Hello everyone!
In today’s Tale Tuesday we will respond to that a bit rhetorical question in the title. Is it hard to be an indie game developer? It definitely has its difficulties and disadvantages, but it’s also rewarding in a way. Let’s jump right into it!
There are many differences between indie developers and the big game development studios. Big studios very often are looking for profits and selling their product, while indie developers often go for ideas they’re interested with. In exchange, the profits rarely skyrocket for indie devs. There surely are some reasons behind that.
The main reason could be the audience. It’s much harder for indie developers to build up a consistent fanbase that will be waiting for every game. It’s much easier for big companies, that often already have some recognition in the public. Due to that reason, some of the independent developers might give up early on, as they lack the publicity they’ve expected. Advertising is important, but it’s very limited for independent creators, who often work with very small budget or they don’t have one at all. Building an audience is definitely the hardest part of being an indie developer. But that’s not the only obstalce on a way.
Independent creators often don’t have budgets or they can only have a limited one. With that said, sometimes they might not be able to do all the things they’ve wanted to. It’s simple: they might not be able to deliver a great, large soundtrack or all the features they wanted to add, simply because of the limitations. Some ideas will never resurface and they will simply stay an archived memory of what the game could have and could be.
It has some good sides though. Being an independent developer gives an enormous amount of freedom in actions and ideas. It is the best way to unleash the creativity and put together awesome ideas. People can be quite passionate about creating video games and it’s great to encourage that in order to create awesome games. If one is very passionate about what they’re doing, that sole advantage often shines over the hidden disadvantages one will have to fight.
In summary, it is not that simple to get out there and become a successful indie game developer. Many of amazing projects go unnoticed and without any recognition, even though they deserve every single bit of it. Considering such possibility, new developers have to face the possibility of failure in their expectations, so they don’t lose their motivation.
If you’re struggling as a developer, give yourself a bit of break. You surely deserve it. Better times for your games will come eventually.
That’s it for today’s Tale Tuesday! Thank you for reading and we’ll be back to topic of passion in the future.
Iguana Mercenary 