Unofficial indie game icon?

I'm getting close to releasing a much updated version of Tank Universal and I thought it'd be interesting to have an icon on the main menu screen - say in the corner - that (unofficially) represents indie games, something small but dynamic.

And perhaps it could have a catchy slogan as well ('keeping it real, keeping it independent'?) - not in your face, but a small branding exercise?

And it could be opensource and other indie game devs could change it and also use it.

In fact, perhaps a series of indie icons could be developed
Indie-RTS, Indie-FPS, Indie-Adventure, Indie-Platformer, etc...
It might be a little button-holing for some types of games, but it could also be something to help brand indie games and make them a little more accessible to the public?

Hmm - I might nut out a few designs. What do you guys think?

I think the indie-icons would be an excellent idea!

How big would this be? I think it's a neat idea, and worth a try. Even if just a small group of developers used it, it would hopefully be noticed.

What exactly did you have in mind, though?



It's nothing great, but I only had about 5 minutes before bed, and thought it looked nice, simple, and unobtrusive.

That is a really brilliant idea.
Have you floated the idea on the indiegamer forums?

By the way, I'm really looking forward to the next version of TU. It's a really great game that deserves to do well.

Torrente

I'm not sure yet, I haven't thought anything through really.

At best, it could even warrant a website where designs could be submitted, altered and voted upon till a set of winners emerge.

Perhaps the Blitz community could be a dry run for something like that?

If I have the energy, I'll try to come up with a few designs over the weekend, but keep 'em coming (nice one Torrente!) and perhaps we can do a mini-vote towards the end of next week?

Ervin
I have a complete version I'm sending out to a few people right now (for testing). Would you like me to email you the details?

And in an instant, stop being indie

Oh come on.

It wouldn't be a registered trademark or corporate logo - just an image devs might or might not like to use.

Not exactly on-topic, but in the same line of thinking, if you want some sort of 'unoffical independant' game ranking badge-type thingy for your creations, don't forget about
TIGRS - The Independant Game Rating System. Perhaps the use of these would be enough to stamp your game as 'indie' - I dunno.

Anyway... they're there. :o)

And just to grab your eye, here's a picture:

it is a good idea

I like the TIGRS rating ! I think I'll use that !

Yeah, I'd probably use the TIGRS stuff too. Then it serves a practical purpose at the same time as branding your game.

I plan on using Tigrs stuff as well and I would use an indie icon in my games and projects.

I didn't know about that TIGRS rating - think I'll use it too.

Have knocked up a few logo ideas - very rough, but a few ideas that could be further developed? What do you guys think?

3 across left and one down, OR, 3 down.

I like those two :o)

Yep - simpler is usually better;-)

How about a bit of distortion though?

Here's my submission:



Made from:
http://www.allsigns.co.uk/ecommerce/product.asp?productID=963&categoryID=211&siteID=1
http://www.allsigns.co.uk/ecommerce/product.asp?productID=973&categoryID=211&siteID=1

Although I think these have some mileage
http://www.allsigns.co.uk/ecommerce/product.asp?productID=984&categoryID=211&siteID=1
http://www.allsigns.co.uk/ecommerce/product.asp?productID=1077&categoryID=215&siteID=1
http://www.allsigns.co.uk/ecommerce/product.asp?productID=1107&categoryID=219&siteID=1
http://www.allsigns.co.uk/ecommerce/product.asp?productID=1124&categoryID=219&siteID=1
http://www.allsigns.co.uk/ecommerce/product.asp?productID=1237&categoryID=219&siteID=1

Anyway... you get my drift!

Right - the headphones graphic certainly gets across the geeky side of indie gaming ;-) Perhaps it could be incorporated with something above, like;



It's a little busy visually now though - with the extra graphic, the main text 'independent gaming' starts to become unreadable - perhaps a font change could help there.

@ MadJack > I like them all !!!

Can you post them in HD ?

We can choose our favorite then !

You mean hi def? High resolution?

