• Its like indie music versus indie rock.

    Indie music has been around forever, with a wide range of artists from different styles contributing. It means being on an independent label and many artists of many different styles contribute to it.

    Indie rock is a particular style that evolved out of the indie music scene. It has a particular sound and some consistent themes. It evolved out of but is not limited to the indie music scene.

    There are sever non-“Indie music” bands that make “Indie rock”.

    Pixel graphics, avant-garde play styles, weird themes. These are hallmarks of the “indie style” of game development, and evolve from not necessarily having the resources of a large studio. But they themselves become the definitions of what it means to be “indie”. Consider turntables and record scratches in hip hop. Consider 8 track recorders in techno, and 4 track recorders in garage music.

    I think the quote from CB sums it up: “The work, which becomes a new genre itself, will be called… COWBOY BEBOP”