No, I don’t make games for a living. But…
As an indie game developer, I know firsthand that the journey can be thrilling and rewarding, but it’s not a reliable way to pay the bills. It requires a lot of time, effort and dedication, but… success is never guaranteed.
Making your game stand out from the crowd is an almost impossible challenge. There are thousands of new bigger titles being released every year, and developing a game is an expensive process: it can take months or even years to see a possible return on investment. Most indie games are not profitable, and take years of hard work to make even a modest amount of money.
But… it’s not all as bad as it seems. It depends on how we approach it.
I think that indie game development should mostly be considered as a hobby rather than a profession. It’s important to be realistic about the financial prospects and to approach it as a labor of love rather than a get-rich-quick scheme.
Does that mean we shouldn’t try making games for a living?
No, but we should keep our feet on the ground and our expectations in check.
Don’t make huge “indie” productions, by huge teams, investing a lot of money/time and following market trends.
Create small lovely games, with small teams, in small periods of time just because you want to do it. That should definitely be the indie way.
I don’t make games for a living.
I make a living for making games.
Experiment, learn and have fun!
Thank you for your time.
Pablo Navarro (@panreyes) – CEO of RAWRLAB Games