My JOBS Before GAME DEV Sucked
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- Опубліковано 18 січ 2024
- ➤ Wishlist My Game Blood And Mead store.steampowered.com/app/10...
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Other videos and devlogs:
➤ I discuss my first game dev job: • My first Game Dev Job ...
➤ 7 Days of Indie game Dev - • 7 Days of INDIE GAME D...
➤ • I HAD TO DO IT - Blood...
My Game Lost it's G Rating
➤ • My Game Just Lost it's...
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In this devlog I share with your my indie dev process, lifestyle and updates on my indie game Blood and Mead
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I hope my journey can inspire and motivate those who are just discovering the dev life. Keep pushing
come chat on discord: discord.gg/yeTuU53
Wishlist my game: store.steampowered.com/app/1081830/Blood_And_Mead/
OId video I mentioned, where i discuss my first dev job: ua-cam.com/video/XAZ0BPDQzp0/v-deo.html
I have worked for 5 years (from 14yo as intern) in a supermarket, dealing with restocking shelves (FIFO), ordering, to eventually running the floor during evening shift, deal with people/customers (develop 'social' skills), become responsible (manager) for the fruits and vegetables department; ordering, visual merchandise (making it look good) and winning prizes for this, until I quit and moved on... Now I am a software engineer, like I always should have been, leading two teams and teaching others the craft. I am proud to have been doing all kinds of jobs before this... and wonder why it is looked down upon in most Asian countries. You take the good with the bad.
You are genetically gifted. Wherever you would had gotten, you would have succeeded as your past proved
I've pushed carts, cooked, washed dishes, unloaded cargo from planes, sold vacuums, construction, worked at call centers, now I'm an analyst in a comfy job, but my end goal is game development I'll get there soon.
Perseverance is the path forward.
you might be in for more perseverance than you realize if you want to make game dev a profession
@@undeadpresident I've already started working on my first game. I'm two years in, so I'm fully aware.
@@Elucidator18 well I hope you are marketing well because if not then no one will know about it or buy it. Good luck to you.
@@undeadpresident most of the budget goes to paying some streamer to play the game for few days, as other companies do, marketing is more important that the game itself unfortunately, at least if your objective is to sell copies, if you want people stick with it thats another story
@@sharkpyro93 You are correct.
I actually remember a time when talking about video games as a career was unfathomable by anyone around me. It made me really admire Japan and America a lot because they somehow figured out commercial ways to release video games and worked together often back in the 90s. I used to think maybe the first path was to be an artist, animator and then you only get taught how to code games within those companies.
But then i learned about Adobe flash, and a few years later, Unity appeared. And now here we are. With many game engine options to go for.
Wow, man... I think this is the one. This is THE one video that has finally pushed me to the edge of the things that I've been intending to do for so long, as you mentioned! I can't thank you enough! You're an inspiration to say the least.
I'm really glad to hear that, makes it worthwhile. Keep that fire burning
Thank you sharing your very personal experiences. I am in my early 20s and I worked in a few different, very shitty jobs after finishing school to bridge the gap until starting university.
I started the journey of becoming a gamedev about 3 years ago and your insights really help to settle my own expectations. At the same time it is very uplifting and motivating to see how you managed to find your own way in the past years. Probably I am one of those you mentioned in the video - "the next generation" as you called it - and any expertise from people who have been part of the industry for quite some time is very valuable.
Congrats on finding the dev path! I wish you the very best for the future.
As a visually impaired solo indie game developer (and fellow gamer), your videos are great to learn from. This one in particular is very inspiring. I was lucky enough to get a college diploma in software development, but landing a job in that field was difficult since graduation 10 years ago. Now I volunteer at a local thrift store in their warehouse (along with some social media work from home) and have one Gdevelop platformer under my belt. My next projects are most likely going to use Godot, as I am loving the engine so far. Wish me luck, and I hope your own game ends up being as good as it looks on your channel.
Absolutely feel you here.
10+ years in restaurants, blue collar jobs, absolutely soul draining.
Decided at 27 to finally go to college for game design. Been deving ever since. Still not full time (35 now) but love what I do everyday.
