The Righteous Independent

The other day, something happened that really made me stop and think. That’s why, on July 4th (which also happens to be my birthday!) I wanted to take a moment to talk about independent voices, how can they stand out and earn legitimacy in today’s world of media, industry, and society?

My project, Tech Lurker, is still in its early days. We have zero funding, but we’re pushing hard to show up and create real content that offers value. We even wrote a very personal article about the legendary Hideo Kojima, which you can check out right here. We posted a reply to one of Kojima’s tweets, and it really took off. But despite the positive traction, one person insulted it, called it “AI trash” without reading a word, and flagged both the post and my account for spam. We went through a full review on X, and of course, everything turned out fine. Still, it made me think.

How are we supposed to face this new world if we treat every voice as the same or assume everything is generic? Are we seriously going to compare IGN to an independent creator with no resources? That’s the challenge. In a world overloaded with content, being original isn’t a luxury anymore, it has to be the baseline.

So, for this special day (and again, my birthday!), I wanted to highlight two moments of real creative independence that matter to me, and I’d love to hear from you too. If other examples come to mind, let’s talk and I will uploaded here in this article.

Indie Games

Indie games had their big boom between 2010 and 2015, with titles like Undertale (2015), Hotline Miami (2012), FEZ (2012), and Papers, Please (2013) reaching massive success precisely because they were original and FUN. They didn’t depend on a corporate machine with generic, one-size-fits-all design, aimed at pleasing the broadest audience possible, usually by removing any real sense of challenge.

"A game for everyone is a game for no one." – Arrowhead Studios

Today I turn 39! And yeah… you can tell from my memories haha. I still remember games like Circus on the NES or The Lion King for the SEGA. They were true challenges, no autosave, no handholding UX, and brutally difficult at times. That’s exactly the spirit indie games embraced: full independence, and full commitment to that old-school philosophy.

Kojima Productions

Sometimes independent gets unfairly associated with cheap or low-budget, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s a completely different mindset. I’m a huge fan of horror games and movies, and Silent Hills by Kojima, especially the Playable Teaser, was everything that was right. But behind the scenes, Kojima’s relationship with publisher Konami was falling apart. In 2015, Konami abruptly cancelled Silent Hills, removed P.T. from the PlayStation Store, and tensions escalated into a very public breakup.

“As a creator, I always want to betray fans' expectations. I want to do something new and different that people don't expect.” – Hideo Kojima

So in December 2015, Kojima founded Kojima Productions as an independent studio and walked away from Konami. Partnering with Sony, he launched Death Stranding as the studio’s first project. While they had external support, they kept full creative control. A rare case of an indie with triple-A reach.

To Be honest

We want to stay true, independent, and honest. Our goal is to generate income through affiliate marketing so we can keep Tech Lurker alive and keep building cool features (affiliate disclosure – click here). That said, you won’t find any affiliate links in this article, though feel free to explore the rest of the blog!

We’re working on new features! In the meantime:
Want to write an article for Tech Lurker in your own voice? Reach out here!. Want to follow us on X and drop a comment or idea? That would mean the world to us.

One last thought that comes to mind when I think about the word independence today: it merges with the word challenge. And it’s a challenge we all face: in our jobs, our lives, and in quiet personal moments. Interesting times are coming.

Here we are.
In the right place. 💪

Cristian Sagula