Sup devs, I hope this is an appropriate topic. Basically, [B]I only bring in about $2k a month[/B] from my day job (hairstylist) but at the moment I need it to pay my [B]expensive San Diego rent[/B]. The thing is, I'm [B]in love with game development[/B] and I'm pretty sure I want to do this forever. I'm working really hard to study, practice, and get a small team together in pursuit of this goal. I track all of my development hours and I put about 60 hours a week into development on top of my ~40 work week. I really [B]hate my job[/B] and it is pretty stressful and demanding, leaving me with little energy/focus to spend on what really matters.
Anyways, I [B]want to replace my day job income ASAP so that I can work on development full-time[/B], but I'm struggling to find the best approach. So I want to know what you guys have had success with financially. [B]Which methods do you think I should really focus on right now?[/B] Obviously it would be awesome if I could just poop out an awesome completed game right away on my own and generate tons of success, but I need something more feasible for the short-term so that I can focus on that goal in the long-term.
Should I focus on the asset stores? If so, what kinds of assets should I focus on? I have skills in pretty much every category from 3D modeling to audio engineering to programming, I just don't know which of these would be most profitable on the marketplace. Has anyone here had success with the asset stores to such an extent that they did not need a day-job? [B]Please share your experience.[/B]
I'm so excited for my future in this industry, but so burdened by this shitty career I'm stuck in. Help me out!
[B]TL;DR - Key points in bold[/B]
Here's what I think.
You want to quit your job that provides you with a reliable source of income, in order to pursue a career in something you are "pretty sure" you want to do forever. This immediately sets off tons of alarm bells because there is no guarantee you'll even get off the ground in game development.
Sounds to me being a hairstylist pays the bills, but where will you get the rent money from if and when your game development gig goes belly up?
If you really, really hate your job, go find another one if you can. But don't put all of your eggs in one basket and expect it to solve all of your problems. Play it safe and smart, it'll pay off in the long run. I'm not saying to give up on game development (I'm hoping to get there one day myself), but don't go into it just so you can quit your day job and make money in a way that you enjoy...not everyone likes their job, but they have to make money somehow!
Best of luck to you!
1. Keep a steady income source that isnt game development
2. Keep developing games
3. Once you start making money from selling these games that can actually pay the rent then you can quit whatever job you have.
As said above, if you really hate your current job find a new one but dont rely on game development being your sole income source (Unless you find a job at a game dev company obviously)
Sorry to hear you hate your day job. IMO the worst thing you can do is overthink the situation though - you need to progress the same way every other hobbyist dev progresses.
Make the smallest games possible until you're really good at it - make them finished and polished and release them for free. When you make something good add a donate button or charge 99p for it. Work your way up until you find a way to make enough money that you can cut your hours at your day job bit by bit. Gradually swap your hours from day job to game dev, but only at a rate you can afford.
Just my two cents, that's my plan anyway but IDK if it's going to work. I'm being very conservative with my approach and I'm lucky enough to have a job where I can take days off occasionally to dev.
Just to reiterate what the other guys said: don't quit your day job, don't rush into anything.
If your remotely good at programming you can start a career in web development and earn allot of cash.
[QUOTE=Jelman;51444032]1. Keep a steady income source that isnt game development
2. Keep developing games
3. Once you start making money from selling these games that can actually pay the rent then you can quit whatever job you have.
As said above, if you really hate your current job find a new one but dont rely on game development being your sole income source (Unless you find a job at a game dev company obviously)[/QUOTE]
I would agree with staying on your job until you have another steady source of income, but doing both at the same time isn't a superb idea if the hair stylist job currently eats 8h/day, you'll burn yourself out before you can even get into the field for real.
What I would personally rate as a better idea is, don't throw yourself into a "company of your own" for gamedev starting out (as the single thing you do, personal projects are still great though), join a company that does gamedev for real, releases games and knows what they're doing.
Though maybe picking an actual specialization in the field first would probably be a wise choice
That's a way into the industry, just find companies that are looking for people, go interview, find out what they want from you and go from there.
It's a bit of a "jump off the deep end" approach, but interviewing and doing things in anger for real is the fastest approach to find out whats actually needed.
[QUOTE=Evanstr;51444176]If your remotely good at programming you can start a career in web development and earn allot of cash.[/QUOTE]
TELL ME YOUR SECRETS NOW PLEASE
* If you're remotely good at programming - [B]and[/B] you have connections / relevant degree / relevant experience - you can start a career in web development and earn allot of cash.
Spend your free time building a resume and start sending out applications, then get a job. I managed to land a job with no prior work experience or degree and only a few YouTube videos worth of portfolio, you just have to be able to prove you're competent and find somebody that is hiring.
[QUOTE=Nigey Nige;51444130]you need to progress the same way every other hobbyist dev progresses.[/QUOTE]
people keep cargo culting this advice, but i don't think it's really true
you can do whatever you want to do, you don't have to follow "the way every other hobbyist dev progresses". find your own path to success.
as long as you can pay the bills, you're fine.
[editline]2nd December 2016[/editline]
[QUOTE=Nigey Nige;51444130]Make the smallest games possible until you're really good at it - make them finished and polished and release them for free. When you make something good add a donate button or charge 99p for it. Work your way up until you find a way to make enough money that you can cut your hours at your day job bit by bit. Gradually swap your hours from day job to game dev, but only at a rate you can afford.[/QUOTE]
you're never going to make any money by releasing your games for free. if it's just for experience, that's fine then
[QUOTE=DFC;51458541]* If you're remotely good at programming - [B]and[/B] you have connections / relevant degree / relevant experience - you can start a career in web development and earn allot of cash.[/QUOTE]
Have Zero degree, Have Zero connections, I had zero commercial experience and it did not stop me getting a job as a FE dev a year ago half ago.
Personally I dont see it ethically(its a bit wrong... but if you can do the work... why wait) wrong to lie a bit as long as you can do the work your lying about.
Getting a job is Zero about the degree(for big company im wrong.), Its just about making the person you are talking to confident about you.
[QUOTE=DFC;51458541]* If you're remotely good at programming - [B]and[/B] you have connections / relevant degree / relevant experience - you can start a career in web development and earn allot of cash.[/QUOTE]
Don't have a degree, have no prior background & ended up being a back end dev for a well-funded startup. But as Evanstr has said, web development is the route to go. I love games, love coding them but that field is the MOST competitive there is right now I'd have to say. If you need money to quit your day job, start learning a web framework asap and then start freelancing. Use your family, friends, whomever to find someone that needs a site done.
Also, if you want to get your foot in the door, I'd say try app development. There's some money in that especially if you can release quality content and onto BOTH platforms(Android/iOS)
Thank you all for the great input, I'm going to take a little bit from each of you. :smile:
Ill give you some numbers of what Ive made selling assets online, although its only been for UE4 on the Unreal Marketplace.
I started in April, and Ive submitted 4 assets (3 are low poly models / environments, and the other is a game template). So far Ive made about $6800 USD after Epic takes their 30% cut. That in itself is definitely not a supplement for an actual job, with a steady income. Some months I make $300, other months I make $2k. Its unreliable until you get enough assets and such out there. But I would give this advice [B]Dont quit your day job![/B]. Youre definitely better off finding another job you like better, and then just start working, improving your portfolio and quality of work, then start creating assets and such.
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