indie games are still a hugely important part of the industry, Peak is a recent great example of a small team making something fast that is novel and successful.
My experience is similar enough to the author's though. I was a Masters level dueler in starcraft2 and had a huge passion for the game, and a huge part of that was that the community was exciting at that time. I participated in the subreddit, I wrote articles, I casted games on the side. My friends played the game. I eventually had a go/no-go moment where I could've kept pouring myself into the community, potentially worked with folks like Artosis and Tasteless, etc.
But all signals were that the community was dwindling and blizzard wasn't properly invested in the game, which lowered my motivation a lot over time. So my decision was No.