a Year and a half* in the life of an indie developer
Saturday 27 May 2017.
Having worked in
the indie game scene for a while now I think I am now qualifed to
review the experience.
Since leaving college I've been lucky enough to have worked with a few different companies, all of which have been
awesome!
One
thing I learned quickly was
that full time is not so much 9 to 5, more 24 - 7. Not always but
can be especially when a dead line is near but it's ok game dev is fun
(usually).
The
whole experience of creating a game from start to finish is one crazy
ride which is then followed by that emotional experience of watching a
game being released into the real world. This has taught me how
very important marketing actually is. Without exception marketing
and/or a bit of luck a game will most likely quickly fade away into the
abyss of the app stores. From the outside game creation may look like
easy money (thanks largely to the media reporting stories of fortunes
made from freak indie hits such as that flappy bird game) but its
definately not an easy life. The indie game market is very competitive
with thousands of games released each year most going unnoticed. Game
dev is not for the faint hearted.
One of the highlights had to be showcasing Ramble Rumble at EGX in London.
Would I
recommend it?
Well,
yes definately! This has never felt like a "real job" and I still feel
as enthusiastic as ever. I know at some point due to the limited
opportunities in Northern Ireland I will possibly have to either
move or enter the world of non-entertainment software but until then
this will do me fine.
* Actually its more like 2½ years but this title reminded
me of an old Metallica video.