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[jprogman]

I am in a dilemma for about a year now, debating on what line of work I should excel on.

Having developed freeware Windows video games for over 10 years now (considering that I'm only 24), I've made developing video games my career goal. While I'm eager to start developing games for online marketing, I don't have an actual job lately to pay some expenses associated with the development such as utilities, contracting, copyrighting, and more. However, even I were to make the game solely, there will be expenses to pay that I currently cannot afford; which is copyrighting. Although, I am considering on building up by starting small and then take the next steps up along the way.

My original idea was accepting donations as I continue to solely develop freeware games (offline or online). The donations will be strictly for business purposes. It's probably a lengthy or an ineffective suggestion, unless there are stories with donations being helpful to support independent developers.

I'm guessing the obvious solution to lack of funding is to get a job. Yeah... I've been searching for any jobs for about a year now without avail. Having go though countless employment agencies, job fairs, and resume/letter writing services, I still couldn't score at least an interview. By the way, I live in a city of Winnipeg in Manitoba.

Overall, here's my problem: I have no job and I'm undecided on whether to...
A) Find a job related to video games.
B) Find a job related to anything computers.
C) Find ANY job.
D) Start working on video games alone for a profit.

Just a little about me...

• I had graduated from college about 1 year ago in computer programming and analysis.
• My only recent job was 2 years ago doing a mix of web designing, database management, and software designing.
• I'm proficient on many major programming languages including Java, C++, Visual Basic. If there's a language that I haven't used, it'll take me a few days to fully understand it.
• Developed video games with Multimedia Fusion, BlitzMax. Just started on using Flash to create online games.
• Can compose audio files (for music or sound), and develop 2D & 3D images.
• Even though I'm fluent in English, I do have some difficulties in writing effective sentences. My main weakness is verb tenses.

So the bottom line: should I find work or start my own work?

[airman4]

Well

Art and video gaming industry is a very tricky world , probably the most tricky in jobs aera.
It's all about contacts and people talk about you .
Don't be surprised to find people who can't write hello world at a very good place in the industry for example.

It's just Normal.

For the question , i don't know , try to do both ?
Me , i tried to find some jobs here and here and when i discover the true nature of the "thing" i decided to work alone and do my business.
At least no one will stabb me once i turn back...

[idmadj]

If you've been making games for 10 years, I'm pretty sure there are many studio out there willing to work with you. CanDevs lists all video games companies in Winnipeg, maybe there's one or two new ones for you to consider: http://www.candevs.ca/prairies.html#mb

Also, if you are open to relocate, there are a lot (*A LOT*) of studios that are constantly looking for fresh talent in the major cities like Montreal, Vancouver, and Toronto.

Working in a video game studio is an amazing learning experience, which will definitely help you should you decide to fly solo. Obviously, it will also help you gather the necessary funds to start a solid business.

[James Coote]

With getting any job (games job included), don't let a 2 year hole sit on your resume. If you spent that time developing games, that was still a job of sorts. You need to have it there on your resume and have lots of positive talking points about what you did in that time lined up

[nico]

What do you mean by "copyrighting"? Copyrights are free and automatic. You don't have to register them anywhere. Sounds to me like some lawyer is trying to pull one over on you.

Also, 10 Reasons You Should Never Get a Job.

Sounds to me like you already have what you need. You are already making games. You should just upgrade your already existing game production into a game business. Or am I missing something?

Making money on the internet is easy. Making GOOD money takes work and experience, but making small money is easy. And you won't lose much from trying.

[jprogman]

First off: thank you all for your help. 

I was unsure about the whole idea of copyrighting to begin with. What I do know is that it allows you to keep your work "your work" and if someone profits that, that's not legit. What I don't know is what I should do to keep my work "my work" under some circumstances. (That would be my next topic on the forums.) Actually, copyrighting is my main reason on not following my career goal.

Indeed that I got the stuff to make games, I just needed to make sure that there won't be any expenses along the way.

Re-locating? I actually heard that a lot from many people. I'm considering, but I wanted to give Winnipeg a chance to find work; still a big step to move.

[Moczan]

I was unsure about the whole idea of copyrighting to begin with. What I do know is that it allows you to keep your work "your work" and if someone profits that, that's not legit. What I don't know is what I should do to keep my work "my work" under some circumstances. (That would be my next topic on the forums.) Actually, copyrighting is my main reason on not following my career goal.

You own copyrights automatically after creating anything and it's enough to legally protect you. Trademark is something you have to acquire, but it's not necessary for legal protection of your games.

[Fallsburg]

Trademark is something you have to acquire, but it's not necessary for legal protection of your games.

