NewToy has an “Indie Day”…Game Industry’s Version of Google’s 20% Time…

Hey folks,

NewToy had an interesting talk at the Austin Game Developer’s Conference…talking about the culture of their company. One thing that was interesting was that every Friday, they had an “Indie Day”…they mentioned that this was similar to Google’s 20% time…where a person could spend the day making a new/unique/innovative game.

So…one day each week, each person would be able to do something experimental/indie…

Many indie/experimental developers may say that they are doing indie 100% of the time…but I think the important concept here is…the idea of spending 20% of each week on new/experimental ideas. I’ve seen indie developers get sucked into a project…for months at a time…and during that time, they no longer explore or do interesting new/quick games.

Having an “Indie Day” each week is a good reminder to keep learning/exploring.

In the games industry…learning is an important part of the development process…and “Indie Day” helps to underscore this habit in a good way.

Anyone doing something similar to an “Indie Day” with their team/studio?
Post suggestions and comments about your “Indie Day” below 🙂