There once was a time where you'd be forgiven for thinking that "indie game" was synonymous with "small gimmick". At least, that's how it seemed for a while, when many successful little indie titles made a name for themselves for whatever unique mechanics they employed. Braid had the rewind-time thing, Super Meat Boy had the tight-controls-but-totally-difficult thing, even Minecraft had its procedurally-generated-blocky thing.
