Microsoft opened the doors to independent game development with Xbox Live Arcade, but 2D Boy's Ron Carmel goes indie with research to try and determine why fewer studios are willing to bite the hook nowadays given the how much more prevalent (and lucrative) development on competing platforms like iOS has become. XBLA is hardly the only marketplace for digitally distributed titles, as most gamers will certainly be aware Apple's App Store and Valve's Steam service. These platforms have managed to prove more popular with developers than XBLA, and Carmel believes he knows why based on correspondance with nearly a hundred indie developers. Apparently working with Microsoft to get stuff on XBLA has proven "excruciating" at worst, "so-so" at best. Much of indie developer's disgruntlement stems from Microsoft's policies to ensure a higher standard of quality for XBLA software. On the other hand, these policies only add overhead (and headaches) to developers. Being hamstrung by such requirements will only gradually force developers away from XBLA, and Carmel explains Microsoft's approach to curating software must move away from centralized quality control and one-sided distribution contracts. Some of his suggestions include: Create a fair contract that doesn't require negotiation. Solve the content discovery problem. Stop requiring independent developers to publish through MGS. Get rid of the exclusivity requirement for independent developers. Drop the greenlight process and open up development to everyone. Drop the ESRB in favor of a self administered rating system. Make avatar related requirements optional. The key is to foster a larger amount of better quality software, as opposed to ensuring that the average quality of all its XBLA titles are at a certain standard enforced through processes.
