There has been a rise in the number of individual animation artists working on indie game projects lately. This is not only due to the economics of games, which are more profitable than anime, but is also related to creators’ artistic interests.
The CG animator David OReilly has identified indie games as a media capable of describing “different” worlds. Because indie games are produced by small teams, their worldviews tend to be unique. Games also possess the interactive element of control, which is lacking in animation films. Thus, it is easier to experience “different” worlds through indie games. Indie games are a medium through which the allures and possibilities of animated shorts can be experienced with a much more powerful reality.
For example, UNDERTALE makes a realistic playing experience possible through what OReilly calls “pattern” and “symmetry.” The command “MERCY,” which appears in the game, is a command that players can deploy when they discover patterns that evoke sympathy in the movement of monsters, which are by definition something “different,” because they seem to show a “symmetrical” relation to the player. Thus, the possibility of experiencing one’s own relation to the world (=Everything) also characterizes indie games.