That's only true of registered trademarks.  Similar to copyright, the use of anything as a mark of trade automatically makes it a trademark; however, registering the trademark gives you additional legal rights.

[mikejkelley]

You own copyrights automatically after creating anything and it's enough to legally protect you.

Well, not anything... eg you can't copyright game mechanics. Which brings us to the question, what are you trying to copyright?

registering the trademark gives you additional legal rights.

Such as? It is my understanding that registering, whether it be trademark or copyright, provides no additional rights. At most it may make it easier to prosecute against those who infringe or protect you against claims of infringement by date stamping your claim. This reasoning dates back to a pre-internet era, before everything was date stamped electronically in a million different ways and made publicly available w/ a click of a button.

My advice to you is to find a job, any job, and pursue video game development in your spare time by working on trade w/ others. Start first by volunteering your services to build your street cred.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

You own copyrights automatically after creating anything and it's enough to legally protect you.

Well, not anything... eg you can't copyright game mechanics. Which brings us to the question, what are you trying to copyright?

you can't "create" game mechanics, either, though; they're abstract. you can discover them, even independently discover them, but not create them

but you can certainly copyright specific applications of game mechanics. for instance, level layouts. if another game uses your level layouts, even if they change all the graphics and music, they are still infringing

[Radix]

Now let's split hairs about the definition of 'create' for a page and a half.

[jprogman]

I can only think of the following things that are entitled for copyrighting...
The game play itself (especially new and unique ones)
The stories
The artwork (certainly)
The music (certainly)

I did some reading on copyrighting and trademarking. I find out that it's not mandatory to register either of those but would be beneficial in come cases. Therefore, that relive some expenses away.

[mikejkelley]

Now let's split hairs about the definition of 'create' for a page and a half.

This.

you can't "create" game mechanics, either, though; they're abstract. you can discover them, even independently discover them, but not create them

OMG shut it.

The game play itself (especially new and unique ones)

Nope! Not in America. That's what I meant when I said

you can't copyright game mechanics.

Just ask Nimble Bit or Spry Fox.

[Christian Knudsen]

Also, 10 Reasons You Should Never Get a Job.

What an utterly terrible article.

[moi]

Also, 10 Reasons You Should Never Get a Job.

What an utterly terrible article.

Oh it's stee pavlina... Yeah it's probably very dumb.
I used to read his blog, as second degree humour

[Moczan]

Also, 10 Reasons You Should Never Get a Job.

What an utterly terrible article.

Some of his point are valid though, especially one about getting paid for value, not for time. While he goes crazy with calling employed people cowards and pets, it's important to know that being employed vs being self-employed needs a whole different mindset.

[Christian Knudsen]

it's important to know that being employed vs being self-employed needs a whole different mindset.

Of course. But his point is that you're a moron for being employed. And his arguments to back that up are completely ludicrous.

And most people are paid according to their value. If not, everybody and all positions would be waged the same, regardless of skills, experience and educational background.

(I'm self-employed, by the way.)

[James Coote]

If you're sitting around not working, then the cost of living is just going to be eating into the money you have, meaning that money is not being invested in schemes to make you even more money.

I.e. your body is a cost centre, literally eating up money whilst you can't just get rid of it. Whilst you wait for investments to mature, you can at least break even, or ideally make a profit by working that body. Otherwise it is just an asset sitting idle and slowly depreciating in value

The real problem is most people don't have multiple revenue streams and don't have a wide portfolio of assets and investments (usually a house and maybe some shares or petty cash savings). At the same time, they are barely breaking even when it comes to the cost of living vs the revenue their salary produces

The house traditionally works as a low risk investment that has other benefits such as reducing the cost of living (you can live in the house even whilst you pay off the mortgage), and you can leverage the equity to get a loan for a car (an investment that lets you get a better paid job, saves you time etc)

The trick IMO is to find out what things you can do, that make you happy, but which don't cost much. You can't completely stop spending on stuff 'you don't need' as otherwise you'll live a very dull boring life and probably be less efficient at work because you're unhappy, miss that promotion or sales target, and put yourself into a downward spiral of depression. Instead, evaluate everything just a bit more carefully. Instead of gym membership, you could buy a push bike, which will keep you fit and get you out to the park (with extra added happiness and health benefits) and cut the cost of running the car (as you can cycle to the shops for bread and milk)

Slowly, you can work your way out of the cycle of the daily grind and build up some savings that you can invest in whatever

The other thing about just up and quitting your job is that it is a high-risk strategy. It is bad advice to tell a risk-averse person to do something risky, as chances are they'll bottle it and make the whole situation worse than if you'd never said anything

[nico]

What an utterly terrible article.

