I may have been saying how there is a great opportunity in the indie game space. However a silent assumption I made that makes a massive difference.
Yeah... I looked at the big budgets AAA was making. Yeah... I thought there was massive things left off the table. However I started to gain more glimpses of AAA game dev having far more inefficiencies than I imagined. And now AAA devs who wish to become indie may have to "unbake" the AAA "tuning" of their game dev skills.
The western AAA playbook of using "higher production values" as a form of business stakeholder therapy has been going on a long time. It's a thesis that held approximately true for decades. Especially as graphical fidelity kept making larger advances. Now the diminishing returns have hit so hard that budgets have reached insane highs. What does this mean for the devs in AAA that want to go indie?
Being Lean Changes Everything
An indie studio that has a smaller scope normally doesn't have enough work in a single role that justifies a dedicated person for just that role. Even the founder who might be a programmer or 3d artist has to do something else to save on the bills. Or you might have to contract out work because it's a more prudent way to spend your money. Yes... even as an Indie.
Going from AAA to Indie? Buy a Hat Rack
In smaller teams you gotta wear many hats. Especially indies. You gotta code, game design, make various art assets, compose music, etc... If you aren't doing it yourself then you gotta figure out how to get it done for you. Kinda like... a business!
If you actually have enough work for several specialized dedicated full time roles doing the same one thing... maybe you are slipping out of the "indie" label. Now if your game design heavily relies on a lot of a single thing that's different. Like a composer for a rhythm game? Okay.
Take more Game Design/Production Risks... Leaner Mode
Playing it safe is what the AAA devs do because their risk profile demands. If you go leaner and don't commit "production value stakeholder therapy" and implement what's reasonable for what the players want, you could gain some decent sales. Several indie games that have similar mechanics to some AAA games have done well. Clones? Kind of yet... not many "clone" accusations flying around of those games. At least not spoken of as a bad thing.
Take more Game Design/Production Risks... Unique Path
This should be straightforward. If AAA's can't risk making your unique game because there is no previous market data that's your opportunity! The hardest part is figuring out what the players and therefore the market wants before the AAA studios does.
"T" Shaped Skills or become a Contractor
Going from AAA dev to Indie might not be for everyone. But if you can stare uncertainty in the face and maybe develop "T" shaped skills it might be in the cards. Or you can hustle and be a contractor. It's still going to be rough. You might have a chance to strike gold though.