So while I was playing Minecraft yesterday, a player on the server and I were talking.
He asked me my age (30), and I asked his (14).
Without thinking I typed the following:
”Ah, you’re growing up in an interesting time in gaming!”.

At the time I don’t know exactly why I said it or what it meant.
After giving it some time today, I think I’ve got it. Answering while I was playing Minecraft was part of the reason.
This was a game that came out of nowhere to be a bigger success than ANYONE could even begin to imagine. Certainly an influence on my statement.

But it meant even more than that.
We’re seeing a strong movement from indie developers and studios putting out games that aren’t bound by release dates, wringing a franchise dry, catering to ALL age and skill ranges, etc.
It’s proving to work out great because they are making very successful games without following the standard large publishers method of create it quick, for “everyone”, and make tons of DLC to make more money while doing nothing for the game play experience.
Yes, I know Team Fortress 2 does do that last part, but it’s a great game, does that on purpose, and the audience knows that, no misleading.

We even have large companies that make great games, games as art, real fun, listening to feedback and play testers. Valve, I’m looking at you. Keep it up.

This is however, almost completely confined to the PC market.
Consoles in my opinion are getting left far behind.
Sure we have downloadable games, some are great. But the cost to get them on these marketplaces can be very high, and getting access to the right tools can be a process too much for many.

The “kids” I interact with at work are more console gamers than PC gamers. This is most likely due to the extra cost and maintenance/upgrades needed for PC gaming, which is starting to even out, thankfully. Games focused on content of playability, story, and fun, rather than graphics and audio also lessen the expenses.

So we have a largely untapped resource in which to distribute these games.

Yes I know there are lots of downloads on these consoles.
Remove the remakes, ports (PS1 > PS3, NES > Wii), desperate spin-offs, large studio games, and you don’t have much left from what I’ve seen.

Open these platforms up, let artists explore.

The PC market has started doing that with Steam’s Greenlight program. Exposing indie games to a larger audience through a very popular digital distribution system.
Valve didn’t need to do this, and it’s still in it’s early stages, but it’s there, and the potential is great.
What if Greenlight spun off and was for indie games only? Save bandwidth costs for developers, Valve gets a small cut, and the developer(s) get paid for their work.
Oh, and gamers get better games!

All of these wonderful things are happening everywhere, including the mobile/tablet market. And we’re experiencing a re-emergence of games as art, games as fun.

The way it was started, the way it is meant to be.