Fingers crossed this is the year.
i love you
Well, this is exactly what I needed. I’m 55 and have been dibbling in Game dev for about 5 years. When I say dibble I mean learning to code. I self taught IOS and released an app. I decided about six months ago to just go for it in Godot. My primary talent is in art, I can draw and paint like a crazy person, but I also have that nerdy side that loves to code. I’m planning on documenting my journey in hopes of inspiring some of us guys who never grew up completely and now realize that’s a good thing. Been following you and Thomas Brush for years now. Please keep posting content, I am extremely grateful to hear honest humble folks sharing their stories. Got my BFA in Web Design, but been an insurance professional most my life. I finally admitted to myself a few years ago I really don’t like my profession and decided to get out, so that’s my plan. Inspiring, thank you sir!
I skipped the job part, and now I'm in the figuring how to realize my projects part. It's not easy being fully self taught, but it brings another type of freedom.
Thank you for this video John. My situation is almost the opposite of what yours was. I knew exactly what I wanted. I love technology and wanted to learn programming. Went to college, graduated half a year ago.... and can't get a job. I thankfully have a nice home, good parents who work to keep my life comfortable. So i spend my time working on projects and becoming a better programmer each passing day. Making games, websites, scripts, etc. But apply all I want, I don't even hear back.
Just keep swimming. You've got a tremendous advantage(s), as you are aware of. As long as you keep improving your skills as a programmer, your time will come.
You graduated into a very bad market for software developers. Even many developers with a few years of professional experience are not hearing back or getting auto-rejected from roles that they are qualified to interview for. Your focus on projects and skills development is correct, in my view.
Now you are fast enough to flip code 😂
bool clever_joke = true;
Started game dev 5 months ago. Working my but off. Gathered small patreon community. Making barely enough to cover the rent in my new place, BUT, now at 33 y.o feeling happy, just to do what i really like and to potentially, make a living out of it, one day, after ~15 years of doing unqualified jobs all over the Europe.
It's worth it guys. You will have to work one way or another. So rather work for yourself.
I'm 29 now, but started working on games when I was around 12 with a game dev class I had at the time. Been trying to pursue that ever since but lots of twists and turns in life have made the road a long one. Worked at a lumbermill for a few years (similar to your factory work), worked for a USPS distribution center, pizza delivery, QA for a third party game testing company, and I've worked off and on at a sandwich shop for the last 11 years while trying to develop skills in solo game dev. Trying to develop my first commercial game now, but it's going to be a while before I can get it off the ground. Hopefully the next step comes soon because the dead end job really does eat away at you day after day. Thanks for the videos. You are the only game dev youtuber I really watch because you set the bar too high for the other ones ;)
This resonates a lot wit me. Before I was a developer, I:
- Worked in a quarry (with my father)
- Worked in a video rental store (remember those?)
- worked in a supermarket
- worked as a tech salesperson
- worked as a mobile phone support person
- worked in a callcenter
I just really needed to watch this. I'm not gonna explain too much but I went through alot these last 8 years since high school from alcoholism and smoking to having to go to funerals for a couple close friends I lost and an abortion a couple years ago that still affect me and my girlfriend, and I watch these game dev videos since discovering this field November of last year wanting to do what all you guys do. I don't have a computer yet (currently saving up), but when I do I can finally work on getting good at game deving and hopefully make a great game one day that alot of people will like. Thank you for posting this :)
Thanks for sharing your story! My first job was at McDonald’s when I was 16, which I soon quit to work at the local food bank leading volunteers. After that, I worked at some restaurants before shifting to retail. I did well in retail, and over the years, started working towards a management position. By the time one came up, I was about ready to graduate with my graphic design degree, and then COVID hit. Worthwhile graphic design jobs, including my internship, vanished overnight, so I took a sketchy production art job for a social media management app and started learning some music production. I had gotten back into gaming during the last few months of college, and got a Switch and Breath of the Wild soon after lockdown began. I hadn’t played games in several years at that point due to the busy-ness and stress of college and work. I played a lot of Zelda (both botw and Majora’s Mask) during this time, and it started taking me back to when I made an RPG Maker game in high school. I started having thoughts about what I might do in a game if I were to make one today, and started slowly exploring those ideas on the side. When things started to open back up in 2021, I kept my sketchy production art job so that I could make some money while I saw where this gamedev thing was headed. I showed my little prototype to my friend/coworker, who enjoyed exploring the caves, and that made me feel like I was onto something. In 2022, the company I was working for laid me off, so I took the chance to start learning more about game design for real while I was unemployed. It was around this time that I found your channel and GMTK, and I learned a lot from both of your videos, as well as from recreating the world of Zelda 1. When I showed some strangers and my dad my prototype and they were disappointed by its small size, I decided to put my UA-cam learning to the test and expand my game’s world to better suit the range of experiences I had in store for it. I ended up getting another design job working for a “friend” who ended up giving me stretches of 50-60 hour weeks leading up to 16 hour days and paid me less than a fast food worker to do large-scale web design. I ended up leaving her behind to focus on gamedev full time for 6 months, at the encouragement of my spouse. I made a ton of progress on this time, but wasn’t able to build my Patreon enough to make up for my not working, so I got a job at a local shop, where I sold and stocked product like everyone else, but when management got wind of my creative background, I started doing flyers for store events and product photography as well. After I’d taken and uploaded nearly 80 product shots and advertised several of their events with flyers, they opted not to compensate me for that work, denying our agreement that they would. After weeks of them plying games with me over my pay, I took down all my product photos from our online storefront, and that was the end of that. Around this time, my spouse was also experiencing issues at their company, and we decided to leave our struggles in the city behind and move to the mountain town where my grandparents live. The scenery is better, the cost of living is lower, and now it’s easier to subsist on freelance work for both of us. This has given me a lot of space to be productive on my game as well, and I’ve even gotten to take some inspiration from you and begin devtubing as well! Most of my videos up until this point have been for patrons while I figure out how I want to do things, so I’m looking forward to posting more public videos and getting my steam page and kickstarter going in 2024!
