Back to Full time work, part time indie
2014 : year at a glance
2014 has been a productive and exhaustive year. Made a lot of stuffs in a very short time. Done some interesting freelance game design works, learned about Android app development, eventually got into android game development, moved my dev from home to a small office, left freelance to try full-time indie development, learned about several game engines like Starling (As3 flashdevelop), libGDX (Java Eclipse), Unity (C#), finished & released some Android games on Playstore, released some to Online portals, dropped several ongoing projects (due to frustration, disinterest, game dev’s block, other bright distracting ideas, stress etc etc), polished and released several previously dropped projects, made a few blog entries, devlogs, market research, marketing, Ads, In-app purchases etc etc. Its been a roller-coaster ride (bumpy, with a lot of twists & loops). That ride is over for now, till the next ride comes.
Full time Indie
For so long (when started working on my first company), I’ve longed to be an indie game dev, making ‘better’ fun games i liked to make. But I was afraid then, started doing freelance works. After that decided to dive into to try out full time indie development, for a short period of time. Based on that period (& luck), I’ve decided to leave it for now and plans to continue as a part time indie. I was a lone developer, who just tried out my best (& my luck), with nothing much to lose. Compared to many big & small indies out there, this is negligibly small.
Its hard to be indie. Its not a new info i got from this experience, but I’ve already read many 100’s of articles about indie scene before that and the survivorship bias and sort of that stuff. Yet its kind of exciting to try it out and to conquer the fear deep within, to be a full time indie. Was it worth it? Yes it was. Was more than what i’d imagined it to be. Got lucky once or twice, some unexpected surprises along the way. But all these weren’t enough to stay afloat and to have fun while doing it (Bills kills Fun, often). So i guess till the next break, learn and experiment.
If you need more info or related stuffs, try the related links, stories for more in-depth look. They all might give you some faint ideas about the above.
Back to work
So will be joining another ambitious game company called Tuttifrutti interactive, at InfoPark. They’ve been working on a game which looks good, so decided to join them on their quest (& they also thought, i might be a good cog in their big machine). Hoping for the best, preparing for the worst. Monster brain games taking a backseat, but not going to shutdown anytime soon.
Related Links for further reading
These articles does not pin point the reason I’ve switched, but i think, might give some insights to it.
Are the walls closing in on indie game developers – Read the Article
Because you’re worthless : Dark side of indie PR Puppy games blog – Read the article
Indie bubble is popping : jeff vogel – Read the Article
Five blocks indies face by Sujit yadav : Read the Article
Guaranteed success by Mike Bithell : Read the Article
FAQ
To be asked 😉
