I'm not Alec, but... CLOSE ENOUGH!
...... I can answer some of these questions for you.
Where do you get enough money to just sit around coding and drawing for years without a job?
Alec was doing a little bit of non-game-related work on the side. I think Derek was doing some freelance work as well.
Did you have investors?
Yes. They also got a little more breathing room when they won the Seamus McNally at the IGF halfway through development.
Did you subsist on uncooked ramen bricks and sleep in cardboard boxes?
Not literally, but I'm told it was pretty tough sometimes.
The FAQ says We can't give out exact sales figures, for obvious reasons but I can't think of any obvious reasons.. why can't you share the numbers if you have them?
It would be like having random people on the street come up to you and ask what your annual salary is at your job. By common etiquette, it's considered personal information to be released at the comfort and discretion of the individual. Some people don't mind sharing that information, but many (if not most adults) do. And there's also the possibility that the contracts with Plimus/Ambrosia/Steam do not allow sales figures to be shared publicly, and even the possibility that they're not allowed to talk about the part of the contract which states that
Legal stuff can be pretty tricky.
