Over the past few months we have been hard at work expanding our community and exploring ways to help game developers reach new fans and interact. First there was Desura our answer to mod and game distribution (which is not far off launching) that removes the need for complicated installations. Now we present a shiny new website that will expand our audience in a very exciting direction. Introducing IndieDB.
Our Aim
IndieDB is dedicated to the communities and developers of independent games and has been designed from the ground up to help dev's promote their hard work to the right people. Just like with ModDB, IndieDB is a user generated database with a heavy focus on community interactions. We give you (fans and game developers) the tools and means to showcase your project however you please, be that through detailed blog posts like the Wolfire crew, as your projects official homepage or even as just another release mirror.
Competitions
We are also running two competitions over the next month. Fans, win cash for yourself and your favorite indie game team by telling us why they are the best. We have $600 to giveaway, read on for details. Developers, we have a Unity Pro and Unity iPhone Pro license (worth a combined total of $3600) to giveaway to the most deserving Unity development teams. So add your Unity game and read the details to find out how you can win this great prize.
FAQ
Some of you die-hard ModDBer's will naturally have some questions, so here is a simple QnA that will hopefully help you out. This post explaining what's new is also a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED read. Otherwise ask a question in the comments, and we shall update this post with answers.
Q: What why?
A: ModDB has always supported all forms of independent game development, so IndieDB is a logical step for us to take. There are not a whole lot of websites out there bringing together indie developers and those that do don't let the teams control the flow of information that most of you have come to love about ModDB.
Q: ModDB has always had Indie games on it... why are you splitting up the site?
A: We aren't changing ModDB at all. All the content, profiles, forums, games and users will remain on ModDB. The difference is that IndieDB will feature ONLY indie related stuff, so treat it as ModDB's little sister only without an over-protective big daddy. You don't need to re-join or re-add your content either, ModDB and IndieDB share the same backend.
Q: Wow IndieDB looks awesome are you guys not going to update ModDB anymore?
A: What? God no, ModDB is our life we would never abandon it for any reason! Modders we heart you... in-fact if you like all of the changes, fixes, design and improvements that IndieDB has, let us know and we shall port all of these updates over to ModDB.
Q: Hey I'm an Indie Developer, how come my profile isn't on IndieDB?
A: That could be answered in a few different ways so the best thing for you to do if you find yourself in this particular pickle is to send me a quick PM letting me know all about your trouble and woes. There is no-need to re-add your game or content, just ask and we shall auth it on IndieDB!
Q: I have customized my profile design on ModDB with fancy colors and a description, what happens on IndieDB?
A: I'm afraid that while the sites are *mostly* compatible, there are a few minor differences (i.e. IndieDB is 20px thinner) so you will need to make sure your profile design suits both sites!
Q: How can I get content on ModDB (i.e. groups, news, files) on IndieDB as well?
A: Any indie related content should automatically appear on IndieDB. If it doesn't don't worry, you don't need to re-add it. Just contact us with urls to the groups, news, downloads etc you want shown on IndieDB as well and we shall auth it for you. You only need to post content ONCE, if you update IndieDB then ModDB will be updated as well and vice-versa.
Add your Game
So if you are developing an indie game for any platform (PC, mobile or console) add it and start sharing content and we shall work tirelessly to help you reach new fans and customers. And if you are here to play games, start browsing the site and spread the indie love via twitter, facebook, digg and your other favorite social sites (handy buttons below). We appreciate the launch assistance!
Love the new IndieDB makeover! I've been watching indiedb for a while.
expansion expansion expansion! =]
IndieDB here we come!
Yes this is great! Woo-Whooo!
Im loving the new design of Indie DB, hopefully this will succeed in drawing more attention form indies and get them st up here.
Hmmm... I love the layout, that green is surprising new and fresh. However, I cannot really see the use of IndieDB yet (as addon to ModDB). But, hell, no critics, it has just launched, right? :)
ModDB will continue to list indie games, so you can keep browsing ModDB and benefit ;)
IndieDB's appearence is awesome, I wish modDB becomes somewhat like that!
I like the move, it allows Indie titles to have more the 10 minutes on the front page with the news, rather than being bumped for a mod post of someone's latest pink desert eagle skin. lol... thx.
Awesome guys!
But speaking of "Q: I have customized my profile design on ModDB with fancy colors and a description, what happens on IndieDB?":
How exactly do you do that ? I tried adding css code at the tinyMCE(?) description editor but it keeps commenting it out with <!-- -->.
I read the FAQ but I am apparently missing something.
Any help is appreciated :)
Send the devs a PM. They do it on their end, and you supply the CSS and images.
Thx a lot for the info !
holy ****, o0 awsmoe... aswmeo.... AWESOME
it's a good idea
All it just awesome! New site looks gorgeous! + to my bookmarks)))
All I can say is...
*standing ovation*
Very nice - love the site's design, very smooth.
Looks very nice :)
Cool. So we'll have ModDB and IndieDB. What's next? Gonna bring back AddonDB? :)
Maybe they will fix the comment sorting?
So I need to move my project there now?
No, this just lists ModDB content that is flagged as Indie. You don't need to do anything
Great work!, I look forward to getting 28CL on here
Is it supported by Firefox...or Internet Explorer? I can't seem to see the page except for the words.
I'm doing just fine on Chrome.
this is great news.
Why you need to seperate them?
To get more attention for indies.
Thanks for using the Frozen Synapse grab there! We're very proud to be a part of ModDB and now IndieDB - good luck with it!
Indie DB rocks! Great idea and great looking site! Congratulations!
great
This awesome Great work guys :)
You are the best, people. Your designer rocks. And, as said by Mega64, "If you're not Indie, F*CK YOU!"
Nice job! You guys rock.
Reminds me of addondb
I think its a great idea ! Lets see how this works out... Mixing mods and indies has become a mess on moddb lately, so I prefer the new solution !
It looks nice, however I liked having both Indie games and mods on one site together...
There's still both on one site together at ModDB. Nothing has been removed from ModDB.
Honestly, the ModDB / IndieDB / Desura system is the best attempt at service integration I've ever seen on any site. Better integration than Google services. Better than Adobe or Microsoft programs. Better in-house integration than anything Apple has released. How the hell do you do it?!
Appreciate the compliment. Attention to detail really, and learning by using. I personally hate having to manage different accounts, logins and content across sites run by one company, so we work really hard to cross-integrate everything.
Means you get a consistent end-user-experience and don't have to "re-add" content everywhere. Having said this I have a list of things that would make all 3 sites even better which spans 4 pages!
indiedb is a nice idea.and i must say i really like the service integration idea implemented.good as always.
I just spent a good deal of time exploring and there's some fantastic material here ! indieDB has no where to go but up. Love it !
sweet mostly into the mods but this might spark a new interest in the little guys commercial games!
Nice idea, I really love it.
hmmmmm.....AWESOME!