What does indie mean exactly? Technically, it refers to any company unowned by a publisher and can, for all intent and purposes, do whatever they please. The term can be applied to a variety of companies and a wider array of games, usually original ones under the indie umbrella. Telltale and Double Fine were – and still are – indie in the technical sense, but with over 150 members and a few licensed games under their belts, stretch the term a tad. There are a few games like Journey, games that look and feel sort of indie, but are part of publishing deals with major companies. Be it big or small, “indie” can be applied to what it’s meant since its inception: Indie means freedom.
And freedom’s exactly what the Fourth of July’s supposed to have meant to many a root’in toot’in American these past 236 years. Because of that, we’re paying a salute to a few of the smaller games out that embody the true blue, independent spirit. Games made on a PC in someone’s bedroom, without any $100 million ad campaigns, or anything you usually see in your typical Super Bowl spot. They’re the rebels, the oddballs, the thinkers, and most of all, what the Fourth of July’s all about in one shape or form.