I'd like to hold off a bit yet, still need more work and frankly, a few more options from you guys - even if it's just a font that works as well or better than that used above or a little graphic.

The headphones guy is cool, but would need a rework as he's from existing signage. Also, kind of gender specific? (you have to think of these things when designing a logo ;-)

Personally I like the fact that it's existing signage as it makes it instantly familiar.

Nooooooooooooo!

But what about copyright issues?

I don't think there's copyright issues with EU directive stuff. If there was copyright I doubt the CHIP symbols would be readily available for use on products.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/chip/phrases.htm

The Hascienda club used this signage as logos when they first opened too

What if we came up with just a title and a slogan, and let the user decide how to put them to use? MadJack's games, for instance, have an incredibly different style than mine, so at least one of them will have a logo that looks out of place.

Maybe even a small logo could be decided on, but without a definite style -- just something recognizable.

Something like;

'Independent gaming. Keeping it real, keeping it indie!'(?)

Or something ;-)

As for style conflicts, I agree. But I like the idea of a generic logo and so by definition it will have a 'style'(?) - even just through the choice of font/s used.

Perhaps a compromise is to have the logo presented when the game is started (and spacebar to flick past it) - like company logos are at present in the big AAA games. That way the player has seen it but it's not clashing with the in-game design.

So a brief shot of the logo on a white background, space to go on to the game. How does that sound?

Rob
Sounds like it's ok to use then - and it's a good little graphic.

That sounds good to me, personally. If we decided on a smooth, clean, universal logo, then I'd happily display it for a few seconds in any future games.

I'm not sure how `keeping it real` relates to indie games, unless you're referring to the independent streak of freedom and creativity?

You gotta ask yourself what really sums up independent game development.

Freedom? Creativity? The little guy? Rebellion? Sticking it to the man?

"Freedom To Create" from Torrente's logo sounds better to me...

I liked Torrente's logo and slogan. Be nice to see a colour version though.

But you're asking for trouble asking a forum group to agree on matters of aesthetics I think :-)

Sort of - although the phrase 'keeping it real' doesn't have any real meaning when you think about it, beyond a general sense of 'sticking it to the man'. So perhaps 'Freedom to Create' is better because it makes more sense in terms of what indies do.


Torrente

What's the font you've used in your logo - if I can download it, I'll make a few options including pure b&w, colour.

This is an absolutely brilliant idea!

Well, haven't heard from Torrente, so will have a go at redrawing his logo tonight.

Perhaps the slogan 'The freedom to create' gives a clearer message about indie development's wider creative scope (as opposed to the big games, which are typically WWII+special ops/ghosts + demons/aliens + space marines/orcs + elves)

If you mean 'The freedom to create... match-three games' then sure. ;P

Sorry about the delayed response... I've been busy with school.

Here's the font I used: http://www.dafont.com/alba.font

I sent an email to the creator asking for permission to use it officially, but I have yet to hear back. The readme that comes with the font just asks for notification of where he/she can see it, though -- so I think we're safe.

I'll knock up a few more designs tonight, if I can find time.

"Creative Freedom" rather than "Freedom to Create" ?

I like "Creative Freedom," personally. Fewer words, and more descriptive.



I can change the colors, too -- just give me a few colors and I'll work them in.

Torrente: I love the rectangle version!!

I like the rectangle version a lot too - and 'creative freedom' is better/simpler.

Colours:perhaps 2 colours?

Complimentary - say light yellow + dark purple, light orange + dark blue - hi contrast

While some colors might work, I think simplicity might be best in some cases, as to not conflict with game themes. The colors can be changed with ease, along with everything else about the logo ;)





Perhaps I picked much too vibrant colors for the yellow-purple one, but personally I'd have to say I still like the original color scheme.

It be interesting to see the yellow/purple one with the background stripes faded back to say 30% of full colour (so they don't interfere with the text) - and the text and outside boundary as 100% purple, with the inside of 'indie' as white.

Can that be done?

@MadJack, great idea, I agree with the sentiment about 'keeping it real' being unsuitable at best.

