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[This is a repost from my blog, david-amador.com]
A large percentage of the indie developers have to work on their project at night and/or weekends.
In order to pay the bills they have to maintain a day job. There’s no shame in that, many do it, I do it, not everyone can make a mega jump right into fame and fortune with a single project.
The rest of us mere mortals have to gradually build a fan base, learn from past mistakes, do better PR, etc.
Looking at successes like World of Goo, Braid, Trainyard, it all sounds so easy, everyone quickly makes such huge hype that it seems like they only have to finish the game and they are instantly rich.
But it isn’t, some of them started just like the rest of us, working at night till they had a lucky break.
I’ve talked a bit about maintaining motivation on another post but there’s more in that.
First of all there’s the problem with “getting into the zone” or “wired” or whatever you wanna call it. That state of mind where you are immersed into the project, no distractions. It can happen after half an hour or 2hours, but it’s usually very difficult to start right away. Steve Streeting has some interesting thoughts and tips on this.
You just got back from work, you’re tired, you have like 2-3 hours of spare time for coding. It gives time for doing a lot of work, the problem is that you’ll probably waste the first half wondering where you left, what algorithm where you working, trying to get back to that line of thinking from the previous day.
I waste a lot of time too but I’ve realized that leaving functions unfinished but with comments on how to write the rest helps out for the next day. You just have to convert that pseudo code into actual code, after a bit all starts to came back to you.
Making some notes on a notebook also helps, everything you think helps out catching up. Because most of the time when you need to stop is when you are really making progress.
Balancing a social life with this is hard, if you are really serious about finishing a game you’ll probably need to be doing this for several months, or even years, it’s too much time to be cooked at home. Don’t forget there’s life outside, discuss your projects with close friends, have them play and you’ll get feedback. Because if the project sinks you’ll loose much more. Also it’s a great way to have ideas. I never once had any good idea just by standing in front of the computer. Go watch some movies, read books. If you are working on the game with a partner drag him/her to the street with laptops. Working always at home isn’t that fun.
Get a job that won’t cut your wings but isn’t the typical “burger flipping” isn’t easy. If you end up working on IT or worse on a game company make sure not to jeopardize your game and job, most employers don’t like the idea that you are working on stuff of your own. They will tell you something like “You are a liability… because you would rather be doing something else”. So keep your head straight. If you don’t like the job, get another one, don’t hang on to it because you think you’ll be rich in a couple of months. You make have to stick with it for another whole project development before the indie thing takes off. Oh and get something that actually pay the bills in full, so if you start making some side money you can start saving.
Quitting work to stay home working on your game for a couple of months is also a viable option, but make sure you have savings for around 7 months and get back to work after 4. You’ll never know how hard it will be to get another job. It’s not an ideal system but I know people who make it work.
Working as freelancer is something else you can do, but from personal experience is too inconsistent, at least where I live. You can earn in a month money to support you for 3 months but then stay a bunch of time without getting anything to do. Good web development skills is handy, there’s always people looking for a website to be done.
[You can follow more stuff I write via my blog david-amador.com or my twitter @DJ_Link]
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Finally, I have a separate todo list of small features that I know how to implement that can easily be done in an hour or two. If it's getting near bedtime or I'm lacking motivation, I choose one of those features because I know I'll get it done -- crossing anything off a todo list is a great motivational pickup.
This is absolutely true, what I am about to say isn't anything against you David -- but this is also absolutely repugnant bullshit. Who the hell do game companies think they are expecting 100% devotion, crunch on a whim, complete emotional involvement in our modern era where employees are just cogs in a machine with no true creative say. Who on earth wouldn't rather be doing something else than their job in any field? Game development companies expect the game industry to be different because 'working on games is fun and not hard work'?? I would love to work in an industry that output something I was proud of, but the mainstream game industry fails to do that anymore. Until then, I'm going to work on projects at home because it's the only thing that gives my life meaning. Game Industry, get over it. If you want me to be enthusiastic about my job, then let's work on something that's not a gunmetal gray/muddy brown FPS or lame movie tie-in. If you want to dictate what I do at home, offer to pay me for those hours too (I will decline, but it would be a nice gesture). But game development companies somehow don't even have to pay you for crunch time, so that's probably expecting too much :/.
Moreover...
