the quiet, stubborn pursuit of getting better.
Not just better than the last game — better than themselves.

It’s the small victories that matter: a cleaner animation, a tighter mechanic, a sharper line of code.
The ones no player ever sees, but the dev knows they’re there.
The work isn’t glamorous — but it’s real. It’s what pulls them back to the screen, long after the excitement of an idea has faded.

For others, the chase is pure creation. The need to bring something into existence that didn’t exist before.
It’s not about commercial success, but about finishing — putting a stamp on something and saying, I made this.

Some chase it in bursts — odd what-if scenarios that tease at the edges of possibility.
Like stitching together concepts that were never meant to connect, just to see what happens.
For them, the joy is in the tinkering, not necessarily the end result.

Mastery isn’t a finish line. It’s a loop. The more you chase, the more you realize it’s just out of reach.
But it’s that gap — that small distance between good and great — where the magic lives.
That’s where some of the best indie games are born — not because they’re perfect, but because you can feel the creator reaching for something just beyond their fingertips.

🛠️ Chasing Freedom

For some creators, the chase isn’t just about making games — it’s about building a life on their own terms.
It’s a pursuit of freedom: creative freedom, financial freedom, and the freedom to do the work that matters to them.

Not everyone wants the mega-hit or the triple-A budget.
Sometimes, the dream is simply to be able to work without compromise — to pour yourself into a project without someone else’s blueprint smothering your vision.

For others, it’s about escaping the drag of ordinary work. The desire to step away from day jobs that suffocate creativity and wages that don’t pay the bills.
It’s not about riches. It’s about ownership.

There’s a deeper pull, too — the kind that comes from years of putting everyone else first.
To finally take hold of something that’s yours. To live in the creativity you’ve kept buried for so long.

Chasing freedom isn’t just about making games.
It’s about reclaiming time, rediscovering joy, and finding enough space in your own life to make something that’s yours.
It’s a quiet rebellion against the idea that work and life have to live at odds with each other.

And when you hold an indie game in your hands, sometimes you’re not just playing a creation.
You’re playing someone’s freedom.

🤝 Chasing Connection

For some creators, the chase isn’t about mastery or even independence. It’s about people.
It’s about building something that connects — that bridges the gap between one person and another through shared stories, shared adventures, and shared worlds.

It’s the pursuit of community — the idea that games aren’t just pixels and code, but places.
Places where players can gather, experience something real, and walk away feeling less alone.

Others chase connection with fierce simplicity.
It’s not about numbers. It’s not about profit. It’s about sharing joy with anyone willing to listen.

And sometimes, the chase for connection goes beyond just sharing and becomes about uniting.
Like rallying strangers around a booth at PAX East, transforming a cold convention floor into a network of shared stories.
For some, the chase is about putting games in front of real people, face to face, card stamp by card stamp.

Sometimes, the connections aren’t just with players. They’re with creators themselves.
The ones who make the stories. The ones who tell them. The ones who live them.

Connection is a chase that never ends.
The more you find it, the more you realise there’s still room to reach out, to bridge the gap, to invite someone else into the world you’ve made.

And maybe that’s why some indie games feel more personal.
Because they’re not just products — they’re invitations.

⏳ Chasing Legacy (or Nothing at All)

Not every creator is chasing the now.
For some, it’s about the after. About what gets left behind when the credits roll.
There’s a quiet kind of ambition in wanting to be remembered — not for the sake of it, but to feel like you’ve left a mark.

But sometimes, there’s no chase at all.
Some creators aren’t looking to change the world or even leave their mark on it.
They’re simply creating because it feels good. Because it’s a scratch that needs to be itched.
Because the work — just the act of it — is enough.

It’s almost like a kind of peace.
The permission to just be in the moment. To experiment. To create because you can — not because you must.

Not every game is chasing greatness.
Some are chasing joy.
Some are chasing connection.
And some are just the quiet scratch of a creative itch that nobody else will ever see.

But when you do get to see it, you’re witnessing something rare:
The raw creation, unburdened by expectations.
A whisper of legacy, or maybe nothing at all.

🔗 Closing Reflection

Every game you’ve ever picked up started with a chase.
Sometimes it’s a grand ambition — to be remembered, to master a craft, to build a legacy.
Sometimes it’s simpler. To get better. To make something, just for the sake of it.

But indie games are special because the chase is closer.
When you play an indie game, you’re not just picking up a controller or sitting down at a keyboard.
You’re stepping into the pursuit of someone’s personal dream.
You’re holding the threads of their ambition, their risk, their obsession — wrapped up in pixels and mechanics.

That’s what makes it different.
A game that exists not because it was market-tested and optimised for profit,
but because someone had a reason — a chase — that wouldn’t let them rest.

When you sit down to play, you’re not just playing a game.
You’re part of someone’s story.
And maybe, just maybe, you’re chasing something too.

Made possible by the contributions of:

Developers 

• RetroCrow is the youtuber dev of Ratshot and some smaller games

• zagawee is the youtuber dev of Garbanzo Quest

• Sefferson is the youtuber dev of Void Collector

• BenBonk is the youtuber dev of Slimekeep

• ughestrada is a budding gamedev and youtuber

• solomon.gumball is a youtuber dev and steamer

• Artindi is a youtuber dev of Chess Survivors and Hexagod

• nerdershewrote does the marketing for Sol Mates

• Hass Hazin is a beginner gamedev and a passionate gamer on Steam

• JBroook is the youtuber dev of Batter Up

• uhalexworks is the co-director and animator of Cross Impact

• Jett is the youtuber dev of Sumorbit and Moonbrella

• Martin is a game dev and programmer

• Hannah and Lee are game devs at Raguthra Studios

• WisestWaffle (Devin) is an aspiring game dev, and a Frontend Software Engineer

• RetroFlock is a wannabe gamedev, and an avid Steam gamer

• CptFuzzball is a software developer, and gaming enthusiast

Youtubers And Influencers

• FB3 Network is a youtuber and game enthusist

• Filipe has a portuguese gaming newsletter called "Videojogos: Boas Leituras"

• Kaleb is a passionate gamer and the creator of Player 3, a creator platform for gaming

• MjrPineapple is a video game youtuber

• Byrdie Byrd is a twitch streamer and indie game aficionado

• Viv is a youtuber, music producer, record label owner, and game lover

The Indieformer Team

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