- There are unwritten taboos on the internet. There are things you Don’t Say. There are replies you may not give. There are comments you may not make. There are truths you may not tell, in the world of public relations, for the public are fickle, and behave as a mob. A mob in all its feral, brutal depravity, lacking any and all of the qualities we laud upon humanity that allow us to feel so smug over all of the hapless animals that we raise ourselves over. And we are all, whether we admit it or not in public, under strict censorship of the mob. Even admitting that the mob censors our thoughts and feelings and the expression thereof is risky. Be careful! The mob may notice.
Most indi games are shit, I'd say most games are shit. I've never bought a game from humble bundle that I would have purchased if it wasn't so cheap. Valve knows a ton about how to maximize total revenue. If they didn't capture the people who won't pay full price for games than most indi games would have way lower or almost no sales. I refuse to buy games from some consumer unfriendly majors (sometimes I got to have and break down). The only games that cost more than $10 which I payed full price for were both indies. I probably only buy a AAA game for full price every other year. Make a really great game and you can make a living, make mediocre games and you probably won't thrive, it's true in many creative professions. Toady One gets an envelope with a twenty dollar bill once a year, make about $40-50k and doesn't charge anyone, provides no customer service, doesn't play the steam game. Lots of different models to make a buck in the games business but if you want to make a lot of money you got to make a great game.
I agree that most indie games out there are shit. I follow Cliffski from Positech Games and he's been pretty adamant about not following the race to the bottom if you think you're making quality games. Of course, different genres will have different acceptable price points: is it possible to make an arcade shooter worth $40? I've bought everyone of his games, and he's made enough that he's now his own indie publisher so there's definitely some successful models that don't comprise of pumping out buzzword laden games (Oh, another 8-bit, rogue-lite, zombie twin stick shooter?)