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Why You Shall Not Quit Your Day Job To Make A Game App
To be or not to be? A thought for all aspiring indie/app game developers.
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Level design draft on Bonnie's Brunch
Last year I left my job in an online game company to become a full-time indie game developer. After one year and countless struggles, our team finally made a commercial iOS game -- Bonnie's Brunch (iTunes Link). And I've shared the postmortem here.
Although the iOS gold rush was already over, I keep hearing a lot of people urged on jumping into indie/app game development. In reality, the time is different and the battle is tougher than before.
Recently I had a chance to give a talk on one local meetup for Taiwanese mobile app developers. Being an indie over one year, I had learned my lessons in a hard way. I think being an indie is less about how to make a fortune in a short time, but more about knowing thyself.
The following are the outlines:
You heard all the success stories on App Store(s), so you want to quit your day job? To be a full-time indie game app developer?
Think before you leap!
Because you...
1) Got Nobody Pays You Wage
Income != Expense
Time to live off the past savings
Say goodbye to luxury habits
Live a frugal life
2) Own A Million Dollar Baby
Value = Idea * Execution -- Derek Sivers
Don't ask people to sign an NDA first
A great idea is worth a million dollars
...Only if it can be well executed
3) Want To Do It All By Yourself
Band Of Brothers (Sisters)
Great partners do what you can't
Spend extra time with them
Know their itches & quirks
Friends != Partners
4) Not A "Mad Hatter"
Multidisciplinary
"Small games need generalists" -- Adam Saltsman
Not just making a good game and then profit
Get your noble hands dirty
Know your audience: you won't be able to please everyone
5) Wanna Make A Fortune At Your 1st Game
Lessons To Learn
You won't hit the nail on the head in your 1st, 2nd & 3rd games
Don't make your dream game yet
Budget for at least 3 games
Don't forget to count in the living costs
6) Need Alarm Clocks To Wake You Up
Self-Discipline
No reveille to wake you up every morning
You are your own boss!
...And that's the real problem
Enjoy your free time but not too much
7) Hate Getting Along With Yourself
You Are Alone
No peers to talk to, gossip & flirt with
You'll have many toys causing distraction & procrastination
Motivation: easy to lose, hard to recover
8) Have No Family Support
Relationship Matters
Try to convince your beloved ones
Unconditional love will get you through the hard time
Put out the fire before it burns you down
Career can be rebooted, life can't
9) Follow What They Said
A Hundred Shining Faces
A million sad songs underneath
Stories they won't tell & you won't hear
Go nowhere by just reading & listening stuff
Don't chase the fad
10) Born To Be A Shy Guy
Outside The Box
Speak up your mind
Join and/or build a community
Don't be afraid to flop -- It won't be the first & the last
No Secret Era: Honesty goes a long way
Final Notes
Make at least one game app when you have a day job -- If you can't make it now, you won't make it tomorrow
If everything needs to be 100% ready before taking action -- You can do nothing at all
My Q & Your A
How long can you live without income?
When the going gets tough, will you give up?
If you were going to fail, would you still go for it?
You may read and download the full version on Speaker Deck.
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