Man, what a fantastic video and story! I love your humor and honesty. I completely agree with everything you’ve said. I got a chemistry degree and then two for two years doing crappy jobs. Took a huge pay cut to get a lab job, went back to school for IT. Then I talked to management and they let me switch to IT and it’s been over 20 years since. Just decided to start my own game studio, so there’s that. I really enjoy your content and can’t wait to pick up Blood and Mead!
Thanks man!
Great motivational video! When I was new to game dev and was stuck on a problem, I used to think that it was just part of my “origin story”. I know it sounds silly, but It helped make me feel better, even if it was just to get me motivated enough to continue working on the problem.
I totally feel you on that one. Those early dev problems were a different sort of beast as the process of problem solving was still being tuned! But then to solve them.. it was rush! :)
I'm 39 and it took me 9 years to become a game developer in a professional manner. I've had many different jobs, from paper boy, petrol station clerk, data entry clerk, locksmith, delivery driver, windscreen repairer, supermarket worker and before game developer I worked in advertising. Keep working hard towards your goals and you will get them. It takes time, but if you want it, then you need to work for it.
I was lucky in that I had an interest in programming before I had an interest in game development, so I was set on a solid path in education
After uni I considered a game dev job in the industry but the poor working condition lead me to an alternative path.
Go into traditional software, make enough money to retire early with my basic needs taken care of and then pursue stress free indie development.
I am fortunate that I even have the opportunity to pursue such path for which I am grateful and I am looking at going full time indie at age 35!
I'm going to take a shot at going full time indie game dev, but it's not going to be stress free. 😆 Given how hard it is to get a junior developer job the proposition of going indie doesn't look risky at all anymore. I've already wasted almost a year doing unpaid internships when I could have worked on my own things.
Nobody cares who I am but I had a similar path; many crappy jobs like dishwasher and factory worker before going back to school. Today I'm almost 40 and I work as a database engineer and my job is paying for my BS in CS. Along the way I picked up many other degrees; PharmD, MBA, BS in Biology, two post grad residencies... Good luck everyone. What mattered most to me is discipline and delaying gratification, planning ahead, and never stopping.
Thanks for this comment
I'm still in my BDSM phase (Before Development, Saving Money) lol ..I used to be interested in programming and gamedev when I was in high school, but wasn't fond of math, so I took an easier path and became a translator. But somehow a large portion of my career and hobbies still revolve around videogames - even though I'm not really a gamer myself. I made a few soundtracks for a couple of indie games back in the day, and now I'm working from home as a freelancer for a video game localization company (which gave me a chance to work on localization for such games as Destiny 2, Marvel's Avengers, Outriders, A Plague Tale: Requiem, Atomic Heart and more). It feels good to be able to touch such projects, but localization isn't a high-paying field (at least where I'm from), so I barely scrape a living, and looking back I regret taking an easier path. I have some video game ideas I'd like to try and bring to life someday, but starting to learn programming at 30 feels much more difficult...
those are some great games to have been exposed to. 30 is a good age for indiedev focused programming. With dedication you can be a rockstar game dev in a few years. Go for it man
I've been watching couple of videos from you , but this made me subscribe. Because I m 33 years old married with 2 children , economically broken. Living in a country where internship jobs doesn't exist unless you are a genius but I want to make games so bad . I will keep trying. And I hope found the path , the time and the strength to do it . Thanks for share
Wow, that's rough. My first job wasn't so bad. I worked in the library restocking the paper in the copiers and printers, clearing paper jams, refilling toner, carrying boxes around, and managing inventory. It was pretty boring though. Up and down the stairs and elevators dozens of times a day. Plus the admin people who I worked for were lazy and always asked me to get them things and do personal stuff for them.
