Agree, and this will be true for every art/media creation soon enough. We are seeing the future here, and we can expect more and more developpers to jump on the wagon.
In a way, change is all good for the middle-men as well, since they will have to work hard to provide value on top of what the developpers are doing. Which is what they should have always been doing.
Which is interesting in light of electromagnetic's sibling comment.
While croudsourced funding and whatnot are supposed to promote long-tail indie productions, here we're seeing that a large part of this project's quick success is due to Tim Schafer's reputation. If it were Joe Jones wanting $400k to make I doubt he'd get it so easily even if the game were the exact same.
It is natural that Mr. Nobody is not going to get funded at this level without the slightest credential. After all, it's like marketing yourself: you have to make people believe you can deliver something of value, and track record is essential. My original comment was rather considering the current high profile developpers who are attached to publishers by contract. They may decide, following this example, to start some projects using the same model with their reputations. Then, you'd have to wonder how publishers would react once they realise they are not (as much) needed anymore.
Going it yourself you still have the chicken-and-egg situation of getting known and making products. What it allows you to do though is start small and lay progressively larger eggs. ;)
Well that's understandable, it makes sense that a developer would want to build up their reputation before attempting a bigger budget game like this. Just make a few smaller games and use the success of those to help raise funds for a larger one.
In a way, change is all good for the middle-men as well, since they will have to work hard to provide value on top of what the developpers are doing. Which is what they should have always been doing.