The Rampant Coyote has created a list of 19 general purpose 2D engines that you can use for you project. Now how do you choose the right one? Well, an indie game developer should consider following things:

• To get as many customers as possible, use an engine that supports multiple platforms: Windows, Mac and Linux.
• To make the best use of your time, prefer higher level scripting languages over lower level programming languages.
• Paying for an engine doesn’t necessarily mean that you get a better product or better support.

My personal favorite? Pygame of course!