Words to live by. I really needed this kind of video, right now. Thank you so much. You're truly doing some great stuff. 💙
I sorted files at my dad's dental surgery, was a sparky apprentice, drove forklifts at a dodgy car wreckers, joined the army, started studying and got a job at Coles stacking shelves to support me, was unemployed for abit then got a job as a Traffic Controller, just switched to Installing Guardrail for the client I was traffic controlling for now am working away during the week and come back home on the weekends. I have a games dev degree, I studied mostly part time while I worked nights and it took forever to get but I got there. Now I just need to figure out how to transition away from working blue collar jobs to making games.
Thank you for this video, my friend! As always, you're one of the best role models for me, such an inspiration. And you are surely the most sincere and open devtuber I follow.
Your story is amazing. It shows how day-to-day perseverance yields results. This is what I struggle with, have been struggling for years, discipline and day to day work on my craft and my goals. But as you said, we should try and we should never stop.
You know, once I saw your motto 'Dev or die' in your previous video, I even created a simple poster with this motto for myself and put it on the wall. But one of my cats ripped it a bit :)
So my story. I'm a Russian guy living in Russia, have been working different jobs, office ones, remote ones, but never creative and fullfulling, the kind I would truly love. So now I'm 35 and totally can feel the passage of time, as you said. And I strive and try to make a game with what time I have on hands at the moment, having a little family of 2 cats, a dog and my fiance and living in a rural little town in a small fiance's grandpa's house with no sewer :)
So we both, me and my Masha, have our day jobs, but we dream and strive to make our own project and gain financial support out of it to be able to leave our dull day jobs one day. We make a game together, for now it's more like me making a game, though, since Masha just started her front-end development learning in a school.
I started learning 3D modelling in 2022, was going very fast and good, doing voxel models and sharing them in my Instagram. At the same time our country pissed on everything good and bright in this world, and I was very depressed and struggled with productivity. In 2023, I created a few concept art scenes for our game, our main hero model and some environments assets and put it inside Unity to see how it looks in engine. I didn't create any interactivity yet, but we are using Corgi Engine, so I will learn it in to time, once I'm at it.
Currently I'm trying to learn colors, it has been a struggling area for me. And I actually came up with a concept for a shorter, simpler (it seems) game, so I've started developing that idea from a concept art scene. I hope with this one, I will be able to work faster and with more freedom, cause my brain kinda restricts me from working further until I thoroughly learn a topic, at the moment it being colors. But for this simpler game, I came up with a minimalistic color palette, a throwback to a Commodore 64 times :)
Anyhow, your videos help to keep me on track and show that everything is possible with perseverance and passion. Thank you and all the best! Will be looking forward to your other videos, personal ones or game dev ones.
Hey thanks for the kind words, and for sharing your story. The strength of your passion comes through in your words. Your life experiences and maturity will certainly give you an edge in this new chapter of life you are entering. Keep going man, I don't know you, but I sense good things. The fighting spirit has a signature, and fighters recognise fighters ;) Keep your eyes and mind on the goal, as will I. You got this
thanks for sharing your story!
awesome video. I'm from Romania. I got very bad grades in school, after barely finishing highschool i failed getting into university, tried again next year but i was feeling horrible there (Photo Video Uni), then got a job selling ice teas while standing in a mall. I saw a facebook ad for a coding academy and quit that job. I was able to get a job before finishing the academy in web dev. in my free time i was making a mobile game with Unity, which i entered into a hyper casual publisher comptetitiom, and that got 4th place. they asked me to do more games/prototypes which increased my skill a lot and got me a job in game development.
Great determination and outcome. Thanks for sharing 👍
You've been incredibly inspirational. Been watching your vids and following your advice for a long time. Currently working a full time job I like and on a project in my free time. I hope it goes well!
Thanks for sharing your story. I'm so excited for you that you were able to find and follow what brings you joy.
