Just like the electro / trouse-crap retards telling me that Trance isn't about the lovely 138+ bpm anymore, but 130-132 bpm filled with electro and house crap because that's how 'trance producers' do it these days. You can take that crap and put it right up your ... (not aimed at you, hedwards).

Indie has and always will mean independent of third party investors, regardless of what the pop culture of today's world wants people to believe.

I honestly wouldn't care if Bioware start calling themselves indie devs tomorrow... people could accept that, /care, but Bioware would know they are full of crap and are using that word for marketing purposes only, and that's about it.

Indie was never about being independent of third party investors. Being independent of 3rd party investors was a side effect of being unable to get funding for disruptive or innovative games.

On that basis all truly indie games are and will be either crap or clones because they'll never get the funding sufficient to compete with larger studios.

Bloody, hipsters.

You know what? Yeah, actually. That's exactly what it was always about. Hence the fact that "indie" is shorthand for the bloody word.

I'll refrain from tearing into the rest of your post, even though it's so terribly terribly misinformed.

Summary of games for anyone on the fence (thanks again to Jhonki for the trade):
-Dustforce: Really, really fun, really, really hard. The levels are generally easy to complete, but getting high ranks is challenging. However, it uses an open hub system, so you can go to a different level if you're getting frustrated. Great graphics and music. Highly recommended.
-Vessel: Very nice aesthetic. Puzzling so far is easy enough to not be frustrating, but tricky enough to feel worthwhile. Controls are a little loose, but that's not much of an issue.
-Rochard: Pretty fun, though not outstanding. A bit on the easy side, but not in a bad way. Feels kind of laid-back.
-SPAZ: Only played a little, so can't really comment. Seems fun though, and it's well-respected.
-Torchlight: Pretty much everybody already has this, I imagine, but it's a pretty good game. The sequel is far better, though.
-Shatter: Haven't played yet.

Overall a worthy bundle. The highlight for me is Dustforce, but the games are all good.

As people have been saying, I would like to see more RPGs in these bundles. Problem is, there aren't that many "high profile" indie RPGs. There's Spiderweb Software (they were in at least one bundle) and... not all that much else.

No, you're refraining from tearing through it because you have nothing. If it were really about lacking 3rd party funding, then Valve and MS are the biggest indie developers out there.

And yes, most indie games are crap. And that will continue to be the case into the future if you're saying that nobody with external funding can be indie.

And yes, the whole label is basically bullshit marketing at this point. You yourself presumably don't consider MS, Valve, Sony or Nintendo to be indie developers despite that they are themselves self funded.

Very decent bundle, but already own Torchlight and SPAZ.......better wait and see what games will be added later........

Oh fine. I was tired, but whatever.

Minecraft not only competed, but trounced many AAA games in terms of sales and popularity. It did so on a shoestring budget. Why? Because there was clearly a desire for the gameplay it offered, and AAA developers were not capitalizing on it. Super Meat Boy is one of the best selling games on the XBLA, far and above many non-indie XBLA games because it catered to a difficultly level that AAA games did not. Braid was the fastest selling XBLA game when it came out. Amnesia made more than enough money to continue developing new content without a publisher.

There's dozens more examples and it all came down to filling a niche, whether it be genre, difficulty level or maturity, that was not being delivered. All were largely self funded, which meant publisher interference to make sure the game appealed to the masses didn't interfere. That doesn't mean that AAA games can't deliver on these same kinds of niches, but many don't get the chance due to external pressure.

MS, Sony, Nintendo? Yeah, not indie because they aren't self funded, because that's how the stock market works. They answer to investors, so they have a vested interest in minimizing risks and sticking to what works. They also have intense bureaucratic corporate structures to keep everything running. They get money, and they answer for that money whether it disappears or multiplies. Valve? Valve is a major anomaly due to their lack of corporate structure and bizarre success with Steam. I don't think you can give them any other label than "Valve" honestly, but you could make an argument that they are indie in a way.

Maybe most indie games are crap. Most games in existence are crap no matter the budget. Yes, nobody with large amounts of external corporate funding contributing to the development of the game can be indie, because then they must answer for that money and therefore aren't independent. That's pretty much the only solid definition there is. It's the exact meaning of the word independent. It really doesn't amount to any more than that

The only reason it becomes a bullshit marketing label is because people treat it like one. Sometimes it gets challenged by people like the AssCreed 3 producer who considered his team of 600 to be indie because it "had an indie feel", but that AssCreed 3 producer is an idiot.

So no, I don't have nothing. It's such a ridiculous statement I shouldn't even have to refute it, but there you go. Consider yourself refuted.

I just threw a small donation for two copies of it, as I have a huge backlog. I will probably increase mine when the bonus games are announced.
Indie refers to something outside the mainstream/established distribution/production/investment infrastructure.

IE, indie music is bands that are not yet signed.

Indie films are self-financed typically.

Indie games are often small teams, often one person, that create a game out of love.

Also, the connotation is that these "indie" creators are producing content that stands up to mainstream-produced content. It's almost a badge of honor. But of course, only by necessity, since almost anyone will allow themselves to be swallowed by a corporate giant, see Bioware, the creators of TF2, Portal, and Counter Strike, etc, etc.

That was my thought as well. I threw a small donation in just for Torchlight DRM free, which I always felt was overpriced on GOG. I will increase the donation if the bonus games look good.

Awesome bundle, as we've come to expect from the HIB. Just a pity that I already had all of the games except Dustforce, and I already had Torchlight DRM-free.

Still bought it anyway, as I'd been eyeing Dustforce for a while now while lamenting its Steaminess, and having Torchlight on Linux and SPAZ DRM-free AND on Linux are still $10 of awesomesauce.

There was nothing I was going to play anyways, except for Torchlight, which I already have. I decided I could use a DRM/CD free copy, so I paid 1 buck. because, you know, I already have the game and don't care for the rest. Besides, I overpaid for the previous HIB. And I still feel guilty for just paying a buck.

Pass, barely any game interest me. Quite a change from the 5 where they were all were appealing to me, hmm...... :(

I am going to do a Roman5 and redirect you lot to a thread where I am right:
http://www.gog.com/en/forum/general/what_makes_a_game_indie_a_universal_definition

so there

Oh, noes! We've been Roman5ed. :(