3 ways to make a better Indie game

This is going to seem obvious, but there are a few ways to create a better Indie game. Now i am assuming that you can already make Indie games. In fact i am assuming that you have already made at the very least 1 Indie game. Now you want to up your game and make a better one. Probably better in every way. Especially as you have seen poor downloads and the self recriminations have started about how you should have spent more time or money on that Box art etc.

Well here is the skinny, it's no real surprise. I am about to present three ways to make your games better.
1. Spend more time on them
2. Spend more money on them
3. Get good help

So onto 1.
If you spend more time on your project you should see it be much tidier, as you do not ignore those creeping little bugs that you published with in your last game. This one mainly means not finishing till your finished. Less timetable and more dedication to the product etc. The real downside to this is that it can get too be a long dev cycle. Leading to burnout on the original idea etc. Well, if you burn out on it, maybe it just wasn't really up to the improved quality of game you were after anyway.

To 2.
Spending more more sounds silly ? Well try getting better music for your game for starters. Lose that programmer music behind. There are plenty of sites on the web to get great music from. Admittedly browsing for music takes many hours (it does for me!). The end results are great though. So spend some money on an important aspect of your new game, that you did not on the last one. Be it SFX or Graphics or Music or even.. Yes, i'll say it.. focus testing. the real downside to this is it costs money, and Indie developers don't have any.

To 3.
Good help is priceless. It is also really hard to get a hold of. In fact it seems to be in short supply. I know so many talented people myself. however trying to get them to commit to helping me is like pulling teeth. Believe me i have tried very hard. I have gone through about 8 friends and mostly to no avail. However if you find just one co-conspiritor, it makes all the searching worthwhile. They can produce stuff you cannot (usually), and they help with motivation as well. I was lucky enough to have an artist friend of mine pull my art out of the drain for my first two titles Aceball and Pellmell. Get help, cos if they spend time on the project, it is like having two of you, only this new one is more talented in areas you are not. THIS by far is the best way to make a better Indie game. Getting cohorts!

Good luck, adn i wish everyone a better subsequent title after this encouraging lecture 8D