Making ‘indie’ video games gets trickier as industry evolves

Neon White co-creator and game director Ben Esposito, right, and co-creator Geneva Hodgson pose for photos in Glendale, California. Neon White is nominated for ‘Best Indie’ in Thursday's Game Awards, the Oscars of the video game industry. — AP

Video game developer Ben Esposito’s first big break was a quirky game called Donut County starring a raccoon who dropped small objects and then entire neighbourhoods into an ever-growing hole in the ground.

His latest, Neon White, is a campy twist on the first-person shooter genre that involves careening across heaven at breakneck speeds to stop a demon invasion. Drawn in an anime style and with a romantic subplot, it’s nominated for “Best Indie” and “Best Action” game at Thursday’s Game Awards, an Oscars-like event for the video game industry.