Working random jobs totally resonates with me. I was feeling a little misaligned recently after burning out from practicing game dev and I think your video has aligned me again for my true goals.
Over the years i've been blessed with a couple of decent jobs. However, I've grown to despise the corporate world. I have had an interest in game dev for a long time and unfortunately haven't really done anything about it due to work and family obligations. I just turned 51 in november and my resolution to myself was by 52 to have at least 2 mobile games on the app store. I'm currently doing some godot tutorials while I flesh out details of the 1st game which I should be starting in February or March. Love your content brother, keep it up.
You have come a long way. Inspiring video!
Great video mate :) Pamphlet deliveries, kmart, pizza hut and door to door marketing for Transact in the early 2000s are in my list of shitty jobs 😂
Wow, congrats for escaping that hellish tredmill! Personally, the one job I've been doing is fine but my struggle lies in severe health issues. My body is basically in constant self-destruct mode and last year was especially devastating but I'm currently in an absolute beast mode fighting for a future. I'm not giving up on my gamedev dreams, dammit!
I wish your luck 🙂
Insipiring, Motivating, Loved it! I got motivated and inspired. Thanks!
surprisingly similar to my story. had so many different jobs. Delivery, Restaurants, Teacher, McDonald's and Burger King...but I have to say that apart from the poor working conditions, nonsense and also frustrations, I learned a lot. About the workflow, concentration, emotions, people and I gradually acquired a work ethic. And finally, with a degree, I'm happy in IT and hobby gamedev. Wishing everyone an instructive way of life☺️
Worked on the bottom rung of restaurants, food delivery, gas stations, grocery stores, call centers and once at a concert. I might need to still have one last unideal job before I can launch something decently impressive that might at least fund me being a dev part-time.
Ive been making games for almost 20 years now but never felt like I was good enough to sell them so I always posted them for free. Im over 40 now and let to much time slip by doing crappy jobs. I released my first game on steam a few months ago and have another game that should release this year. Im eventually being the person I should have been all this time
the first job i applied for was at mcdonalds and i listed that i was proficient in c, c++, pascal, visual basic, html, etc etc and this was 1997. they said they couldnt hire me because i was "overqualified" at 15 years old lol. i think they just knew i was a nerd and i wouldnt fit in with the drug addicts that worked there.
As I get older I really resonate with your last few words. It's never about making more money. It's about finding a way to spend more of your time the way you want.
Sometimes you need to pull an income from a job you don't really want to fund the time you spend doing what you love.
Hey mate I know you slowed down your youtube channel a bit, I know effort goes into these and this one had particularly genuine and personal stories in it that others will be able to relate to, especially those hardships and obstacles as you wrap your mind around figuring out how to go at it, so thanks for not only going the mile to do all the planning recording and editing for the vid and giving it out to us watchers but also for taking the time to tell it right and share those deeper thoughts with us.
I've wishlisted blood and mead after seeing the part of your earlier vid where you were deliberating over UI and upgrade trees because that's the kind of stuff I get stuck on all the time in my own game designs so that's super relatable, can't wait to give it a shot.
Great content, will always love this channel, keep up the awesome balanced approach and taking those steps to maintain the career path you want without burning out. Great lead-by-example mentality here and I'm here for it as I'm sure many others are :)
👍👍🔥🔥
Hey thanks man, I appreciate your kind words and support
It was a lovely video, thank you! In high school, I either wanted to be a literature/history teacher or a game developer. I went for programming because I was poor and teaching unfortunately means automatic poverty here... so I just couldn't afford to be a teacher... Then I was shocked to see that people in those programming schools (a technical school and later a university) were just absolutely NOT interested in game dev and I was the crazy one who was looked down on because of it. Strange world. Since in my country game development was like black magic and we had no actual companies to work for back then indie game dev was nearly unheard of (I didn't have even an internet connection before I started working!) I just became a developer for normal software dev companies... and game dev stayed a hobby. Then in 2016 I decided that it was enough as even tho I was super successful in my career at that point, I experienced burnout... and wrote a goal card that said "It is 2018 now and I'm so happy and grateful now that... I am a game developer who makes a living from making games" and listed a few things what I do for that. I became a contractor for my previous employer to free up 2 additional days per week and researched game dev this time a bit more seriously then in 2017 I started working on a bigger project full-time as an indie. I'm still living off of that game. I'm super happy and lucky - my goal card worked - actually, I reached my goal 1 year before my target year. I treasure that goal card.
