Want to see the real heart of indie gaming? Want to see games the big portals don’t want you to see? You’ll find them on GameTrove.net, the closest thing the casual game industry has to an open-mic speakeasy night. Daniel Philips, creator of GameTrove, took some time out of his schedule to talk to CGR about independent games and the game industry.

CR: Tell us a little bit about GameTrove, how is it different from other game portals?

DP: The biggest difference is that GameTrove doesn’t make any money from selling games, all that money goes to the developer. Gametrove is supported by ads. If you go to GameTrove you will see very differet games than if you go to big casual game portals. You won’t see the games that are making me the most money, you will see what is currently being made by indie game developers. There are no editors, no contracts, no rejections. It’s free to post games and only takes seconds. It’s up to the players to try them out, rate them and find the hidden gems.

CR: Why did you start GameTrove, and how will you know when it is successful?

DP: I saw how much money and time it takes to sell a casual game through a publisher and thought I could let people do that for free and quick. Sure it’s not quite the same service but in some ways it’s better. I think it’s successful. It’s nowhere near as big as many other game portals but the idea works and hopefully it will grow. The ads that developers purchase are easily enough to support the site so far.

CR: You must interact with a great number of true independent game developers who distribute on your site. What are their lives like? Where are they from? How big are their teams? Are they making money? What drives them to make these games instead of working for big game companies making big budget games?

DP: The support that I’ve gotten for this site from developers has been great! Especially in the beginning when I was making the site, it wouldn’t be there if not for them. I can’t really answer who they are because I think they’re a really diverse crowd. Everyone from college students messing around in their spare time to people from AAA game studios wanting to try something new. Some are making good money and some only sell a few copies of their games. A lot I think are programmers who contract people to make art and sounds. Others are companies of programmers and artists and some are just so multi-talented that they can do everything themselves.

CR: What do you see as the future for casual games? What are the dangers?

DP: They’re going to be everywhere soon, they’ll be like spam! You buy a microwave and it will have a trial of Bejeweled installed asking you to buy full version while your pop tart is cooking. I’m joking but I think the market is definately going to grow fast. Hopefully the cost to make a game won’t go up too high.

CR: It seems like there are a lot of games I don’t see anywhere else on GameTrove – why is that? It seems like with game portals, shelf space is “free” so people should be happy to stock all games, no matter how out of the mainstream. What is the pressure to not include these games on the big portals?

DP: I don’t know, I think it’s the scheming marketing people! If you’re a big casual game portal then you want every download to have the biggest possible chance of making you money. They’ve all done studies and found that 30-40 year old women buy the most games so they market all their games to that crowd and try to only show the ones that make money. Well I’m sorry but baking cakes does not interest me. Maybe I’m the only twenty something male who thinks so but I doubt it. I like finding original games that are a little out of the mainstream so I tend to like indie games more.

CR: A lot of people say there are only five or six original casual game designs, and hundreds of variations. What do you think? Are clones ruining casual games?

DP: I think that’s true but I think there are a lot more than a hundred variations and combinations. And I think some new designs will be discovered slowly. There is so much you could do with the internet but barely any games make use of it except to keep high score tables. I think games like Spore, Virtual Villagers, and Travian have a lot of potential.

If you clone a game exactly then yes that is bad and you deserve to die a horrible death but nothing is created out of a vacuum. If you draw a picture then you look at reference or things you’ve seen throughout your life. If games are improved each time they’re cloned then eventually they’ll evolve into something new and better.

Editors Note: DP is doing a great deal for the independent game community through GameTrove. Please check out the site at www.gametrove.net to find some great casual games you might not see elsewhere. You can also reach Dan, who does freelance web development and art at his private portfolio page at http://danp.us.