Not every game out there was made by a big team. Some were made by one person who just really had a good idea. Some of them carried on to get the final touches put in by someone else, got it added to a team, or even made their own studio with the help of it.
Some of the most popular games of the modern world started out as someone's passion project, and it really shows. While not every indie developer is going to match some of these greats, it at least gives some hope that even starting from the very bottom, aspiring developers have a chance at their project getting recognized and maybe even turning into something big.
10 Axiom Verge — Made By Thomas Happ In 2015
Axiom Verge is a side-scroller that was originally released for PlayStation 4 by its sole developer, Thomas Happ back in 2015. It then spread across other systems with its timeless pixel style which is deceivingly complex.
The player goes throughout the game as a scientist trying to save his world from a complete madman, using an old-style approach of collecting powerups to improve attacks and the player's ability to actually make it through the world at any given point. The most remarkable thing about it all is how it was not released initially to PC despite its looks— that would happen later.
9 Braid — Made By Jonathan Blow In 2008
The first version of Braid was a puzzle platformer that was released in 2005 and was made solely by Jonathan Blow. Eventually, he teamed up with the artist David Hellman to release the gorgeous 2008 version that won numerous accolades and was one of the first big hits of the modern indie game movement.
The game itself has a striking story about supposedly saving a princess and going through numerous obstacles thrown at the player while slowly realizing that the game is not about saving her at all. Instead, the theme itself is far darker than that, making the gorgeous, painterly style even more unnerving as the realization sets in.
8 Cave Story — Made By Daisuke Amaya In 2004
Cave Story was one massive passion project by Daisuke Amaya, who made absolutely everything from the art to the music to the coding within the original game as a tribute to the sorts of games they played as a child.
The player begins the game as an amnesiac trying to navigate the dramatic world they wake up in and figure out who and what they really are. The most admirable thing about Cave Story is that the original PC release was free to play, with only the console ports costing money. It also has built up a massive international fanbase, something few freeware games can boast about.
7 Minecraft — Made By Markus Persson In 2009
The singular highest grossing game of all time, Minecraft, started out initially as a simple passion project by Markus "Notch" Persson. He handed everything over to the public the day the game was release, and it exploded even more than it already had from there.
The game has gone through a number of updates, refreshes, and adjustments while being managed by the entire Mojang team that had sprung up around it, lodging itself securely into a real game-changer for modern video games.
6 Papers, Please — Made By Lucas Pope In 2013
Papers, Please is a game that is deceptively difficult. The player is in charge of a border checkpoint for a closed country and gives various endings, stories, and heavy themes for the player to try and make it through while not getting in trouble themselves.
It is a fascinating marvel made by solo developer Lucas Pope back in 2013 and really deserves all of the love and attention that it gets. Even the style is deceptively complex, with small details making the whole game feel massive even if there are only two screens the player ever really gets to sit at.
5 RollerCoaster Tycoon — Made By Chris Sawyer In 1999
The game that started the theme park builder craze, RollerCoaster Tycoon was shockingly developed originally by Chris Sawyer alone in 1999. Since then, it has spawned its own franchise and numerous games in a similar vein, all of which focus on building a custom park. The genre it helped to launch continues to thrive to this day, with latest entry Jurassic World Evolution 2 launching later this year.
The game itself earned Hasbro over $180 million, with Sawyer taking home $30 million of it. To think such a video game icon started out as one guy's idea who managed to sell it to the right people is baffling in and of itself.
4 Star Stealing Prince — Made By Ronove In 2012
Ronove has since teamed up with one other person since they initially began work on Star Stealing Prince, which is an RPGMaker classic. A remastered demo is out and available for free, just like the base game was, so fans are hoping for some good things to come of this masterful game.
It follows the story of Prince Snowe who has been living in a country where it always snows. He comes to discover the reasoning behind this, behind the voice in his head, and the harrowing story of his parents while also realizing that the stars themselves are keeping him and his friends contained in a world they desperately need to escape.
3 Stardew Valley — Made By Eric Barone In 2016
Stardew Valley is one of the highest-grossing games to have ever made it to Steam, and with good reason. The cute little farming sim proved that players actually did want unrestricted dating options in their games and they actually could handle some heavier, more adult themes in a game that is meant to be relaxing.
Eric Barone worked hard and slow on the project, something that shows greatly in the final piece. It is a game that proves that no matter the starting skill level, anyone with a good idea can make a game happen with enough elbow grease. It also is one that proves a game doesn't have to have top-of-the-line graphics to be a big hit.
2 Tetris — Made By Alexey Pajitnov In 1984
Possibly the most iconic video game of all time, Tetris was developed in 1984 by Alexey Pajitnov as a little tinker game while he worked on other projects. Someone else actually went through the effort to get the game out there for him, and it quite literally changed the world.
Everyone knows Tetris. Everyone has seen way too many games that are just reskinned Tetris games too, and the term itself has even made its way into common vernacular when putting objects together. This giant is more proof to just go for it, because even the simplest ideas might become something worthwhile (and hugely successful).
1 Undertale — Made By Toby Fox In 2015
Undertale is an extremely well-known indie game that changed opinions about independent developers at a breakneck pace. It also changed opinions about using maker engines to make a game slightly, as it shows that when done well, anything can be a good starting tool.
Toby Fox started making games and music due to a love for SNES classic EarthBound, and his "Megalovania" track has been thrust through various incarnations since it first appeared in an earlier game. Undertale even goes the extra mile by having alternate playstyles, one of which will be completely impossible to achieve if the player doesn't go for it first, testing the resolve and years of video game conditioning that players are used to.