I quit my job to make indie games. Here's what happened.
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- čas přidán 26. 07. 2024
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0:00 Intro
01:10 Being transparent
01:43 How things have gone
04:00 CZcams money stuff
05:44 Sponsor message with free stuff
07:03 Keeping the lights on
08:18 Getting to the point
11:25 The very important new plan
12:20 Should you do it?
13:20 Outro
I quit my full-time job a year ago to pursue indie game dev. It’s about time we take a look back and find out if this whole #gamedev thing is working out.
#devlog #indiegames - Hry
You can now wishlist my game on Steam! steampowered.com/app/2967630
I did the same thing as you; left my job to work on a passion project whilst supplementing it with freelance work. We gave it everything we could, but unfortunately the passion project didn't take off... but finishing it felt amazing and despite its lack of success, I felt super proud and have no regrets at all. And now I am much happier working freelance than I ever was in an office. Good luck to you and I really look forward to playing your game!
did the passion project get released? what's the name?
"Self Employed Guy" LTD lol. I feel that. As a 32 year old artist and designer facing the same question you did a year ago I definitely relate. I'd advise anyone to let their dreamer side be free, but find a balance between that and a pragmatic/tempered approach. It's a mental state that ultimately involves reaching down to find what you will make you happy. Not just doing what makes you happy but finding the balance between that AND keeping life in check. Seems you're finding that sweet spot. I wish you the best of luck on your journey!
Congratulations on one year, Adam! I'm so stoked for you, dude! I'm glad you're managing well, being your own boss and doing OK!
A few things: I've been checking daily for weeks looking for a new video! lol. I love your honest take on things. You have an authenticity unlike I have seen in most other CZcamsrs.
I am 31 years old and I've been working on my first game for the last 3 years. I'll be uploading my first dev log on it soon. Your videos are greatly inspiring to me!
Also, you've probably been told this before, but you should seriously consider getting your steam page going so people can wishlist your game! I was reluctant to do this myself, because I felt like it wasn't ready to be seen. There were other factors too such as - there are still so many unknowns. What am I even calling my game? What if I want to change the game entirely and rename my game. You can do all of that up until the pre-launch process! Anyway, I hope you consider. I would love to add your game to my wishlist!
Can’t believe it’s been a year. So glad it’s working out for you and appreciate the candid look at what that has meant for you
I'm so happy this has worked out for you, and it's such a good lesson for people to learn that you can be an idealist and a pragmatist and also pursue much happier work, all at the same time. Thanks for the update!
Love it! It's always nice when your expectations are dashed, but in a better direction than you would have thought! It's been very interesting following your progress (and the game's progress) on this channel.
Great advice! In your video, it has been very interesting following your gamedev journey! Seeing your progress with your game is always amazing! Once you release your game to Steam or another platform. Will be a good indicator if all your hard work will ultimately payoff. As you have hoped it would. Your gamedev blog is still the best on CZcams! Keep your videos coming! :)
Loved the recap, the honesty, and I'm super happy for you! Keep up the great work -- also I can't wait to play the game one day!!
Great insights. NIce to hear about the progress but also appreciate your honesty and transparency as to what things are realistically like. I have some background in this too and this is truth for indie game dev - it takes time!
Thanks a lot for sharing the TRUTH ! I just found your channel by chance, I'll stay here and watch some episodes of your adventure. Keep it up !
Thanks for being so honest and transparent about your first year after quitting your job to make your game!
I'm currently in the process of doing qualifications to allow me to change careers to one where I can work half the hours (20-24hr a week) and earn more money, meaning the other time can be used to do game dev and have a better work/life balance.
I only hope I can make as much progress on my game as you have in your first 12mths, your channel/content is great and really inspiring.
Keep up the good work and having everything work out as it has for you couldn't happen to a nicer bloke.
me and my girlfriend have literally just quit our jobs to pursue game development. this is our first time watching one of your videos and it was really nice to see a realistic outcome of what could happen, it feels like people always try to sugarcoat things or tell you how easy or how simple or fun it is to try and quit to persue what you care about, but you just said it how it is, and that was really refreshing and honestly very encouraging to hear!! thank you for deciding to put a video like this out there for people like us :)
I love how candid this is, congrats on finding a way to make things work!
