I've been thinking recently about what makes a good video game experience for me, and it's slightly relevant.

I can place the games I've highly enjoyed into two basic categories:

-Short and sweet, having one or more of 1. interesting play mechanics 2. great story/theme 3. interesting art direction.

-Solid all around, with addictive elements (e.g. leveling, collecting things) that make repetitive tasks seem fun and extend the time I play the game to beyond a few evenings.

Many indie games I've played fit into the former category, and most non-indie games fit into the latter.

I've been realizing that these "short and sweet" games that I've been getting more and more of a chance to play have provided more lasting and fulfilling experiences than longer games. The feeling I get from sinking an evening into a short and sweet game is kind of similar to reading a good book or playing a good chess match. Likewise, the feeling I get from sinking an evening into a longer game is some artificial feeling of making progress.

I'm overgeneralizing a little, but the point is I've started skipping AAA titles in favor of trying out lots of indie games. Most aren't great, but the cost of a few dollars or less and a half hour to find out isn't bad. For me, it's worth it to find the gems. And not having several-week-long addictions to games with low quality:time ratios is great too.

I really hope there's no indie bubble.