Let’s make better games
Indie Game Clinic is a diverse and inclusive online community of humans who love to make, play, and discuss indie games. We represent the folks who develop games because they love the medium and enjoy the challenge of making cool stuff for players. The Indie Game Clinic YouTube Channel is hosted by Joe Baxter-Webb, a game designer with over a decade of experience across industry work and university teaching.
If you’ve got an unfinished game, and you’d like to see it on the weekly Indies Under the Knife stream, please submit it here. If you’d like to join the community to get regular help and feedback with your game – or simply to support what we do, you can do so by joining us on Patreon which also gives your game priority in the waiting list for Indies Under the Knife.
We welcome anyone who is making games – whether commercially or as a hobby – or those who just love to learn how they’re made. We also have a strong focus on the the philosophy and psychology that goes into game design and related creative practice, rather than trying to see game dev as a series of money-making tricks and hack. IGC generally tries not not stream/show games which make heavy use of generative AI for their art, music or writing, and we try to keep a relatively gen-AI free community around the channel.
Indies Under the Knife
A weekly streaming show where Joe (and chat) analyze and appraise work-in-progress game projects. Check out the schedule of upcoming games on YouTube, or watch on Twitch if you prefer.
The Game Developers’ Library
A book review podcast where Joe and his co-host game developer Tom Hughes discuss books they’ve read about game development, gaming culture, and related creative theory and method. Available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all of the major platforms.
Video Essays
Long-form takes on indie games and how they’re made.
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weekly shows and streams
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exclusive Discord community
About the Creator
Indie Game Clinic is led by Dr. Joe Baxter-Webb, a video game designer, critic, and silly person. Joe has worked for studios and publishers including Adult Swim and King, as well as helping to create games for various music and media brands. He holds a PhD in Media & Cultural Studies, and a senior fellowship from the UK higher education authority.
Indie Game Clinic is home to Joe’s content about indie games and how they are made, provided free-to-watch thanks to the generous ongoing support of our Patreon members. You can learn more about Joe’s game credits and personal projects in the resume here.
Fan-Funded
Indie Game Clinic is funded by viewers who want to see Joe and Friends continue to make high quality content about games and how they’re made. Patreon supporters help to fund the creation of regular IGC features like “Indies Under the Knife”, where Joe reviews developers’ work-in-progress games and uses them to showcase common issues and examples of best practice. This funding allows the channel to focus on what’s interesting, useful, and entertaining to its specific audience, without having to capitulate to the negative effects of chasing algorithmic trends.
Supporters receive Discord access and playtest stream priority, as well as behind the scenes insights, such as show notes. A mentorship-level tier is also available for those who want to receive 1:1 help, although slots are limited and usually full.
