¤ Deviant ¤

I don’t buy IndieGameJoe’s claim that this is all about supporting indie developers anymore. To me, it looks increasingly like it’s about engagement and money. Some people will dismiss this because I’m pro-AI. That doesn’t put his behavior above criticism. I respected him when he started. He worked hard, found a format that worked, and grew his account by showcasing games that went viral. Fair enough. But that narrative about him being the savior rescuing indie developers from influencers who were promoting indie games long before him, that's BS. My issue is the difference between that image and what he chooses to amplify. I’ve watched him promote games I consider low-effort because they had an obvious viral hook. That’s his choice, but it makes the “quality and supporting developers” pitch harder to take seriously. The Clemy situation also left a bad impression. Publicly discussing a competitor’s paid promotion practices while insisting “I’m not attacking him” doesn’t make it any less of a public attack. I’m not defending Clemy; I’m questioning the way Joe presented his own actions. Now we’re getting the predictable anti-AI engagement bait. A provocative post gets people arguing, the account gets attention, and a game trailer follows. Whatever his intentions, that sequence looks like an engagement strategy to me. I also remember the potato-game drama. Where was this concern about AI when questions came up about those developers using it? From what I saw, the drama mattered much more than consistency. Making money from promoting games isn’t the problem. Building an audience isn’t the problem. But presenting yourself as a selfless champion of indie developers while turning other developers into engagement material deserves scrutiny. You can disagree with my position on AI. You can criticize my game. Neither answers the criticism I’m making here. Supporting indie developers should mean something beyond supporting whichever controversy gets the most clicks.