@Torrente, your logo is best. I like the bottom right one most..., but scrolling back up a couple of links, I prefer the not so black type one.

Like this?



I like how the "Indie" text blends in with the color behind it. The smaller text had to be black to even be visible, though.

I think the logo itself is OK, except the yellow/purple is very high on my list of most horrid color combinations.

Also, one question: what size is your original image in? To be able to use it as a somewhat versatile logo, it ought to be at least 1024x768 or so, so people have the ability to scale it down to whatever size they actually need. (Depending on the resolution of a game, that 200-pixel version above will be near invisible in some situations)

By the way: "Creative Freedom" is already a registered trademark:

http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=uhf2pv.2.3

"Freedome to create" and "The freedom to create" are both trademarked as well.

"creatively free" ;)

Torrente

I also like how the 'Indie' text blends into the color behind.

Leaving aside colour and trademarked slogans for a mo, I've knocked up a few variations on the rectangular logo.

I think it works ok to move the slogan outside of the rectangle.

I also quite like 2a since it's nice and simple.

But then I also like the way 'gaming' fits nicely underneath 'indie' on 3a ;-).

(looking at 3c, it kind of reminds of the Logan's Run logo)

The first one on row 4 is excellent.

ervin

4a - it's nice and light, yet visually interesting.

Looks like we need a new slogan though (if it's copyrighted) - some kind of two, three worder.

LarsG has suggested "creatively free" ;). or 'freely creative'

"Code with Soul"

'creativity at play'
'creative at heart'

'play unbounded'
'play unleashed'
'play different'

'no boundaries'
'play outside the box'
'play different'

'choose creativity'
'clearly creative'
'clearly different'

How about "Cloning Rocks!" then right underneath "Cloning Rox" ?

I like "Play Different" and "Clearly Different"

Also it would be nice to have the rectangle logo a 2:1 ratio so it'll size on a mesh nice and easy. Obviously a 1024x512 res would be good too. I like the 4a box too.

The slogan could go on a separate thing.

I like 4a too.

Here is my 10 minute draft attempt at a bottom left hand logo with alpha.
I thought something cheeky like:



The text needs moding, i only have a few fonts on this machine.

LOL, I love it D4NM4N!
Permission to use it?

@ duffer, sure, ive got the original layered (sea-fish-text1-text2) PSP if you want it to fiddle with. Its was only a rough concept so you might want to improve it somewhat.

@leadwerks I hope the girl in the photo didn't drop that turd!! :D

Just something I knocked together...

Obviously the logo media needs to be higher res.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/rob.farley/indie/indie.zip

Sure, if you don't mind.

If you need to email it:
blitzlover@...

i like rob's thing. i like 1b in the other post. you can see the slogan.

Leadwerks is that some kind of ancient alien poo?

Leadwerks Rock ;-) (or is it someone's ego made physical?)Worth including in a logo itself - maybe on a beerbottle label.

Rob

'Play different' appeals to me too - I'll add it in this evening.


Good idea - I'll resize this evening (NZT)


Agreed - 4a's the frontrunner. With the slogan separate from the box, it can be easily changed or omitted if the user wants.

Nice bit of code! The rectangular logo doesn't look too bad I think. I'm also thinking it'd look good on a white background.

Personally I hate the idea. I think having a logo declaring your indie-ness is as pretentious as claiming to be 'The last of the bedroom coders'. But maybe it's just me, and I'm just getting cranky in my old age.

That's fine - it's a voluntary thing. Personally I think there's value in having a quick graphic flash up that identifies the game they're about to play as being 'indie'.
It's just a branding thing.

i like it, it looks more polished or something. anyway i'm using D4NM4N's opening sequence, after that with something to the effect of "made with" and then the b3d logo.

Ok, here's a version with the 'play different' slogan added.

Have also darkened the background and removed the border to help further bring out the words 'indie gaming'.

Have resized the rectangle to a 2:1 scale as suggested by Rob.

I think this is pretty close to the final version for me.

