For the past 30+ years, the gaming industry has been a growing and increasingly more popular platform for entertainment and recreation all over the world. From the simplest and most basic form of gaming with two buttons and a joystick, to fully featured 3-dimensional player immersion with no controller at all, it's clear that the gaming industry isn't slowing down. Along with the extreme technological advances in gaming though, the technology seems to bring with it more and more complex programming libraries and tools required to make the games we all know and love. Well, until now that is. With the extreme success of the gaming industry, the generation most targeted seems to be more interested in developing the games they know and love; and anywhere there is demand, supply isn't far away.

Today, there are multiple platforms for gamers or enthusiasts with little or no game development experience to create interactive entertainment and bring their dream game to life. Game Development platforms like FPS Creator or Game Maker seem to be gaining steam in the casual and hobbyist market. In addition to these drag-and-drop game editors though, there seems to be a middle ground gaining steam. Products like Dark Basic Professional and game engines like Torque and Blitz 3D seem to cater to both the beginner and advanced market, making the perfect combination for intermediate users.

A comon misconception with these types of editors and/or engines is that the quality of the game can never match the retail quality gamers of today are used to, when in fact, the reality is quite the opposite. When you take into account that average retail games today take a team of 30 or more highly trained professionals 2+ years to make and cost thousands of dollars, there really is no fair comparison. Indie games usually consist of a single developer or small team with little to no budget, but still there are some extremely impressive games made from average software. These titles always reflect the time and attention of the developer, so great games tend to rise above the rest and separate themselves from the others. The Microsoft behemoth itself saw the potential in independent games with the launch of its indie game section on XBOX Live, proving that the indie scene is gaining ground.

Overall though, the medium used to make that next great game isn't important, the focus should be more on the time, development and attention to detail that makes an average idea a fantastic game. So what are you waiting for? Get out there and start developing!