Indie Game Dev Is TOO RISKY

Is the indie game dev career too risky? Let's chat!

[thomasbrush]

Sorry about the coughs! Recovering from that one virus going around. Thanks for watching guys.

[Helthurian]

Considering how risky Indie dev is from a financial standpoint, it should be done as a hobby first. If you go into it or YT for the money, you'll inevitably become burned out or discouraged. Treating it as a hobby ensures you're not pouring in excessive time or money and levels expectations. Great vid, Thomas.

[xaeyr]

Love this video. I've released 3 games on Android, 5 games on the Roblox platform, and a handful of game jam games on itch, none of which have really taken off. But I've never given up on my dream of being a full time indie dev. All of those games have taught me one thing or another, which I carry forward to my next project. I'm moving forward now working on my first Steam release, which is very exciting. No matter how your games do, never give up. Keep going.

[LuanaSantos-rlsb]

doing my indie game I am fully aware that I could fail horribly, but inside my heart I feel like I have to do it anyway

[MangoPangolin]

My brother and I worked on a game for a year after he got fired from COVID layoffs to try and “make it” as an indie dev. After releasing it, it flopped horribly, but his experience got him a job at Epic Games a few months later so it was actually a huge win. We’re working on a second game now just because we had so much fun making the first one and it’s a lot easier with more experience. Keep at it, and look for the small victories. Everyone is on a different path with this journey.

[boriswho]

I've been learning so much! Like, things I would never have thought I'd learn. Problem solving (skill/mindset), programming, art, design, patience, people I've met, I mean, it's all been amazing! Up and downs - sure. But still. And if it doesn't work out, I think I would never say "I failed". Thank you, Thomas. And happy new year everyone! ♥️

[quinndepatten]

I think rougelike is a better metaphor than gambling. Yeah, there's luck involved, but a lot of the times it comes down to "did you play it as well as you could despite your luck?" and "how did you use the luck you were given?"

[skyrealminteractive]

I'm so glad I came across this video of yours Thomas. I've been developing our game for nearly a year with the mentality of if I want this badly, I gotta be willing to sacrifice everything. For nearly a year combining the day time job I was working 70 hrs weeks, every week, being afraid of the risk of failing, without realizing this unrealistic work habit was the thing that introduced risk in the first place. I was making both of the mistakes that you outlined in your video. I was at the verge of a mental meltdown but luckily I found this video. While still keeping the hunger to learn, get better, and make progress, for now on I'll make sure I keep my family first, expectation low, and enjoy the process instead of looking at it as a responsibility I must upkeep. Thanks!

[neoware]

Making games is very hard. Developing a indie game solo is even harder. You also have to market your game, find a comunity interested in buying your game, port to other systems as much as you can, fix bugs, the amount of work is insane...

[mohamedbassem]

when you said "the things we do that makes it risky" I felt personally attacked :"D
I'm currently in my 4th year of the self destructive journey of making big indie game solo, recently I have started to learn to take things easier on myself and most importantly to not pause your life till you finish (cause it always takes more time than expected)... currently trying to balance between living life and pursuing developing the game.
loves your channel, it's really comforting seeing someone speaks up what we feel <3

[lavizpandey]

I was about to quit learning development because of the "horror stories", thank you for the inspiration. I will definitely keep learning now.

[TreeFallStudios]

This is a great video. If you are a solo dev you are much more likely to succeed if you have strong entrepreneur principles or instincts. If you don't respect your time and treat your art like a business you won't be able to succeed for very long. The section about learning something from failed projects is key. I am now 7 years into my indie game development journey, and this is the real first year that I am making a full time living from my games. It took project after project, learning from each one, making them each better bit by bit over years just to get to this point. I started from one of the lowest points possible, knowing virtually nothing, releasing what people considered one of the worst games of 2014, and I did not quit. If *I* can do it, others can too. There are many game developers much more talented than I. I wish everyone luck on their projects, failure will come, but that does not mean that is where you have to stay.

[migcreatesgames]

Indie game development should be fun for most part. It shouldn't be a burden or a new way to make money. I got my schedule down for game development with my streams that I do and I really enjoy it and it should be like that for new indie game developers

[thelegendarymushroom]

I've been working on games over the years, literally still being in school and graduated around last year, but all my games got deleted,
my pc broke down a million times and my games vanished from my pc another million times, my programs which I used to make them got so many bugs that my games didn't even start at some point and it was making me so angry,
but I couldn't stop back then.
l just wanted to make games! Its all I ever wanted. I knew I had to keep on going, but only last year, l saw the results of my hart work.
All these games got deleted and it frustrated me that l'm only left with all the paper and books I've written with all my ideas and how to solve the problems I had while making those games.
That while I made my last game (bofore the current one), l actually noticed how much l've learned making them,
even if no-one will ever play them.
This knowledge made me help make my games not only faster, but Iet me succeed in the problems I used to have making games before.
And finally I upload my first game since years and for the first time l can say, l actually like what I did. I mean it's not a great game,
but I didn't meant to make the game to be like all the others. lt was just meant to be the way l wanted it to be and to me it succeeded in every way :)
So basically, I couldn't agree more with what you always say!

[SEGVeenstra]

Great video Thomas!
I chose to build my game in the framework I use in my day job.
So if my game doesn't do well, I've still learned a lot that I can use in my day job and thus wouldn't feel like wasted time.

[BaseRealityVR]

Im Risking all my time . And Im ok with that. Because you need a goal and a dream In life. If I never give up I can never fail.
Ive been learning for a long time around my Job, wife & kids / Gym Life, But for me Game dev Is that Light In the distance Im aiming for.

[renancarvalho]

Despite all the risk of failing, be sure to do it, because if you don't start and make your game or whatever project you want, and you don't succeed, at least you won't regret never having started

[marcusaasjensen]

I absolutely agree with all of what you say. Personally, my dream is to tell emotional stories through video games. The thing is, even though there is a lot of encouragement from others to "follow your dreams", it is still risky at the end of the day. They really don't know what it takes. That's why I think It should always start as a hobby with just in mind curiosity towards that field. Then, if you win, then let's give it a shot. I've noticed ambition is never a good idea because you are never satisfied and it would burn you out. I love what you do Thomas, you inspire me to be a better game developer and a better person. Thank you!

[Vchump]

I’m not even in the industry but it sounds a shitload more practical to just practice making a game as a side project to help focus on fine tuning a single aspect of game creation (seeing as normally in the industry you wouldn’t touch writing, art/animation, marketing, etc if you’re responsible for coding enemy ai for example) then if the game turns out to be an out of nowhere hit, all the better. This is assuming you want to get your foot in the door of the industry to get work at an indie studio instead of spending years on a huge gamble that could fall flat…. But i suppose it’s not impossible to be the jack of all trades, just assuming it’d be better to focus on being great at one aspect to get into the industry as a whole

[mehiarsammar]

1) every creative industry is very risky.
2) everything that has the potential to give you financial freedom (make millions) is risky!
choose ur poison, 9-5 (which is also risky, but the reward isn't alot), or risk a couple years pursuing what you love, if it works, great, if not, u got something amazing on ur resume and ur SUPER employable!