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Worth a shot, I know there are some people around here who don't know what to do with their money, who might be considering financing the next chat/social/... a

Worth a shot, I know there are some people around here who don't know what to do with their money, who might be considering financing the next chat/social/... app, but I implore you to consider supporting Gavan full-time (should he actually want it of course). I absolutely would if I could, unfortunately public cancer research is not exactly a lucrative business... Voxel Quest is a great project that deserves all the attention it can get. It might not be the next unicorn, hell, it might not even produce any ROI, but as I see it, it has the potential to have a great impact. See it as a goodwill project if you will, a chance to make a nice dent in the gaming landscape and more. It's not often that I feel this way, but some things just deserve to exist and be worked on for their own sake. Voxel Quest is one of these things, and Gavan is the one who can make it happen.

gavanwoolery 10y ago
Thank you, I appreciate it, but I have been given a fair shot, and I failed (or however you want to label it). I still came out better in the end, with a more developed skillset and better reputation. There are thousands of people out there just like me, waiting to prove themselves. These are the people that deserve funding. :) I met my first investor on reddit, a total stranger who took a chance on me. Hopefully I can reach a financial position at some point to give another person a chance as I was given.
- johndevor 10y ago
  I want to throw my money in your face. Have you considered doing a crowd sourced funding round?
  - gavanwoolery 10y ago
    I did get an offer to do crowd equity (some company that is actually run by one of the former Activision founders). I don't know that doing more crowd funding is necessarily the best avenue - I could just be digging my pit deeper. I'd prefer to build up some savings myself and maybe start my next company the right way, although that will be a long ways out.
    - johndevor 10y ago
      I don't mean to make assumptions, but are you being overly hard on yourself? Have there been negative replies about the Kickstarter / Patreon? The comments I've read seem to indicate that people (myself included) want you to keep pushing on.
      - gavanwoolery 10y ago
        There was a mixture of things. I never felt too burnt out but towards the end when stress and financial issues mounted up it made the process entirely unenjoyable (and to be clear, its never perfect, but this was the worst). When you have a solid window of time to accomplish something, things go ok, but when you run out of time you start flailing in an attempt to prioritize various things. The bigger issue, which has been largely invisible to people, is that building a game on your own while you have a family impacts them in a really negative way (namely, you can't dedicate the time or money you would like to for them). If you have money you can compensate (with babysitters and such), or the same goes for time, but if you have neither than it is pretty hard on everybody. Basically, it got to a point where I would rather the game be more of a hobby than a commercial venture; I was never good at the commercial part anyway. :)
        the_rosentotter 10y ago
        Upvoted to the moon. I have been going through this for a few years now (building a game engine, no less, with a wife and young children). I can't give my kids the time I would like and I can't give my project the time I would like. It feels like being torn apart sometimes. I don't know if this is healthy or not (would I be happier not pursuing my passion? Would I be guilt-tripping about too little time with the kids anyway, with a regular nine-to-five?) but I can't quit, it would fuck me up too much (sunk cost, shattered dreams, etc.). I might have to hit rock bottom first (or make it big, right?). In that sense I envy and credit you for moving on - best of luck.
        gavanwoolery 10y ago
        As long as you feel you have a shot, keep going. Better to have tried and failed than live with regret. But knowing when to quit is also a virtue. :)
- touristtam 10y ago
  This would have been a failure if you haven't learned, but I got the hitch you have learned a fair bit. You deserve all the help you are getting. :)

gavanwoolery 10y ago

Thank you, I appreciate it, but I have been given a fair shot, and I failed (or however you want to label it). I still came out better in the end, with a more developed skillset and better reputation. There are thousands of people out there just like me, waiting to prove themselves. These are the people that deserve funding. :) I met my first investor on reddit, a total stranger who took a chance on me. Hopefully I can reach a financial position at some point to give another person a chance as I was given.

johndevor 10y ago
I want to throw my money in your face. Have you considered doing a crowd sourced funding round?
- gavanwoolery 10y ago
  I did get an offer to do crowd equity (some company that is actually run by one of the former Activision founders). I don't know that doing more crowd funding is necessarily the best avenue - I could just be digging my pit deeper. I'd prefer to build up some savings myself and maybe start my next company the right way, although that will be a long ways out.
  - johndevor 10y ago
    I don't mean to make assumptions, but are you being overly hard on yourself? Have there been negative replies about the Kickstarter / Patreon? The comments I've read seem to indicate that people (myself included) want you to keep pushing on.
    - gavanwoolery 10y ago
      There was a mixture of things. I never felt too burnt out but towards the end when stress and financial issues mounted up it made the process entirely unenjoyable (and to be clear, its never perfect, but this was the worst). When you have a solid window of time to accomplish something, things go ok, but when you run out of time you start flailing in an attempt to prioritize various things. The bigger issue, which has been largely invisible to people, is that building a game on your own while you have a family impacts them in a really negative way (namely, you can't dedicate the time or money you would like to for them). If you have money you can compensate (with babysitters and such), or the same goes for time, but if you have neither than it is pretty hard on everybody. Basically, it got to a point where I would rather the game be more of a hobby than a commercial venture; I was never good at the commercial part anyway. :)
      - the_rosentotter 10y ago
        Upvoted to the moon. I have been going through this for a few years now (building a game engine, no less, with a wife and young children). I can't give my kids the time I would like and I can't give my project the time I would like. It feels like being torn apart sometimes. I don't know if this is healthy or not (would I be happier not pursuing my passion? Would I be guilt-tripping about too little time with the kids anyway, with a regular nine-to-five?) but I can't quit, it would fuck me up too much (sunk cost, shattered dreams, etc.). I might have to hit rock bottom first (or make it big, right?). In that sense I envy and credit you for moving on - best of luck.
        gavanwoolery 10y ago
        As long as you feel you have a shot, keep going. Better to have tried and failed than live with regret. But knowing when to quit is also a virtue. :)
touristtam 10y ago
This would have been a failure if you haven't learned, but I got the hitch you have learned a fair bit. You deserve all the help you are getting. :)