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What's your main occupation ?

A topic by sameoldgamer created Jun 02, 2022 Views: 728 Replies: 15
Viewing posts 1 to 12
(+7)

Seems like most people on here have game development more as  a hobby or side project and not as their full-time job. If you this is the case for you, what is you full time job and has it influenced your games in any way? Would you like to get into game development full time ? 

(1 edit) (+5)

It's always nice to get paid for whatever you're doing, but on the other hand, as a long-time professional software developer before I got my first game studio job, the game industry in general is a poorer industry to work in (lower pay, lower professionalism, more crunch time) and when I spend more than 40 hrs/wk programming for someone else, I don't have motivation to work on my own projects at home.

So my favorite balance is to have part-time or intermittent contract employment to pay the bills (and hopefully learn things that I wouldn't learn on my own), and spend the rest of the time on my own projects.

(+6)

I’m in the funny position where gamedev is both my hobby and my full-time job. This also affects my games a lot, since I don’t really want to do the same things I’m doing at work in my free time. For that reason, I make smaller games that might not actually sell but are personally interesting to me.

(+5)

Hospital worker (which has included work in a medical records warehouse, outpatients, eye research, cancer research, pharmacy and performance). It's directly affected my work in the sense that I got permission to take photos of a pharmacy dispensary for a game (below) and those people in the background were my colleagues, while the scrub top I'm wearing in the other photo was my own uniform (I'm the one on the left ;) )

It's indirectly helped me with plotlines (our next game features a murder case in a clinic, and the previous one required a basic knowledge of pharmacology), and working with such a wide range of people, from consultants to patients and their families helps me keep things professional when talking to people I'm commissioning, streamers, people who slag the game off etc.



(+3)

My full time job is  lawyer and so far it didn't have much influence on my games. I keep my professional work and my hobby apart from each other. In the future I don't see myself in a professional gamedev business, but I'd like to make games as a hobby.

(+3)

You probably have a better handle on IP and contract issues than most gamedevs. That's a real asset!

(+2)

I work full-time communicating between warehouses and I work from home, so now I have time to actually work on my game projects. Its part-time for now, but the plan is to eventually become full-time. 

(+3)

That's always the struggle, isn't it? Currently I work at Amazon, which hasn't been the greatest. Makes me cherish my gamedev time even more though. I'd love to dev full time; that'd honestly be a dream come true. For now, it stays a hobby/side hustle. 

(+2)

I'm a software developer, often find myself wishing I could focus more on what I enjoy at work but also unsure if I would get tired working on games all the time. I think I'd like to work on games full time one day, but only in a studio that feels right. As it is, I find this works well for me and I am able to enjoy games a lot when I have the time to.

(+2)

I do software upgrades for unmanned aircraft systems. Some of the software I work with is not very user-friendly, so I try and avoid those same mistakes when it comes to games. 

It would be cool if making games could pay all the bills, but I feel that level of success would also take a lot of the fun out of it.

(+6)

I've played video games since the early '80 (starting with "Pong" and "Pack Man") but it took "Skyrim", "Dragon Age Origins", "Mass Effect 1-3" and "The Witcher 1-3" to really open my eyes. After I retired 7 years ago I decided to learn how to make video games (thank you Youtube and Udemy!). Storytelling and Landscaping are my favourite parts of development. I worked as a historian(Middle Ages) /archivist/ teacher and had no knowledge whatsoever of programming, so I started with Game Maker 8.0 and then with RPG Maker Ace. Now I'm learning Unity and I'm very happy with my hobby. And yes, English is not my mother tongue. I wish you all many happy hours with game development!  

(+5)

I'm a plumber of 12 years specialising in roofing for 10. Game and soundtrack making is purely a hobby although I'd like to take it further and use it to supplement income to an extent. Work doesn't influence my game and soundtrack development as they are completely different. The closest I get to a computer at work is a pair of tin snips and that ain't close! 

Also check my games out and buy them. Get me off the tools before I fall off a roof and die. Cheers

(+2)

I've often thought that plumbing must be similar to software troubleshooting.

(+3)

"Get me off the tools before I fall off a roof and die. Cheers"

That is the best marketing slogan I've ever heard XD

(+3)

In all honesty it's not the kind of job you want to be doing as you age.  Body definitely  cops it.  Alright when you are young but most blokes have already given it away by 30 or less. 

(+1)

SOLD!