ally he had to lay off about 60 employees just to stay afloat; he currently has 20 people on the team.

UNDERDOG TALE If even established companies struggle, do indie developers stand a chance?

Gabriel Gutierrez believes they do— so much so that he’ s devoted the past few years to helping unify local indie developers. He co-organizes the Sac Indie Arcade with Aea. In June, he started Sacramento Developer Collective, an official group of indie creators that evolved out of a local chapter of the International Game Developers Association. He also is a creator. In October, on a budget of about $ 4,000, he released the first of three episodes of his indie game " Crumple."

In the world of " Crumple," you play the role of an envelope named Enve, trapped in a burning building. You have a paper-thin, combustible body sure to ignite if you make a wrong move. To survive, you’ ll need to solve different puzzles, float over flames and stop, drop and roll your way to the nearest exit before the whole place comes down.

Gutierrez came up with the concept for Crumple while doing contract work for an envelope manufacturing plant in Rancho Cordova. This was back in 2012, but he still remembers being on that factory floor dwarfed by paper machines

and freight racks, where signs warned him not to“ jump or play between the racks.” He worked in human resources but spent many days sorting through batches of bad envelopes. It was in those stacks that he saw potential for a new game: a small-scale tale of survival, starring an underdog envelope with plastic windows for eyes.

“ The biggest challenge now is we’ re dealing with the releases of big triple-A games, closer to the holidays. It’ s a fiercer level of competition,” Gutierrez says.“ Here I am, little old me, up against the big boys.”

It took him five years to create the game, but being in the thick of Sacramento’ s passionate gaming community pushed him forward with his own projects.

“ They would ask me,‘ What about your game?’” he recalls.“ Having one person believe in my idea, that’ s really what did it. That’ s the biggest hope for us in indie development— just hoping one person believes in us. If we can get that, we’ re onto something.” •

Russell Nichols is a freelance writer who focuses on technology, culture and mental health. His work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, Governing Magazine and Government Technology. On Twitter @ russellnichols.

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