Dave the Diver & What is an Indie?

I was very excited to begin playing Mintrocket’s Dave the Diver. Not only was there a lot of hype for it after its The Game Awards nomination, but I had also talked to a few friends who recommended it highly. The first thing I was going to post about Dave the Diver was supposed to be a review. But now, with Dave the Diver nominated for Best Independent Game at the Game Awards, my mind has been occupied with another thought.

Is Dave the Diver an “indie” game?

Dave the Diver from developer Mintrocket

This question was called to my attention by a Gamepressure news article about people questioning the nomination. Dave the Diver’s developer, Mintrocket, is owned by the multi-billion dollar corporation Nexon. Mintrocket itself has declared that they are “not an indie developer.” So why did I, and so many others, including many who nominate games at the Game Awards, think it was?

The term “indie” has had a strange evolution in my lifetime. I remember being confused in high school about whether “indie” bands were a genre. Now, I’m going through the same confusion with video games. Dave the Diver looks, feels, and plays like what I’ve come to expect from most independent video games. The art style is unique, the scope is small but engaging, and everything about it is highly original. These are usually the telltale traits that separate small indie titles from big-budget AAA studio releases.

This is not to say that the development team behind Dave the Diver didn’t have a small budget or a small development team (I couldn’t find the answers to those questions). But since a corporation formed and owned them, they certainly had more room for error and financial backbone than the average “indie” studio.

I’m not upset at anyone or wanting to point a finger anywhere. Mintrocket never claimed to be an independent developer, and Dave the Diver is still an excellent game. But where it comes into weirdness is the Game Awards nomination. Dave the Diver deserves some recognition, but this might not be the right way.

Maybe “indie” games are more about look, feel, and scope than being independently created. Ok, sure. But there should be separate categories for “independent” and “indie” so that wealthy corporations aren’t stealing the spotlight from small studios.

Maybe this is where a category like “Best Small Team,” “Best Low Budget,” or even “Best Double-A Game” comes into play. Maybe these categories would also be the place for games developed/published by larger indie publishing companies like Annapurna Interactive and Devolver Digital. But that is a whole other can of worms.

What this comes down to is that independent games should have the opportunity to be recognized, and award categories need to better reflect the evolving game landscape to accommodate this. This change would allow small, independently developed games to get more time in the spotlight while not having to compete with games that had a much higher budget or larger team.

Money doesn’t automatically make a good game. There are plenty of examples of high-budget flops out there. But it helps.

Dave the Diver ultimately did not win “Best Independent Game” in 2023. Instead, it went to the RPG Sea of Stars. The independent studio behind this game, Sabotage Studio, raised just over a million dollars in a Kickstarter to fund their game. Again, not to disparage Dave the Diver because it is a great game, but I am happy to see a smaller studio win this category.

I will continue to play (and eventually write a full review of) Dave the Diver. Finding out about this controversy may have tempered my excitement, but this is still one of the most enjoyable games I’ve played in 2023. I’m also excited to work on a review for Sea of Stars and the other games nominated for Best Independent Game, including Cocoon, Dredge, and Viewfinder.

I’ll let you know when I finally get around to it.