I'm so sorry to hear that 🫂

I will concede to that. It should be up for goty but indie 'awards' should be more visibly indie

Granted, my opinion DRASTICALLY changes if a significant budget was dedicated to marketing. Indie is a vibe, not an advertisement

Pretty much. The amount of money you spend (or don't) shouldn't affect how 'indie' your game is. An unproven studio is still an unproven studio. They've certainly proven themselves NOW but had it flopped would you still say the same?

I believe it's not the development budget, but the marketing and promotional budget that better determines indie status to me. Is there a giant company funding this, or a small team with good seed money? There are a LOT of factors. AA is not indie, but it's also not what popular indie becomes.

So you can only be indie if you have a low budget?

Respectfully disagree.

Make a mini game with a small, lovable green lil guy with a knife

XD