3 ms·

Good advice! On top of start small I'd add: just finish it first. Maybe consider giving yourself a deadline. I got my first tabletop RPG supplement out last ye

Good advice! On top of start small I'd add: just finish it first. Maybe consider giving yourself a deadline. I got my first tabletop RPG supplement out last year because I signed up for (and got accepted into, horror of horrors) a table at a games/comics/arts festival. I had to go from idea to printed product in three months and worked my ass off in between my day job and taking care of my family to pull it off. But I did it and I am glad: finishing something has opened up my eyes to what's possible. That being said I also took some time off of work last year to explore making games. There's a flourishing, inclusive indie developer community in my city and that was a real boon. However I'm still not sure how/if any of them make a living from their games. Is it actually possible to aim your sights on a career in indie game development with all the responsibilities of a mortgage and family? I want to do more games stuff but I foresee it being a hobby more than anything.

andrewb 13y ago
I've had similar thoughts. My current plan is to move towards contracting work. Therefore, if there is time between contracts, instead of dwelling on loss of income, it essentially gives you time to work on your hobbies. In your situation you'd need to ensure you are well ahead of your mortgage.
thirdtruck 13y ago
I can report responses from industry members in regards to making a living off of indie games. Short answer: yes. Long answer: yes, but only against the odds. It takes a lot of consistent work, and not small amount of luck, to make net income in indie gaming. You have to treat it like the entrepreneurial venture it is, but you can succeed by the same virtues that work for other entrepreneurs. I recommend The Self-Publishing Podcast for plenty of actionable insight from three guys who actually make money writing self-published fiction (http://selfpublishingpodcast.com/ http://selfpublishingpodcast.com/).
caprad 13y ago
> On top of start small I'd add: just finish it first. Make the most MVP(G?) game that you can, and finish it, get it out there. Then start making improvements adding stuff, making it good. Just finish something and get it done and out there. So many people keep adding new features, trying to get it perfect before they release it, which they never end up doing.
thirdtruck 13y ago
Seconded on the just finish it first advice. I credit my first success NaNoWriMo victory as the spark for a lot of my creative and career progress since then, given that I've since Kickstarted a novel based on the original draft.
soup10 13y ago
Usually not. A handful of indie games become big hits and make the creators lots of money. A small number of games do reasonably well and can fund a tiny studio for a year or two. The large majority of indie games fail to turn a profit. Most indie game devs i've met are unrealistically optimistic and think their game is going to be the next angry birds. (Very similar to most startup founders i've met).

andrewb 13y ago

I've had similar thoughts. My current plan is to move towards contracting work. Therefore, if there is time between contracts, instead of dwelling on loss of income, it essentially gives you time to work on your hobbies. In your situation you'd need to ensure you are well ahead of your mortgage.

thirdtruck 13y ago

I can report responses from industry members in regards to making a living off of indie games. Short answer: yes. Long answer: yes, but only against the odds. It takes a lot of consistent work, and not small amount of luck, to make net income in indie gaming. You have to treat it like the entrepreneurial venture it is, but you can succeed by the same virtues that work for other entrepreneurs. I recommend The Self-Publishing Podcast for plenty of actionable insight from three guys who actually make money writing self-published fiction (http://selfpublishingpodcast.com/ http://selfpublishingpodcast.com/).

caprad 13y ago

> On top of start small I'd add: just finish it first. Make the most MVP(G?) game that you can, and finish it, get it out there. Then start making improvements adding stuff, making it good. Just finish something and get it done and out there. So many people keep adding new features, trying to get it perfect before they release it, which they never end up doing.

thirdtruck 13y ago

Seconded on the just finish it first advice. I credit my first success NaNoWriMo victory as the spark for a lot of my creative and career progress since then, given that I've since Kickstarted a novel based on the original draft.

soup10 13y ago

Usually not. A handful of indie games become big hits and make the creators lots of money. A small number of games do reasonably well and can fund a tiny studio for a year or two. The large majority of indie games fail to turn a profit. Most indie game devs i've met are unrealistically optimistic and think their game is going to be the next angry birds. (Very similar to most startup founders i've met).