The videogame business has traditionally been about big game developers, big budgets and blockbuster titles. Now it’s also about guys like Joe Rheaume.

Rheaume, a 28-year-old Madison, Wis., resident, last year used off-the-shelf software to create a Web-based videogame called Chronotron, where users solve puzzles using a time-traveling robot character. He uploaded the game to Flashgamelicense.com, a Web site that hosts games for other developers and potential licensors to peruse. There it caught the eye of Kongregate Inc., a free gaming Web site that specializes in “casual” games. Chronotron made its debut on Kongregate’s site in May and has since amassed more than one million game plays. In return, Kongregate gave Rheaume 50% of the advertising revenue it got from the ads that ran alongside the game.

While not nearly ready to pack it in and give up the day job, Rheaume’s experience typifies a trend in the videogames business. Over the past few years, console makers, game publishers and Web sites have been fostering the creation of low-budget, casual games. The goal: to discover the next great game and attract a broader audience to their sites. To encourage this, companies are giving independent developers a bigger share of the profits, hoping to spur the creation of even more titles.

Source: The Wall Street Journal