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CloseI'm pretty surprised at the amount of "why aren't you doing something better with your life" I've seen in this thread.
author=slashphoenix
I'm pretty surprised at the amount of "why aren't you doing something better with your life" I've seen in this thread.
Indeed. And I wonder what this people are doing in a game making forum, when they could be doing voluntary work or researching the cure for cancer.
author=chana
... (waiting for more explicit statement).
It's almost as if some people think that because they've devoted themselves to the sciences instead of any other number of professions, they are superior human beings. Which is, of course, just silly.
Irili
3198
-Do you make games for money?
Nope.
-Given the chance, would you work on commercial games?
Yes, if I was part of a team working under someone and it wasn't my main profession.
-Do you aspire to make games for money one day?
Heck no. I'm going to be an engineer. More stable money.
-Why would you NOT make games for money?
As a full time job, it's very risky. It's just not a guarantee that a person is going to make it in game making as a profession and I find there are other jobs out there that are a heck of a lot safer to pursue.
Nope.
-Given the chance, would you work on commercial games?
Yes, if I was part of a team working under someone and it wasn't my main profession.
-Do you aspire to make games for money one day?
Heck no. I'm going to be an engineer. More stable money.
-Why would you NOT make games for money?
As a full time job, it's very risky. It's just not a guarantee that a person is going to make it in game making as a profession and I find there are other jobs out there that are a heck of a lot safer to pursue.
author=chana
(Calunio) Maybe the difference is that you have a job (as opposed to some) and are really, really enjoying it. It is, in fact, a very particular one.
This.
Also, even though I believe I could make games that people would pay for, that would drastically reduce the number of people who would play it, and it matters to me more than money.
Another thing is, thinking that I was making a PRODUCT would affect negatively a lot of my design choices. It would make my mind stiff, and I'd be to worried about being "professional" and lose spontaneity... which ultimately would reduce the quality of my games.
AABattery
732
To answer the OP, I'd wanted to get into the videogame business since I was 9 as a character concept artist, 3D designer, or animator. But, as of 2 years ago, I've noticed that I get tired of drawing even as a hobby after so long and, if I take this on as a career, I'll be too tired making someone else's vision that when I get home, I won't want to make my own vision.
That's why I'm studying web design. I can never get tired of that!
That's why I'm studying web design. I can never get tired of that!
-Do you make games for money?
Nope. :(
-Given the chance, would you work on commercial games?
Yes, 100%.
-Do you aspire to make games for money one day?
It was my dream as a child. I dreamed of working at Blizzard Entertainment. Heck, it still is. But I've come to terms with the realization that I'm probably work as the engineer I am for all my life.
-Why would you NOT make games for money?
There's no reason I wouldn't given the chance. Actually, the only reason would be if I were already making a lot of money doing something else (which isn't the case yet).
Nope. :(
-Given the chance, would you work on commercial games?
Yes, 100%.
-Do you aspire to make games for money one day?
It was my dream as a child. I dreamed of working at Blizzard Entertainment. Heck, it still is. But I've come to terms with the realization that I'm probably work as the engineer I am for all my life.
-Why would you NOT make games for money?
There's no reason I wouldn't given the chance. Actually, the only reason would be if I were already making a lot of money doing something else (which isn't the case yet).
hima
3742
One thing I'm wondering is, what does the OP mean by making money with the games you made. Surely, making money from the game isn't limited to selling them.
Look at Dwarf Fortress. The game is free and runs on donation, and I'm sure it's making money than many indie games out there.
Or Kingdom of Loathing, a free browser-based MMORPG, doesn't charge players money and doesn't show any advertisement either. The game runs on donation and selling merchandise. It's been around for many years now and the maker quit his job and is now working on this full time, even hire people to help working on it.
Though I wonder are these qualified as 'commercial games'? Or commercial games mean you have to sell the actual game itself?
Look at Dwarf Fortress. The game is free and runs on donation, and I'm sure it's making money than many indie games out there.
Or Kingdom of Loathing, a free browser-based MMORPG, doesn't charge players money and doesn't show any advertisement either. The game runs on donation and selling merchandise. It's been around for many years now and the maker quit his job and is now working on this full time, even hire people to help working on it.
Though I wonder are these qualified as 'commercial games'? Or commercial games mean you have to sell the actual game itself?
author=calunio
Also, even though I believe I could make games that people would pay for, that would drastically reduce the number of people who would play it, and it matters to me more than money.
That's a pretty noble reason and I can appreciate it. You could always go with the "pay-what-you-want" route if you wanted to make money - you'd make less money than actually selling the game, but history has shown that some people really desire to reward developers for what they make - people sometimes pay between $50 and $100 for a game that normally costs 10$ - and if they want to pay you, you might as well let 'em.
author=calunio
Another thing is, thinking that I was making a PRODUCT would affect negatively a lot of my design choices. It would make my mind stiff, and I'd be to worried about being "professional" and lose spontaneity... which ultimately would reduce the quality of my games.
This is something I'd definitely worry about, although I already spend a lot of focus on making my games just the right level of challenging without being frustrating. The biggest thing I'd worry about would be censoring myself to "acceptable" game content, although I've seen quite a few successful indie games with either outlandish / strange gameplay or normally inappropriate content.
When it comes down to it, no matter what you make, someone will probably want to buy it, ha.
hima
3742
One good thing about pay what you want/donation is that you don't have to care about being professional or censoring yourself as much as a game you made to sell. Just focusing on making what you like and what you think is good.
Releasing your game for free is likely to reach more number of people. If the percentage of people who love your game so much that they'll pay you is as low as 1%, then just make the sample size larger.
Releasing your game for free is likely to reach more number of people. If the percentage of people who love your game so much that they'll pay you is as low as 1%, then just make the sample size larger.
Yeah, you could always accept donations if you're not content with the idea of selling the final product; that's your prerogative. - But believing that getting paid alone could hurt the quality of your work, is plain silly. Do you think this is the case with your everyday job, too? I hope not... And in any case, art benefits as much from 'professionalism' than it does from "spontaneity" or perhaps even more so.
Edit: lol Money doesn't corrupts things. Money is money. As long as you don't put it above everything else your soul should be fine.
Edit: lol Money doesn't corrupts things. Money is money. As long as you don't put it above everything else your soul should be fine.
I've been offered donations before, and I rejected it. I don't know, it just doesn't feel right. It's like... getting paid to date someone, like in that Sarah Jessica Parker movie. It changes the nature of the relationship... and I'm talking about the relationship between the gamedev and the players. Not everything must have to do with money.
For example, I'm making a game right now that requires player participation on the process of making, so I'm trying to bring more people to the game's blog to discuss game's theme-related issues and etc. It's been a great experience. If the game was being sold, even if it was "donate what you want", it would feel like all the effort I'm doing to get player's to participate in the process would be just to get more money. Money corrupts things.
For example, I'm making a game right now that requires player participation on the process of making, so I'm trying to bring more people to the game's blog to discuss game's theme-related issues and etc. It's been a great experience. If the game was being sold, even if it was "donate what you want", it would feel like all the effort I'm doing to get player's to participate in the process would be just to get more money. Money corrupts things.
Wasn't Leonardo DA Vinci an inventor AND an artist? He did a lot of research over the human body after all and all that stuff.
author=slashphoenix
And there are a surprising amount of ways to distribute games and still make profits. Microtrans are the ones that everyone loves and hates, but there's the Radiohead approach of pay-what-you-feel-like, there's deluxe versions, etc...
Can you tell me me more about those, or point me to where I can learn? Never heard of Microtrans, etc.
