So, I was thinking about Minecraft. Mainly it's success and how some people can claim it's bad, despite the success it has had.
...
Now that I think about it, something it and games such as Super Meat Boy, Limbo, Braid etc all share something in common:
Not sure how I'll put this into words, but I'll try.
It MIGHT be the concept of success (and you can argue how such games are successful, purely...well, because they succeeded) but I think it has more to do with what makes a good game, like how what makes a well done steak succulent. Not what is at first sight, but what is more than meets the eyes.

Notch (Minecraft), Edmund McMillen (SMB, along with Gish and The Binding of Isaac), Arnt Jensen (Limbo), Jonathan Blow (Braid) all share something in common. While you can claim the games their known for made them successful because they got spotlighted at the game's release, and it just grew from there for each them like a soda over-reacting with a mento. I actually think it's because they've worked on previous projects, often small mini-game or "short story" like games. Previous experiences make them learn what makes good games, especially from their own mistakes. Yes, Notch worked on smaller games before Minecraft came about.

So, does success come from experience, and not biting off more than you can chew? I definitely think so, like how a painter gets better with each painting he does. This also makes me think about the concept of "success", education, and such and how they need a major rewrite in this modern age.

It is how you want to measure success. There are games which by gameplay, etc are not that good but sells more than those games with years more development behind them. Of course years of development does not ensure the quality game.

This is a very interesting topic of discussion.... I have a great example that I've only just discovered:

Mister Big T, I've only just found out about (cause he's started posting here on RRR XD) his games are relatively "popular", and until now I never knew about him and his games. Now I do, and I realize he's rather well known.

Games become a "success" because people begin to LP them, as a developer I want people to LP my games, as much as possible! This means that it goes around YouTube, and then more people will see these games and then they themselves will play them.
It's all about how much you Advertise. The more people that plays your game, or see's it around the more people will start to play it and the more successful it'll be.

Another example is Kingdom! It's very popular on this site, most likely because Lato is on this site but if we were to ask other people about the game, they may not know as much about it!

It's also about connections! For example NicoB, he knows two well known LP'ers (Cry and PewDiePie) and so therefore, he becomes more popular. It's works the same way as the Game Industry Sometimes it's not about the skill, it's about who you know!

You just have seen Indie Game: The Movie haven't you? (judging by the examples you make)

Quoting from the movie, "part of it it's not about being professional" and that "it's something more like personal.", instead of you know... letting your idea free.

To have success in your game, you need to.. first of all... having a "vision" for your game, because if you're not sure if you're game has something special, why the hell are you doing it? That's like the first step.

Now, I agree with having people LP it. And of course, updating your game with news and stuff from time to time, for people to let you know you're into making your game and won't turn into shovelware.

Having a Facebook and Twitter page is something really important too. Mostly to have people support you and submitting your demos there., you need to build your "fanbase" (for lack of a better word), that will actually play the demos or looking at the trailers/screens you submit. Because not everyone will look your game up just because it's on RRR. You just have to constantly remind people that your game is coming, you're giving your best in it, and if people like what they see, they'll support it.

It's all about the experience about making your game, than the success of it. If you're not successful in a game, you learn from that experience, and move on to the next project. At the end, if you get something succesful, then you, as a game developer, will be considered succesful as well.