"This might sound controversial, but I believe that our game rules should have been hard-coded from the start, instead of wasting time on trying out all kinds of hand-made semi-scripting tools. "

Controversial my ass. This is one of the most interesting points of the article for it points towards the difference between indie and industry... Industry can make a game AND and editor... indies have to choose one or the other to start off with.

And actually, this trancends entertainment games. For example, when designing edu software, I constantly get asked if I will be making an editor, to let the teacher create her own worlds. And I say "No." and hardwire the educational content to the game. It's easier to develop, maintain, and ultimitely get your message across in a hard wired game than an open editor IMO.

Great article, but GameDev.net is full of such material. If it's not already in your bookmarks or RSS feed, you are missing out on the single most useful info source for indie game devs IMO.