French computer game magazin "Joystick"

[Stefan Maton]

Hello everyone,

coming from Belgium I would like to mention a very interesting initiative by the french computer game magazin called "Joystick". Basically what they do since mid '05 is to talk about indie games.

They started all this with a very interesting article about what's it all about being an independant game developer. The article was named "The future is in the garage" and had 7 pages.

If you've some sales from france and belgium, it might be that the articles might be the source.

Well... enough said, here a list of the games that have been talked about and when (all articles talking about those games are entitled "Indiependancy declaration"; yes, really written like this):

Special summer issue
--------------------
(above mentioned article)
Wik
Global Defense Network
Racer
Darwinia
Gish
Squirrel Squabble
Steer Madness
Live for Speed

09/05
------
Atlantis
Zuma
Dream Match Tennis
Mexican Motor Mania
Facade

10/05
------
War World (this game has been tested 11/05 since it hit french shelves and got 7/10)
Oasis
Fate
Rfactor

11/05
------
Desperate Space
Hyperspace Invaders
Titan Assault
Trash

12/05
------
No article... they mentioned that nothing special happened...

01/05
------
Heavy Weapon
Fairies
Race Cars Extreme Rally
Geneforge, Blades of Avernum and Nethergate (same developer)

02/05
------
Professor Fizzwizzle
Democracy
Zombie Smasher X2

In 02/05 there is a new article called "The price of independancy" and has 8 pages. They talk about what "Independant Developer" means (talking about Id, Valve etc) and independant game distribution ways such as Steam and XBox Live Arcade.

The games mentioned in the article are:

Oasis, Darwinia, F.E.A.R., HL2, Tribal Trouble, Trash, Democracy, Mythic Blades, Rag Doll Kung-Fu, They Hunger:Lost Souls (as an example of a mod becoming a full game), Zuma, Hexic, Fuzzee Fever (Xbox Live Arcade example), Geometry Wars.

They say that developing games as an indie is the *the* way for small groups in the past and the future.

If there's an interest in all this, I'll post the games that are mentioned in "Indiependancy Declaration" every month... Ah yes, and I wanted to mention that every game gets about a quarter to half of a page...

Have fun,
Stefan

[Teq]

very nice, I like the idea of that, hopefully there will be more magazines coming about as the indie arena grows (from x-box arcade, etc), would be very nice to have our game in lights (or err, a glossy mag :D) not that I am all that worried, not in this for the profit, just my way of being creative... what issue is this mag on Stefan? Do they have a website for ordering?

[cliffski]

I know for a fact I got at least 1 confirmed sale from being in that magazine. Hurrah for the french!

[Stefan Maton]

Hi,

it's a paper mag. Unfortunately they neither have a website nor a online order...#

This is the publishers website reference to the mag: http://www.futureplc.com/future/portfolio/magazine_descr.jsp?ref=53&criteria=country&category=&country=3&start=

Stefan

[Olivier]

Very interesting indeed! Thanks for the info Stefan.
I stopped reading Joystick more than a year ago because of it's content being less and less about computer games. Maybe I'll change my mind.
I'll try to get this month's issue to see what it looks like.:)

[electronicStar]

Yeah Joystick used to suck serious balls for the last years. Then the retail market became so poor that they couldn't even continue jumping in the big devellopers' beds and fill their magazine with useless internet humour so they decided to review indie games now (they probably noticed that noone was reading them anymore).
I might start reading it again, not for the indie reviews ,but because I have noted a slight improvement in the retail market and a few interesting games appearing.