Technical question here: Am I the only one on this site that is getting horrible throughput. I am on a cable modem and it can take as long as 15 seconds for a single thread to load. Makes treading the boards a very focused event and not a casual see what you can see type affair.

Anyway: I have to agree with Wav on this one. My only problem is that with indie games the respect isn''t there unless it is redefining the industry in some way. I am finding that with the recent downturn in the stock market, investors are not willing to sell to the niche gamer such as the power gamer. They want broad markets, which reduces the options you have during development for eye candy that can help to get your game noticed. As it stands now, if you''re unwilling to go at it on your own and finance your life away on the odd chance you may produce a hit that someone might take notice of, then you might as well commit to a retread and enter the industry with an expansion pack. Even companies like EA and Bioware are resorting to rehashing old engines and releasing new games on them. Baldurs GateII, NWN(though this actually sounds cool), Madden NFL2001 and all of EAs sports line. EA hasn''t released an interesting new sim since The Sims. Bioware can''t seem to break the mold of Baldurs Gate style games. Luckily I believe the investment issues will come to a close here relatively soon. Perhaps investors will wake up to the fact that marketed properly, a more innovative game stands a better chance at sales than Deer Hunter 36 could ever make.

Just my opinion.
Kressilac

ps I wonder sometimes why the Game industry gets no investment respect. I sincerely hope that this changes as currently we are the only 10 billion dollar industry no one wants to invest into.