Wow, I really appreciate the honesty and transparency in this video. I quit my fulltime job almost 2 years ago to follow the indie game dev dream and totally agree with you. I've had to work part time jobs that I dont really care for on the side, but as far as my actual happiness its so much better. I had quit smoking when I quit my job too, and I think literally just from happiness and stress free living I havent smoked a cigerette since nor have I even wanted to! Really has been worth it, but figuring out a sustainable financial situation is definitely a challenge but does grow as you continue to work at it!
Amazing! Best of luck.
And I love the greenscreen :)
Great video, and great progress Ads.
Love how you don't regret that bold move.
Great looking stuff in the game also.
Hey. That Monkey Island scene!
CZcams recommended your video. I have a similar story. At the age of 40, I started dabbling in game development as a hobby. 2 years later I took a year off my one-man consultancy (6 years old at the time), going all-in on developing my first game. I ran into a publisher and we released into EA, with 1.0 planned for April/May this year. The income (while Top15% of Steam earner) isn't nearly enough to cover our expenses (with 4 kids!). While my "real world work" is quite senior, with good remuneration, it also comes with loads of negativity. So, now, I've kept my one client, which is not at all negative to work with, I work between 20% and 40% in a given week, make 40% of what I could have made from full-time consulting, and spend the rest continuing my game dev journey. I would not change it - I've not had a day of not looking forward to working on something or other.
You should make the 10K subs long before the 5 years are over! I see you're still going. Congrats and good luck!
Thanks for the transparency !! Love this video
Great video. Thank you for sharing your thoughts :). It is very interesting for people like me who are faced with a similar decision but never find the courage to do the last step :D
Hey,
Thank you for sharing your experience and being honest.
I am kind-off in a similar situation. I wanted to quit my job and try to focus full time on my game, but so far don't have the courage to do it.
I guess maybe it is best to progress further with the game and maybe pay my mortgage first, before doing something like that. Hope that I will be able to take the jump in the next year or two.
Anyway ... Wish you all the best and keep on chasing your dream!
You got another subscriber here, so please keep up the updates ;)
One of the best videos I have seen on this topic. Thanks!
Great, insightful video! It took a turn I wasn't expecting, and I think you've got a lot going for you
Thank you for sharing your journey with us!
inspiring story man! Subscribed.
Thanks for the honest input, Ads. Work-life balance is so important and I'm pretty happy for you that your leap of faith turned out that awesome.
Thanks for the candor, and kudos for taking the leap. Better to see where life takes you than wonder forever.
Also... have you always been an artist? What tools do you use? I'm always so impressed by people who draw as well as code... the art side of game dev is super intimidating to me!
I’m not an artist at all - I actually failed art at school! I’ve been using a bunch of iPad apps like Procreate - have an easier video that goes through it all. 👍
Subscribed. I'm a motion designer / animator. I dabble a bit in unity and many other things. Trying to achieve that work - life balance as well.
The room with the doodads at 3:38 looks so good Ads
I second that, it was awesome to see the evolution of that scene on the channel's Discord, great job!
Love this attitude and I think what you've done is the most sensible. Keep up the great work the game looks awesome 👌 so far.
The Chart at 12.07 should be on T-shirts.
you have 6k subscribers already, aim for 100k in 5 years at the very least!
Glad things are working out for you. I think when it comes to quitting your job to do full time game dev, there really isn't a one size fits all option. It's going to be different for everyone, with different amounts of struggle and success. For anyone wanting to attempt it, you really need to focus on having a solid plan in place. You also need backup plans for if your solid plan falls through.
I decided to quit my job and go full time game dev as well. My plan however was a bit different. My plan was to use my own funds to cover the development of my game for 1 year. At that point, my game would be far enough along in development where I could run a crowdfunding campaign to cover the remaining development costs. Well, it took an additional 4 months to get the Kickstarter campaign up and running, but it did work out in the end, and I got my funding that way. I'm now a year in since funding and I have a year left to go before release. I considered Patreon early on but honestly I feel like it's only good if you can deliver frequent content to your Patrons, or your game is in a state where people can play it already, and get additional bonuses for becoming a Patron.
