To all you modders out there!

[Kreekakon]

That's my point, you have that freedom in theory but in practice it hardly ever turns out that way. You need to have the resources before you can make whatever you want. Not everyone can be Notch.

Well, look at it this way then. Game companies, indie, or not need to start with a project which means they're probably going to have some sort of starting resources to work with, or they wouldn't be here at all.

After that, then they can decide how those resources are put to use of their own accord (If they're indie, and therefore free to), and make something that they think will be good.

Of course what really might be "good" might not always be economically viable with the resources they currently have at hand, so obviously adjustments will sometimes have to be made. But given the creativity of devs (Optimistically speaking), they'll still be able to twist it around into a creation that is still theirs, and they're happy with.

This is what I think is a final conclusion from me: You have half-freedom in this regard. You are free to work with whatever you want, but only under the constraints of your budget. However that does not mean you cannot work under that limited budget to still create something you enjoy very much.



BTW, I just want to say that you should take the above with a grain of salt, because I only realized halfway through typing it that there are still many variables which can alter the legitimacy of the statement I just said.