MadJack, any chance of a high res version?

I'll have a play at some point soon and tart up the intro thing a bit... I knocked that one together in half an hour or so... I can do better!!

muhaaaa josh

Rob

I'm at work at present, but will sort a hi-res version tonight.

Will also look at creating a version suitable for a dark background.

White background version, and slightly modified so the motion is smoother (in my opinion anyway!)

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/rob.farley/indie/indie2.zip

scrub that - guess the rectangle logo will be fine on a dark background and 'play different' can just be in light blue or white.

And version 3...

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/rob.farley/indie/indie3.zip

D4NM4N: Not trying to bug you, but if you get a chance could you email me the psp of the fish logo? I was serious about wanting to use it.

How about if the PSD is provided, and the colors can be changed to suit the project?

That way, the logo would still be recognizable, but slightly open for modification.

Torrente



Definitely - I plan to include it on my website as a download shortly, so that people can use it how they wish.

@duffer, i did send it, mabe it got caught in your spam nets. I can try and send it again when i get home this evening if it didnt make it.

puki had the fannies logo for sure! :D

How about a plain green box, featuring yellow text (in a standard arial font, naturally) that reads: "Poor Production Values"?

Ooh! I know! I know! You could slap a badly drawn, uncharismatic toon face over the text too or sprinkle some icons from a Match-3 game around the green box. Or both! For that extra special touch you could even make the logo bend, wobble and roll around by means of an inapropriately applied 2d physics system when it is displayed in-game.

Is the weather bad where you are Luke?

Hmph. I was just thinking about what seperates the majority of independent games from "professional" ones and how these differences might be expressed succinctly by means of a logo. Well, that's the last time that I'll try to be helpful.

PS. Only my close friends call me Luke. It's Mr. Just to you. :p

PPS. By the way, Tank Universal looks great.

PPPS. Oh, and the weather is a bit overcast here with the promise of some sunshine later in the day.

I disagree, I like the whole idea of buying software from the "Indie" / "little guy" and is much more attractive to me than how 'corporate clean' something can look.

I quite often read the "about us" section of a website and find myself more inclined to buy a game when i read something describing a small scale operation, like a small group of friends, individuals or a family run setup.

Mr Just? Sounds like a superhero ;-)

Well, I've put together a zipfile which has the logo in 2 versions of 1024x1024 bitmaps + Adobe Illustrator7 and Coreldraw8 source files - so people can change it as they like (green box, yellow text?).

http://madjack.fileburst.com/INDIE_ICON.zip

It's also on my webpage and I think it looks pretty good! Thanks to Torrente for the great design!

http://www.tankuniversal.com

D4NM4N: It would appear my service is blocking it at the server level. I hate to ask this, but is there any way you could post it somewhere I could download it? If so, I would really appreciate it. If not, I understand.

Duffer

It's 218kb - could I email it to you?

MadJack: I was referring to D4NM4N's PSP for his fish logo.

sure i will upload it to my website when i get home from work about 6pm GMT
I always check my mail as soon as i get home so if you send me a mail to remind me and i will both reply and upload a link.

EDIT>
Here it is Here
If youre going to use it please change that font, i only had a few available. His mouth needs some dentistry in this version (I edited the png above after conversion)

Doh

So have we agreed on the universal indie logo yet?

I don't know which one we're all agreeing on.

Chad

Either one. It's actually good having the two - one being more casual/fun, the other a bit more corporate/pretentious ;-)

Ah I like =)

Thanks MadJack!

Thank you very much D4NM4N!

Np:duffer

I like that madjack.

It would also look great with a shiny coating (like the tigr ones above)
(btw, about the 'corporate' reply i made, i was discussing JL's comment not crit-ing your work :)

That fishy reminds me of James Pond.

What happened to the TIGRS icons? Anyone got nice hi-res versions?

The site they're hosted on seems temporarily indisposed - it was up a coupla days ago.

http://www.tigrs.org/ is the place to go though for your TIGRS icon needs... when it comes back.