My game dev journey is working out so far, but that isn't to say it would work for everyone. Some people don't want to have that commitment of finishing a project on a deadline, so crowdfunding isn't necessarily for them. But no matter what route you take, it's definitely not easy, but it is by far a lot more rewarding than grinding out a day job you don't like. :)
Glad you found your comfort zone fella great to see you're still at it 👍👍
Back then I set a reminder on my phone for April 18, 2022 (exactly one year after "I QUIT MY JOB to make Indie Games - DEVLOG 13" went live) and have been checking back on this channel at least three times a day for the last couple days. So thanks for sharing!
Thank you for watching!
Soo true and love this. I've been doing game development learning since teenage and being serious about doing one at moment, it's hobby that I do abit a day. When it gets to a good serious point then I'll make that decision but agree its all about the work life balance and not the full on quit to full time game dev at early points of creation or permanent. Freelance is a great idea to have that balance
At some point in the semi-near future I want to try what you accomplished. Starting to freelance to have more freedom and to be able to make more room for game development that is. But I don't feel ready yet. Maybe I should try the "voluntarily unemployed" route :D
You being tiny on the mountain at the end made me laugh
Keeping it real! Thank you!
An alternative that I've adopted is to ask your employer to switch to a part-time role. I'm now working 4 days for a company, 1 day (plus bits of the weekend) on game dev. As I make more money from the game dev bit and gain more confidence in my skills, I'll gradually transition to a 3-day week and then eventually quit altogether. Pursuing your dream doesn't need to be a drastic change like "quit your job" - there is a happy middle ground!
The truth is that it is great to share your story with people, and sometimes we do not want to disappoint others, but it remains a wonderful and useful experience. As a viewer, I did not feel disappointed and liked the video. The most important thing is to know that most of the successful people failed in the beginning, but focus on experiences and benefit from each experience is real fun of this life. and I believe You have learned many things that you did not know before your experience, we are with you
I have been watching game developers for a while and believe they had low income and low views like less than 1k views
When their game didn’t go well, they immediately start a new game with the experience they had gain from the previous failed game
And now they made a successful games
Like two stars I have been watching his videos when he had only 600 views in “2020” Not 600k
Now in “2022” his views are over 2 millions per video
I don’t want to be the cringe kid who try to motivate xDDD, but it’s good to learn tricks and tips to success
CZcams works in frightening ways. I Admittedly haven't watched all of your video's, but your last one was recommended last night so I watched it. Behold, this morning, new video is released. Your new lifestyle is something to behold. Hope you make it to 40.
Are you gonna do a follow up video with "What Will Smith taught me about". Sorry, couldn't resist. I use his methods when programming in AGS a lot actually. I do one pretty hard slap on my desktop, and then i keep trying to fix what's not working in the code.
uh oh Im watching these videos again D:
I have a really high paying job in tech, been here for past 6 years (over decade full time in the industry total)... but f man if I am not completely miserable lately. I know I shouldn't have a right to complain, but I can't shake the feeling of "golden shackles" and time just seeping away. I am about your age and all I've been doing is menial boring work, I am not learning anything new or advancing my career at this point.
I do hobby gamedev on the side, but it's just that - hobby gamedev. I am considering submitting a resignation next month, not as much that I see myself making out as a big shot game dev (because who're we kidding, my over ambitious project will likely never get finished), but as I need a frigging extended vacation at this point. Then I might want to try something else, even for 1/3 the money.
You know it's the TRUTH because I wrote it in capital letters.
Keep on keeping on my man, love hearing your updates!
Candid question, Any tips on where do you find quality freelance work? Asking as an experienced unity developer for 13 years. Really wanting to make this leap in my life but have to know that it is also sustainable.
I wish I had a simple answer for this. Some of mine has come via LinkedIn, and some from people I used to work with. I've mostly been lucky in knowing people with budgets to spend!
