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The way I get around this as an indie dev working on a VR game is that 0) I kept my day job. Coming home to work on the game isn't as hard as it sounds because
by rocky1138 9y ago
The way I get around this as an indie dev working on a VR game is that
0) I kept my day job. Coming home to work on the game isn't as hard as it sounds because (see 1)
1) I am making my game for me first. I've always had this world I want to drop myself into so I'm building it for me. If other people want to come along on this journey, that's fantastic. If not, that's okay too.
2) It's a means for me to escape daily life, thus it is relaxing and "time off" in my mind, not work. If I ever feel like it's work, I take a few minutes to analyze why and usually come to the conclusion that I'm focusing on the wrong thing: making the game for someone else, not myself.
3) I have no intentions of striking it rich, playing the indie lottery, or any of those things. I fully understand (after first-hand experience working as a professional game developer) that most games take years to make and when they finally come out, no one plays them. I cry a little inside when I see people quitting their job to become an indie developer and spend more than 90 days working on a single project without getting it released.
4) I set the price of my game based on its value not compared to similar games in the industry. I've had customers complain about this before, but the reality is that I only want players who are truly into the idea to be a part of it. If not, then don't buy it. I'm totally willing to walk away from any sale.
If this all sounds selfish, you're right. It's completely selfish. But I think it's the only realistic way to look at developing a game in today's world. Just like this blog post says, you will lose money, time, and sleep if your intentions are to burn the ships and strike it rich.
Instead, why not work on something for yourself and keep your day job?
- metaphorm 9y agoare you single? people with families don't typically have enough time to do what you're doing.
- rocky1138 9y agoI have a fiancee and two cats. I have a clear dilineation between "working on my game" time and "hanging out" time. I have a separate room I go into and when I close my door, I am no longer available. Conversely, when I am hanging out, I am not at all working. To do this requires clear communication and self control.
- mysterydip 9y agoStarted that way, too (though one cat instead of two). Now married with a toddler. If I get an hour or two to myself to code, it's a great day :)
- ashark 9y agoYup. With young kids and a spouse you're lucky if you get 15 hours of actual solo free time a week, unless you're cutting into sleep. And they'll be scattered throughout the week, then further broken into smaller parts by various interruptions, some probably claimed by various family & friend events more weeks than not unless you don't... you know, do stuff with people. If you want to have side projects under those circumstances, I hope you like working in chunks of a few minutes at a time, days-long gaps in between sessions, with the constant threat of interruption looming and an ever-growing pile of things-you-should-probably-be-doing-instead stressing you out.
- bigtunacan 9y agoI'm married and a father of three and I still find time for these things. Sometimes this just means things take longer because I'm working on something after the kids are in bed or off visiting friends, but also I try to get my children involved. As an example; if I'm working through art or animation tutorials (still learning since I'm a programmer) and the kids are around they sit down and do them with me so that it is family time.
- wst_ 9y agoYour kids sitting around? Sitting and doing stuff? Please, you should not brag about you ability to do a side project, because you have just easy life. At least according to your comment. I have only one kid, 2 years old, and I have no time for anything. My kid never sits down, never does anything longer than 5 minutes, always wants to do stuff together, always on the run, exploring every pebble on the street, every plant, running around other kids while they peacefully play with their parents. Me and wife on a regular basis get comments on the playground "All your days look like this? Ooops..." Plus, I have no grandparents near by and low chances to be accepted in kindergarten. So we are on our own. On weekends I am taking my kid out full day to get my wife some space, because she would go nuts without it after 5 days in a row - so I have not a single free day whole year. Saying all that, yes, I have 2 hours per day for myself. Right after 22:00 when I am sure the kid sleeps tight. But by that time I am wasted and not even able to read a proper book, because its just too much for my tired brain to grasp. Not even mention any form of creativity.
- joncampbelldev 9y agoPeople with families who have a stable income capable of supporting that family will usually have time for at least 1 hobby. This covers the vast majority of middle class families. Not everyone is lucky enough for that, but quite a few software developers are (the category of people most likely to be working on an indie game in their spare time)
- Brockenstein 9y agoSounds like an excuse to me. If you love to do something, you'll make the time for it. It's not that people with families or other commitments don't have time to do things. They just make choices on what things are most important to them and do those things instead. And say crummy things like, "I wish I had the time for that". It's not really the job of some guy that's describing his strategy to account for every other person and their decisions and all the alternate ways they choose to spend their time.
- WalterSear 9y agoLife is compromise. People with families are even less likely to have the low overhead or appropriate safety net to quit their day jobs for a labour of love. They've chosen theirs already.
- 2017throw 9y agoBasically, would you still do it if it's guaranteed to not make much money? Can you not work on your own stuff?
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]