Spelunky Creator Wants Indie Focus to Shift Away from Hit Delivery

Derek Yu, the developer behind Spelunky, believes that indie developers are seeing more funding and distribution options that make it easier for them to create video games and get them to the public, using Steam and other PC-based channels.

The game creator tells Gamasutra that, “What's maybe more difficult these days is finding your own voice amid an increasingly crowded, successful and commercial field.”

He adds, “I feel like that environment has put a lot of pressure on small developers to focus too much on making money and winning awards.”

Yu believes that the main reason for the success of Spelunky and other indie games is the love and care that small teams invested into them and invited his fellow game makers to remain humble and focus on achieving their own vision of gaming.