Independent Spirit Awards

I was lucky enough to stumble upon the Independent Spirit Awards again this year – that’s the awards ceremony for independent films. If you get the Independent Film Channel (IFC), be sure to watch out for them! Here’s a link to the… award winners.
I like watching these awards because a) they’re REAL, in an industry filled with fakery; b) they’re held in a big tent (low budget!); c) it gives me my watching list for the next year; and d) they sing about each film nominated for “Best Feature”. I’m serious. It’s completely wacky. And some of them, well, you know, not all actors can sing.
Of course, just as I love independent film, I love independent games. I’m really looking forward to this year’s Independent Games Festival, which was filled with some really great games. One of my favorites was Steer Madness, a Grand Theft Auto-style game with a social conscience.
What makes an independent game, though? This year’s entries ranged from no budget to $1.3 million. What? $1.3M? How can that be an independent game? Well, that’s a great question. That particular title (which shall remain nameless) was self-funded. But it doesn’t really seem fair to have it going up against games that were done completely on a shoestring. How do we more succinctly define “independent” to level the playing field in the future? Or do we need to?