I've been freelancing in my field for 15 years. I'm about 38 and hopping into game dev. I have some experience from childhood with C++, Klik and Play, VB, sprite editing, etc., but it's been more than 20 years. I think almost everyone should freelance if they can. I have convinced several friends and colleagues to quit their full time jobs and freelance and not a single one regrets it. Less money first couple of years, but much better quality of life.
When is your 'Biggleboss Incident' game arriving on Steam? Could'nt find it on Steam...
Not sure just yet! Probably 2024, to be honest.
@@pcd Thanks. I'll wishlist it as soon as you've started promoting it on the Steam page.
My good dude, you should really start looking into bones animation ^^
I kinda like the hand-animated style!
being part-time artist, might be best life, no stress to publish, always, some nice back-up . . :-OO . .
TRUE
Nowadays It is difficult to make just enough money for living with games... Most income for Indie developments are releasing courses, assets, etc... event kickstarter or patreon are just not enough to make a game without losing money making it.
Great video, as always.
I will say that I think it might be worthwhile to come at this from a slightly different perspective: You tried to develop a game in a year, but you slowed down due to other considerations.
You started a CZcams channel but you upload once a month because of your freelance work and the time you need to build your game itself.
If you want your CZcams channel to be sustainable without extraneous income sources, you need to get really good at making CZcams videos. Not that you aren't doing a pretty good job, but improvement is always necessary if you want to be, well, better. Better = more subscribers = more money.
My own issue, as someone writing a novel, is that spending 20 hours a week editing a video, while also exercising and going to my day job and writing my story and cooking to eat healthily and getting 8 hours of sleep at night, is that I didn't want to sacrifice the time I could be writing for editing videos.
So I end up never improving at CZcams, but it's a sacrifice to ensure that my writing gets done.
I'm sure you've thought of all of this, and maybe I'm just selfishly wanting you to upload more videos for my personal enjoyment, but unless, I suppose, you hire an editor, it'll be a really tough thing, doing all of your projects without burning out, and at a skill level high enough to make them lucrative.
All that said, good luck and I'm anticipating the game with excitement.
That initial amount of (CZcams) money seems pretty good to me, you can't live on it of course, but it would be paying for my internet and then some.
it's great that you could switch your full time job on 3/4 freelance and still be able to provide to the family. If i'll quit, will be broke :D so my gamedev is more of a secret night time hours
Congrats! I'm also planning to quit my job in 1 year to develop games but I wouldn't need to worry much about finances as I do have investments generating income equal or slightly higher than my salary thus being "sustainable"
I am not far off 60 and even I feel inspired by this video. I too have a hobby business but I never quite had the guts to pack in the day job and make a go of it. I wish I could go back in time and kick my 40 year old self up the backside! ed. PS I love your pie charts. Can I screenshot them and frame them on my study wall please?
This is awesome to hear! The pie charts are actually not mine; they're by instagram.com/lizandmollie/?hl=en ...I can't claim credit for their genius.
I cant join the discord :(
Oh no! How come? It should be an open link?
@@pcd dont know i try to join and it says failed to join and woops. ill try tomorrow again
anyone here in need of a 3d asset modeler? or a scenario writer? or a narrator/voice actor?
No surprise that quitting your job and not getting paid for a year isn't financially sustainable, but it's great that you've been able to get freelance work and find a balance between paid work and game development that you're happy with. I'm not sure that everyone would be so lucky though.
Whether you succeed or not, at least you won't be one of those people sitting on a park bench in your seventies wondering what might have been
Fantastic story
You cannot success in indie game dev unless you have very clear vision, very high commetment, and a financial support.
I think that you are being too conservative and pessimistic with your 5 year plan. You need to be more agressive and ambitious. What if the game doesn't pick up? Some people had to make 50 games before it worked.
You can't rely on one project.
The central pillar here is that you have freelance skills that are in demand and allows you to bridge the gap financially. You say that you're a dreamer, well you're not the only one.😄 (A little John Lennon never hurts) My concern is that there are those who attempt an all or nothing commitment to making their game without any sort of safety net like freelance work. Dreamers aren't always the most practical people.
Can’t believe it’s been a year. So glad it’s working out for you and appreciate the candid look at what that has meant for you