Manifesto Games goes live

Previously, we interviewed Greg Costikyan on CyberShack Radio over a rant he had at a large video game conference, regarding the lack of originality and design in video games.

Well, now it seems he’s had enough of the big business mentality and created his own company for the little guy, Manifesto Games.

Formed in 2005 by veteran industry innovators Greg Costikyan and Johnny Wilson, Manifesto Games‘s mission is to create for the game industry what independent music and independent film provide for their respective forms: a viable path to market, and an audience for independently created, offbeat, and innovative works.

Offering computer games for direct download, Manifesto Games is based on the principles of Long Tail distribution theory, which explains how over time, the aggregate of the modest, the cult and the quirky can equal or exceed the compressed sales of high-budget blockbusters. Offering a path-to-market for independently produced and niche games that are frequently unable to find shelf space in the bricks-and-mortar world, the company expects to reinject creativity and innovation into a dynamic field that has become increasingly moribund. Costikyan and Wilson feel that the independent games movement is analogous to alternative music and independent film.

The Manifesto Games site launches with more than 100 games of a wide variety of types, from turn-based games, shoot-em-ups, graphic adventures, and RPGs. In addition to the launch rooster, Manifesto will continue to add new titles regularly, and plans to launch Manifesto Originals, titles that will be funded and produced in-house, in the second year of operation.

Source: The Manifesto manifesto

Related Links: Manifesto Games