The power of setting clear actionable goals, happy for you! Thanks for sharing your story.
Thank you for sharing this, and it does in fact inspire us.
Your warehouse job reminds me of a warehouse job I had when I was younger. It wasn't my first job, but it was the only job I ever quit without giving a notice. It was an assembly line job and we assembled computers for HP. They didn't like us talking to our coworkers. I would have a supervisor that barely spoke english who would just come by and constantly yell "LET'S GO, LET'S GO, LET'S GO!!!" as if we aren't already working. 2 weeks into that job, I was tired of everyone's attitude. I went up to the HR desk, signed my papers and left.
Thanks for making this and helping us beginner devs out and giving us inspiration. How were you able to transition into a full time game dev? When you left those old jobs, how were you able to still get the income supporting your finances while your still making your game?
This is gold. Thank you for sharing.
Can completely relate tp everything you say. Especially about how wading through the shit jobs builds character and understanding of what you really want. I am grateful for all the experience i gained from every shitty temporary job i had in my life.
Hey John, I appreciate your dedication on growing this channel and have one question. How much time per week do you manage to spend working on your game, considering you have a full time job, a wife and kids and also a UA-cam and Discord Channel to manage? It seems like you either never sleep or just have a small amount of hours per week for your project.
That's quite a story, I'm glad you made it into SW dev and something you're really good at and enjoy.
Thanks for sharing your wisdom with us. 😀🙌
You've just described my life. My own experience mirrors yours in many ways at least at a high level. Thanks for sharing and leaving your wisdom out here for consumption.
Thanks Todd, all the best to you man
I'm already an entrepreneur and have been surviving as such for the past two years. Auto Detailing - and I'm actually doing pretty well financially. Like seriously well. But now I'm learning game dev in UE 5.3. I feel like i have a leg up in solo dev world because I've already started a company from scratch and learned how to make real money. I plan to use those skills to turn game dev into a real entrepreneurial journey! Stay big-picture thinking y'all!
Been a long time, secret sage. I missed you!
Commenting for algorithmic engagement, also cause you rule 👑
As a teenager I was mainly a gardener and here and there on construction sites. I was abscessed by music, sound and games and I was making beats since I am 14 years old and around 20 years old I found a job as a junior live sound technician . I stuck to that job till 35, but around 30 I start learning unreal engine and blender trying to make a game unsuccessfully. I had a bunch of interviews trying to find a job as an Environment artist and finally I got it in a NFT game company. It was very bad and after 4 months I quit and found a job in ArchViz studio. After a year I quit again and decide to start make a game with my girlfriend. Now I am 37 and I have a small budget to make this game and build up a studio from it with her. I had this dream for a long time and I decide to risk it. Fuck it, who knows what's gonna happen.
I enjoy this channel a lot. It keeps me movin and it motivates me . Thank you Lost Relic!
that was tough jobs, I was working in the office environment. But now I want to pursuit my dream to become game programmer.
8:35 you can tell the era by the sick soul patch 😏
Haha, it was all i could grow at the time! 😀
Crappy jobs? I liked all my other jobs before becoming a dev too^^
When I was still at school I worked as a bouncer. Later I was a fitness coach and mma trainer. And now I'm a dev...and still mma trainer as a hobby^^
My jobs before becoming a dev taught me how to speak with different kinds of people, even the problematic ones. that's one skill whichstill comes in handy today. I'm pretty sure I'm good as a dev because I'm strong at communicationg with others and when my younger nerd me would've become a dev right away I would've never learned that.
It's possible that the code I would've written coming out of the womb would be slightly better than the code I write now. I do love coding though :)
我在一份充满了官僚主义、形式主义的工作中煎熬，很幸运地认识到游戏开发是我余生想要从事的工作，于是我制定计划并立刻付诸实施。虽然现在我仍然在开发我的第一款作品（已经过了2年），但这个过程就像是走过一道狭窄的峡谷小路，而路正渐渐变得宽阔平坦起来。一切的经历在日后看来都是赠予，保持谦逊、保持尊重，无论是职业还是自己的人生。谢谢你John。
Did you quit that job?
@@Mrafael52 yes.
I appreciate your story and how far you went.
But I did not have so hard.
I never studied IT, or programming, management or a business school. I do not even have any kind of degree, actually.
I have learned everything on the job. My first job was in IT Dev and I knew from when I was a kid I wanted to work with PCs.
