as an INDEPENDENT developer, especially one without a team, the BEST and sometimes only route to go is make a GAMEPLAY prototype..

"having the best gameplay wont mean a thing if the controls dont work proper."

cant have good gameplay with bad controls, its just unheard of..

"having the best gameplay wont mean a thing if the game atmosphere doesnt catch you."

heh, this is both true and falls, define atmosphere, atmosphere refers to the world around you and the story, if you have good gameplay, honestly, sometimes ppl wont care

if the game is fun yet not very atmospheric, ppl will excuse it, if the game is pretty, yet lacks gameplay, ppl will move on quickly

PLUS, by having a gameplay prototype done, people WILL join and help you make your game a reality, if i was trying to balance all elements of my game, i'd never be where i am now, so far all i have to show are gameplay elements