I know some sysadmin purists will say that you should always give config files that they can quickly edit, but I think that's inviting trouble. If you give access to configuration files then you empower users to break your product by using settings in strange combinations you'd never designed for or tested for, or failing to set certain parameters, or getting the syntax wrong. Sure, you can create lots of validation code to handle this, but I think a well-designed UI that lets the user follow the workflow they want to use to configure just those aspects of the product they need to change is a much better way to go. Having a configuration workflow allows you to ensure that the product is configurable easily by any user without requiring any technical skill. The challenge is how to design a good set of configuration screens that users find intuitive... otherwise you end up with hideous configuration screens like for Windows Networking or Eclipse configuration.

Here's a visualization which shows what the result would have been if the same votes had been used to decide the number of seats (a simple version of proportional representation):
http://alexbowyer.blogspot.com/2010/05/what-would-have-happened-last-night-if.html

Also, here's some visualizations of alternative Proportional Representation systems and the effects they'd have:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25541021@N00/4594758955/

Graphics are a bonus but totally not required. I have seen so many terrible games with great graphics (mostly movie spin-offs).

Download a copy of BeebEm (BBC B Emulator) then go download Repton 3. This is a great example of a great game with poor graphics (mainly due to its age).

This is still one of my all time favourite games (I've been playing it on and off for over 20 years!) because it has good puzzles and to be a good player you have to have good timing and your wits about you.

The graphics are very simplistic (3 colours!) but good enough that you can recognise things.

In the modern era, my favourite game is Portal. The graphics are reasonable, and do take advantage of graphics cards, but certainly not at the level of Crysis.

They got it right by doing lots of user testing (check out their "developer commentaries" to learn more)

So, stick with it. If you get the gameplay right, that's all you need.