IMHO, the results possible with modern open source tools are really amazing. I think a lot of the "cost" of AAA are inefficiencies in the pipeline, and issues o

IMHO, the results possible with modern open source tools are really amazing. I think a lot of the "cost" of AAA are inefficiencies in the pipeline, and issues of scope. A racing title seems especially easy to limit scope in. Compare your titles with the F1 games. There's no fancy campaign with voice acting and 3D modeled faces. But it plays really nice and the used assets are pristine. Indie no longer has to imply "2D pixel art". Speaking from experience, it's not that hard to teach some artist friends how to use blender. Then it's just a matter of compensating them fairly and you're off to the races. Plus it's fun. If you haven't tried 3D art, it's surprisingly intuitive. Like a sculpting with magic hands and clay that isn't annoying.