Oh it's stee pavlina... Yeah it's probably very dumb.
I used to read his blog, as second degree humour

Sorta drifting off topic here, but yeah, it's Pavlina. One of his most popular posts, probably in part because it rubs some people the wrong way (and I suppose that's intentional.) I personally think it's insightful and quite funny.

The point really is just to deconstruct people's preconceived notions and the reasons people usually give for staying in a job vs. seeking self employment. Many reasons people give are really based more on fear of the unknown, than on actual fact. Like the belief that jobs are overall "safer", for example. Self employment isn't for everybody, but if it IS for you then it's useful to get to see these things from the perspective of someone who's already living that way.

[Christian Knudsen]

Most of his arguments are in no way based on fact either. In most cases, a steady job is safer, since it often comes with health insurance and the company pays towards your retirement fund. And (at least in Denmark) if you're fired, the company will often help you in finding a new job or offer training or 3-6 months with pay.

Let's look at the rest of his arguments:

1. He claims that you'll only be paid for the hours you work, not for the value you bring to the table. As I mentioned previously, that's ludicrous. Your salary is based on your skill level, i.e. exactly the value you can bring to the table. That this salary is (sometimes) based on an hourly wage is completely besides the point.

2. He claims that you won't get any experience from your job, and if you do, you'll only be able to use it in that exact job where you'll be for the next 20-30 years. Disregarding the fact that most people in middle to high wage jobs (I'm using these as a basis, since the argument is aimed at people that would be able to successfully run their own business) often switch jobs every 5 years, a lot of companies will pay for their employees taking courses to further their skills.

3. Having a steady job is like being in a cage and companies want you to be a good pet. Plenty of companies challenge their employees because they don't want mindless worker drones -- they want employees that are able to push the company forward and think for themselves, if for no other reason that not having to spend time and resources on constantly monitoring them.

4. Employees pay higher taxes than the self-employed. I'm not an expert on the US tax system, but here in Denmark, personal income is taxed the same regardless of how it was made. You pay a lower business tax, but the money will be tied up in your company. As soon as you pay yourself a salary, it'll be taxed at the same rate. Furthermore, he's disregarding stuff I mentioned earlier such as health insurance and payments to your retirement fund that are often included with a steady job (people that have been self-employed often end up being unable to retire simply because they weren't "forced" to pay towards their retirement fund). A lot of companies also offer other free stuff such as free daycare and free lunch.

5. Having a steady job is riskier than being self-employed because you can be fired. I guess you can't be fired if you're self-employed, but you can definitely lose clients. And without clients, you may still technically be employed, but you're not making any money.

6. When you work in a steady job, you can't just walk away if you get an idiot for a boss. Guess what, when you're self-employed, you don't always have the luxury to turn down stupid clients because you still need an income.

7. In a steady job, you'll have to "beg" for money to increase your income. Beg? Really? No, you negotiate your salary based on your skills and the value you bring to the company. Guess what. When you're self-employed, you negotiate your price with your clients as well. Trust me. Even though I have clearly stated fixed prices, all clients want to negotiate a lower price.

8. Many people have their colleagues as their only social life. What? So because some people only have friends from their job, getting a steady job is for morons. Some self-employed people don't have any friends at all, so I guess becoming self-employed is for morons as well!

9. Working at a steady job makes you a slave to pointless rules and regulations. I'm sure some companies have a bunch of stupid rules. I'm also sure there are a bunch of stupid rules for running your own business.

10. You'll become a coward that constantly whines about work if you get a steady job because you'll be too afraid to tell your boss if you think something's wrong. I don't see how this is an issue with having a steady job. This is an issue with some people being afraid of confrontations. Those people would be just as afraid of a confrontation with a client if they were self-employed. Besides, most modern companies that aren't run as if we were still in the 1960's encourage employees to bring up issues. Most companies have one-on-ones where employees can bring up issues in private with their immediate superior as well as getting valuable feedback on their own performance. A bunch of companies also have their employees regularly fill in questionnaires where they evaluate their boss.

It's like he's taking the worst job he can think of, almost turning it into a caricature, then comparing it to some idealized version of self-employment, where you apparently have ultimate freedom and no obligations (sometimes I can't tell if he's talking about self-employment or winning the lottery!). I guess it's entertaining as satire or a stand-up comedy routine, but as actual advice with value, no. Just no.

I love being self-employed, but there are just as many cons with being self-employed as having a steady job. They're just slightly different.