So... I've been thinking about the long term sustainability of being an indie game dev. I don't know how long it'll take for my next game to be made, but like all great things, it'll take time. I say this because I look at other game devs outside my group, on Social Media, on Dev Forums, and go "man... they really poured all their eggs into one basket for their game."
Now sometimes... it works. A game is successful, critically acclaimed... and finance wise... it's paying off the mortgage and kids' college tuition. But then there's... the "not working" side. Now I can't say without any statistics most indie game devs are doing bad. I really hope not. But for whatever reason some games just aren't successful and... it really sucks. "Among Us" is a prime example of such game. That game released back in 2018 and it only recently got a big surge in popularity. But the rest of those Among Us games, the Ori & The Blind Forests's,The Enter The Gungeons... they're all out on the way side.
I obviously don't want to deter anyone away from game development. When I first started picking up code, I honestly really didn't enjoy making anything else besides a few desktop applications and little games myself. Plus games are fun to make. Who wouldn't want to make the next Mario or Sonic or Doom?
But here's the differences between Nintendo and indies; income... and experience. Heck Nintendo wasn't even a game company at first. They were originally a Hanafuda trading card company that opened back up in 1889. Then in 1966, they went onto make toys. And during the late 70's to early 80's they are now the company we know Today who has made cultural and world renowned franchises such as Zelda, Metroid, and Pokemon. But even before that, it was literally just some people selling some cards on the streets of Kyoto, Japan. But what did they gather from over 100 years of being in business?
They know who their audience was and what products they wanted, what sold and what didn't, and made mistakes so that they could produce accomplishments. You can say their practices in recent times as far as products have been... less than ideal. But as far as a business... their net worth as of 2020 is $95 billion. And they make more than just games.
They've had toys, comics, posters, magazines, plushies, and for some weird reason, shoelace holders.
The point I'm trying to make is... Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Nintendo dipped their toes into a lot of different fields, genres, and means of entertainment. Every failure they had never put them at a sunk cost fallacy. If a Mario or Zelda game did bad, they had another Pokemon game that would do well and sell millions of copies.
I cannot stress this enough, whether you're a part-time game dev or working full-time on your game from 9 a.m. to near midnight, you need to diversify your source of income if you're going to start working on your next project. That current prototype you're working on is guaranteed generating zero pennies. And I have yet to hear somebody charge for a demo of their game. And don't be afraid to delve into businesses like blogging or stocks. It's not going to hurt your reputation as a game dev.
Sure most of my game dev followers see me for just game development... but I also have a small online business on Ebay where I sell surplus Converse for $30 and write blogs for money. I'm also thinking about making an app and monetizing it, as well as invest in crypto. I'm diversifying my income, half of which I'm doing passively and one just being a one-time project. I don't have to be in an "Ebay store" all day hoping stuff will sell. I don't have to go and make bids for Bitcoin.
So I'm telling you again, please... don't pour all your eggs into one basket. Get yourself a shock absorbent place mat so that when you fall, you won't break your legs and never compete for the poll jump again. You just gotta get back up.
That's it for this blog. I'll see you guys around. Happy Game Devin'!
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