Edmund McMillen recently posted Indie Game Design Do-s and Don’t-s: A Manifesto — a list of twenty-four principles for game designers.
2. Realize you’re making art.
Game designers are artists and have advantages over non-creative jobs; think about what they are and exploit them. Your goal shouldn’t be to make tons of money. If it were, you would have gone to business school or become a doctor. This is a creative field and should be treated as such first and foremost. Financing your art comes later. This is probably your greatest advantage as an indie designer.– Edmund McMillen @ indievision
A thoughtful article, nicely enhanced by the charming low-res icons accompanying each of the twenty-four principles.