I am now an executive. Doing strategies. Managing lots of people and I really love my work.
My only rule: stay away from finance/fintech/quant/whatever.
Best of luck to everyone out there!
And no, I would not enjoy coding games, in a studio.
Man, I had a similar experience with the survival jobs you've described. But I realized the finiteness of life pretty early. At the age of 18 probably. At the moment I've been in game dev for 6 years. But still have a goal to start my own company.
I worked in an abattoir with sheep as a student and worked as a waiter and front of house at restaurants when I was at school/uni. Didnt pay much but gave me an appreciation of money/work. After graduating as an electronics engineer my first job paid equivalent of £150 a month(!) in South Africa. However I am very grateful for that job as my boss showed me all the ropes and laid a foundation for future success through the skills I picked up there.
I considered not working as an electronics engineer but stuck it out and dont regret it. Most of my classmates did choose related fields but dont do electronics (software / own business / analysts).
I really relate to this on a lot of levels ... I did work at McDonalds, and it was tough. What I thought would be simple ended up being very mentally draining and in some way, I would dread those shifts too. I have also worked retail, being told that retail was probably never going to be my thing. I worked men's section, tills ... and got told I used to get way too easily distracted. What I learned, especially now working full time as a game dev, is none of that work was stimulating enough for my brain. It was no wonder I got distracted. I got told I had loads of potential, but was never acting to it, or would disappoint managers. But I wasn't interested! lol I know a job's a job, but some jobs can really drain, and also teach you a lot of things about yourself too. I have worked in liquor stores, never night clubs .. but definitely prefer being on the side of the bar too!
I'm working as a software engineer in a large European company. In my free time, I'm also an aspiring game developer. 😊 Years ago, my first job was as a system administrator in a school, where I did everything. Many times, I also worked as a sound engineer during public school holidays, such as proms, school plays, and other events. I realized that I couldn't do that my whole life, dealing with kids running around and quirky teachers (with all due respect). I felt like I wasn't moving forward, so I started learning how to program and landed my first job as a software engineer. It was actually fun; I interacted with a lot of different people, and it helped me enhance my soft skills. Such experiences allow you to grow as a person and learn how to become a better version of yourself.
Well at least you were able to hold jobs.
That being said, indie gave dev is not good for most people engaged in it. The market is saturated and chances of being successful are slim, and the investment required just to have a shot at success is very high.
The vast majority of people would have a much higher probability of winning at blackjack or something than making a successful indie game. Plus one can do that in an afternoon rather than gamble years of their life on a game that isn't likely to get significant exposure let alone sell.
Creative jobs are winner-take-all and full of dreamers who sacrifice themselves in vain.
This was the most relatable story I've ever heard from an indie dev, or any dev. I grew up in a small town and as a kid, once or twice I saw an arcade machine and one day in one of the classes we could try out some Commodore +4 computers (the teacher basically recited code lines and we had to type it) and it was a blast when we managed to print and draw out some text and colored shapes. These were my experiences with computer technology and videogames at the time. Unfortunately there were no classes, nor other people who had interest in these stuff, it died out for years, being this in the 80s, and behind the iron curtain. Though I got a Commodore 64, I mostly just played games, and very little time I spent with trying to code in Basic, and draw some mediocre pictures with Amica Paint (?) with a joystick. :D
I was learning to be an architect, but my heart wasn't really there. I even finished an extra year to learn Archicad, but I was already much more interested in Turbo Pascal that we also learned in a secondary class. All in vain as at that time the State made a decision about house design, that you needed a university degree to draw plans for a house. During these years I had my first PC, a 386 with very few RAM and a 0.5 mb videocard. I played Doom a lot and learned to use the level editor and made a couple of levels. I also built levels for Heroes of Might and Magic 2 and for a game called Abuse (despite what the name may suggests, it's a 2D platformer where you have to shoot your way through a bunch of very alien like creatures).
I worked at some bad places as a young adult (even as a game dev), but before I become a 3D graphic artist, I worked with my parents for some years in agriculture. My most horrible job was also a factory, I left when I had to operate a machine that constantly burnt my hands with hot glue.
Much later I managed to get into a game dev company as a sort of data-handler, low level designer and so far that was the best thing I've ever done. Friendships was born as we shared some life stories and I realized how most of the people came from all walks of life with no related education. A general interest sparked up in me to actively making games and my chance came, when the company take up a small job for a magazine to make simple visual designs after house blueprints. Only I could read the blueprint, so they quickly taught me some basic 3D, so I could help out with the process.
