I am going to sound like a Stardock fanboy but what the hell.  I have to say that the way Stardock involves its customers in the game design process is simply outstanding.  My profession has NOTHING to do with game design but I have always dreamed of designing and publishing my own game.  But lets face it...I do not have the time, and/or the programming skills required much less the funding needed.  I have to assume there are many other gamers out there just like me.  Traditionally there has been no outlet for our creative muse until Brad and Stardock came along.  Now, by virtue of the open beta process I, along with thousand of others, can now contribute our ideas and vision for future games.

There is no guarantee that any of my ideas will make it into a game (I dare say none have yet). But if, on that most magical day, I see one of my ideas imbedded in a stardock game all the play testing on unstable builds, reading posts on how my ideas suck or seeing all that karma go to the other guy, will all be worth it.  Most importantly, however, I know that the process used to create the games I play involved me!