Creativity and working conditions in the video game industry: The role of the independent scene

Similarly to other “creative industries,” the video game industry is characterized by a “commercial core” of mainstream video game developers, and a “creative fringe” wherein new ideas and concepts are developed and further refined. In this margin of the industry, there is a number of so-called “indie developers,” operating outside of the major corporations, who develop various digital objects and formulate new ideas, contributing to industry renewal. The research project examines how indie developers interact with and inspire (or, in contrast, are excluded from) video game companies.