"If you don’t like the job, get another one"
If this was ever feasible advice, it hasn't been since 2008. It is not a worker's market, and moreso lately than in the past few decades it is a world of slavery, the lower class and middle class bowing to the whims of the upper class who decide how to cut the pie. The nine months of fear and desperation between my current job and my last one were more stressful than having a job, making me clinically depressed (went on meds for a while) and hating my life, which made it near impossible to focus on personal projects. Full Story: I worked on a contract project during those nine months, but I did spend the later half looking for full time work since the contract project was royalty-based with no upfront pay (and never shipped :/), so there was a lot of stress involved wondering when some stranger would finally decide that I am worth having a living.
Sorry for the mini-rant, I'm just really disgusted at the game industry/modern workplace in general and frustrated that I have no power to do anything other than mini-rant :/.
I think it really depends on what kind of relationship you build with the people in charge. You have to continue to give them your best work and not spend company time or resources pursuing your own thing. Building that trust is key which you prove through your work.
And, like crunch or mass layoffs as a reward for said crunch, it is never going to change if we all just accept it as "the way things are" in this industry.
Well, with that said, I'm glad you are in a place you are happy with Rey. For me, I work on small free games so I don't think there is a problem. I also don't really care, as I would quite literally rather die than let anyone tell me what games of my own I can or can't work on. I intend to break whatever laws/contracts/other arbitrary imaginary man-made dictates get in my way to work on the things I want to work on. Anyone who thinks I need their permission to do what I have been doing since I was five years old can go fornicate with a cactus :/.
I just want to add that this seems fair, but should be the case regardless of what you do when you get home at night. Clauses that prevent you from working on your own IP or that claim ownership over said IP do not protect the company any more than other clauses of basic courtesy do, and serve only to prevent employees from realizing their talents and becoming truly independent. It should be obvious why companies want you just barely paying bills every month so you continue to depend on them :/.
I don't think it's a matter of what is right or wrong but playing along with the rules or laws that are already established. When I signed the contract when I was hired, I agreed to follow their conditions as an employee. As we know, there's a lot that doesn't seem fair but better to be careful than to regret things later on. Crying foul doesn't do much for you.
I will continue to say I am fortunate not only because I was given permission, but because my work doesn't demand the "crunch" hours I was so used to working for about 8 or so years straight. On my worst day of work, I get out by 5pm which gives me plenty of time to come home and work. So for that, I will remain thankful because that is the culture my employer has built.
I think it's a matter of perspective and attitude. If we're constantly rebelling against our employers, we run the risk of bringing that attitude with our own personal projects and/or the people we might work with.
I can't be satisfied with the way this industry and this world is run to drain the souls of the weak for the tremendous profit of a few millionaires/billionaires, but I'm not famous or rich enough myself to do anything about it and I don't feel like a complacent life is a life worth living. (sigh) what am I supposed to do... the ability to live without the desire, or the desire to live without the ability :(. I just go home and distract myself with my games as much as I can, but that's not enough for the duration of a human life.
Whatever... some day, somehow, I am going to fix this god-forsaken industry, whatever it costs me.
For me, it helps to view my day job as an opportunity to learn things I can apply at home. If I view my day in that regard, it continues to motivate me to work hard during the day. Not only does that benefit my company but it benefits me in the longrun. Of course, having to work crunch could drain you out some and I'm glad I'm no longer doing that. That's not to say I don't face challenges during the day that doesn't drain me out but developing games is never an easy task.
I'm sorry to hear your lost your job and no one stood beside you. I've gone through that myself where I felt like I had agreeable co-workers only to find out that when confronted with the issue, they are more than willing to throw me under the bus. Whether that was to make themselves look better or to belittle me in front of our leads, I'm okay with that. I am confident that those sort of things won't last very long before it catches up with them. As long as you stay motivated and don't let others break your spirit, you'll come out of it just fine. :)
That fact that this sentence even has to exist is deeply, profoundly disturbing.
For working on side projects at home, since I am working as a game programmer, I have discovered another trick. House chores. I have to do them anyway, so even though I feel tired, I do them right after getting home from work. It turns about that because these are largely mindless manual activities they let my mind relax enough to be able to code again, saving me the "unwind" time that I would previously just spend lying on a couch.
I've learned over the years that you have to be HAPPY to be successful. If you don't love what you're doing, you won't do it. Get out and have some chill time with your friends. Relax. Watch a movie. Eat something tasty. When I do this I tend to be much happier to get back to work, feeling more much more invigorated and inspired. For me, if I don't maintain this balance my work starts to suffer and I don't get much done.