anjohl: The problem is that most customers don't have the fortitude that you and I obviously do.

drmlessgames: It's not only about games. It's about anything IP related. Games, movies, anything with a cool plot. Or random oneliners. Maybe from now on people should stop buying any re-release sierra classic game collection, to show activision that their precious IP isnt that big in the first place. IP's are only as big as audiences make them to be. Maybe coming up with other, new, characters and stories would show these big conglomerates that not only they are the gatekeepers. I don't believe the notion for example, that only big hollywood studios can make movies worth seeing. It's just not true.

Gundato: It is true that you don't need to be a big-name to make something good. But you are heavily limited.
All the best indie movies are very character driven and have few sets and actors. Why? Because that is all they can afford. You aren't going to see something like Empire Strikes Back or Saving Private Ryan come from an indie studio. You might see a very watered down version, but they just can't compete in regard to budget.
Same with games. We can get great 4x games and the like from indie devs, but we aren't going to see anything approaching the production value of Modern Warfare 2 (or insert whatever big named game you like).
And I feel that a lot of people are forgetting why we like games, movies, comics, books, etc. Because we can relax with entertainment. It let's us get away from politics and idiocy. As a result, most people are a lot less likely to freak out and go crazy. There is a point where one has to consider the future of said form of entertainment, but I feel that a lot of people are drawing their line in the sand WAY too early.

drmlessgames: Well, i remember reading an article on destructoid where the writer argues that indie games dont have to look "indie". It's amazing nowadays what a few garage coders, some talented graphics designers and some sound guy can make. I know, that still cannot compete with millions in cash readily available, but i think it's getting easier to fool the audience into believing the budget was bigger for what theyre seeing. Soon, for example, there will be browser plugins for direct x and opengl browser based games.

Gundato: That is true and false.
We have a lot of useful tools and very powerful engines out there. But, as UT2k4 and UT3 have shown us, we don't have a lot of powerful artists out there. Because even if you can render nine billion polies and use fifty million pretty shaders, you still need the underlying model (and the knowledge to use those shaders). And that is the bottleneck these days.
It just isn't possible for small groups to reliably compete against the major studios. Because even if they can make the shiny, by the time they make it, the new standard for shiny is 20 billion polies.
With things like Unity and the readily available gaming engines like the UE3, I fully expect to see another burst of indie gaming. But, much like indie movies, there will be certain things that they can never compete with.

drmlessgames: True, but then it becomes are race for polies. More polies dont make a game better. Maybe now indie games should stop trying to compete in the shelves at game stores, and instead say, "...coming soon, to a web browser near you." : )

Tantrix: Well, don't know what to do about this. But I would've stayed provocant and continue working on the game.

drmlessgames: Well, then probably you would have received a visit from Activision's lawyers in that case.

t0mme: More Activision news; The stupid f*cks are in a massive fistfight with Infinity Wards; the actual creators of Call of Duty about unpaid royalties and breaches of contracts and what not.
I don't like Activision, can I get my money back from their games I bought at GoG.com?

t0mme: More Activision news; The stupid f*cks are in a massive fistfight with Infinity Wards; the actual creators of Call of Duty about unpaid royalties and breaches of contracts and what not.
I don't like Activision, can I get my money back from their games I bought at GoG.com?