And that's how it started, though there was a year I worked as a freelancer and there was a time when I actually could count "I have money for 2 month and after that... nothing". I pretty much spent my days with doing trial works for game dev companies and didn't wanted to do anything else. I know I would just get depressed as it happened before, so I tried my best. In the end I managed to get back in the saddle and with some ups and downs I am doing fine nowadays.
My last job was at Gameloft, after almost 10 years the mother company thought they don't need us anymore, and almost a year ago they announced they disband the Budapest studio. For years I participated in smaller game jam events with colleagues and month long ones by myself, using Game Maker, so I am (somewhat) capable to make a game from start to finish. Now I am with a book publisher trying to run up a small retro game division. We'll see how that turns out. :)
Worked in health care before I got into IT and game dev. Was hard work and a depressing environment dementia, stroke, smelly wounds, feces everywhere, low pay. Now I work 3 days from home 2 at the office, chill team. And I have energy to sit and do game dev in the evenings, it's fantastic.
Thanks for sharing. We all have been there.
"Chocolate frogs slapped out of your mouth." 🤨
Is this a reference or an actual saying?
I ate a lot of chocolate frogs as a kid 😋
Started rolling this ball uphill recently, I am in awe for the moment it starts rolling downwards for me, as you said, it was always in our face the path for this career, we didn't took it at first because it wasn't clear yet it would be possible to work it out. Godot teached me on how to read and write code, which showed me it was possible to start this career, and now I am teaching others, it's funny how that works, thanks for sharing your life experience,
brilliant
interestingly, I had a bunch of shitty production jobs, then got myself into frontend webdevelopment for a couple of years.
Now you'd think webdev is an upgrade, and sure it doesn't wear you out physically...
But the work was monotonous and stressfull, the pay was pretty bad actually, and all my coworkers and managers were dicks.
Now I'm a (race)bycicle-mechanic so I get to work on the latest and greatest carbon bikes. I get pretty much the same pay as in webdev, but with fun colleagues and I'm not being worked to death.
Also: I get to save my brainpower for gamedev in the evening :)
Race bikes mechanic is extremely niche job. Few will do it
yup, good video as always man
Hey thank you!
Thank you for the Wisdom! also is this moment you shared have influence on Blood and Mead? 6:14
For me it's been wild.
I've tried Flash, and I've also had plenty of bad jobs.
My government sabotaged my chances many times.
Even had a social worker falsely claim gRape and have been prohibited from taking accredited courses or having a job.
Last year I was put on Universal Basic Income. I now have the right to work.
I took on a job at a local store, moving boxes and stocking shelves.
I'm using the opportunity to work on my social skills, my anxiety, my physique and confidence.
The money I'm earning will pay for the tools I need.
I've been saving too by making my own food from scratch, cutting my hair myself, walking rather than using public transportation (10 hour walks some days).
Today I want to get back into building my furniture. I need to figure out how I'm going to manufacture the parts.
I also want to do a little sculpting.
Eventually I want to complete my test projects like the remake of "The Legend of Zelda" in Unity.
And now you look jacked!
Hey Guys! I`m living in a city which almost can say do not have a proper game dev industrial . I was always thinking this is a curse until today,
I found it seems most of us have the very similar experience , which means working as many difference bad jobs before become a game dev.
I`m happy about we do have the same goal and do fighting side by our own side !
Thanks for that Video :)
We have different paths in life, but I feel very similar to how you describe your life. It's always interesting to hear from you, and your insights, partly because I have the same urge to make something creative. My dream is to make a tactical-turn based game like XCOM, or at least pitch a game like that, with a different story and characters to a professional studio.
Whenever I see one of your videos, I set aside everything I'm doing at the moment to hear your thoughts. You're always so informative, inspirational, and authentic with what you share.
Overall, my career has started in IT when I was 19 and has still remained in IT even 20 years later, but IT has always been my third choice of things after Games and Art. I've a strong passion for character art, which I do in the evenings after work (hard to do with family, work, exercise, etc as you described in another video of juggling everything, which I resonated with), but I've found that gamedev itself is a bit of a wall for me. Coding breaks me down every single time.
But there's definitely something to the diminishing intent you mentioned. I absolutely feel that. It's like a mixture of watching the industry be ablaze, being exhausted from work, and numerous other things that could rank as excuses (but all just as real) that keep me bobbing before jumping into the double dutch as it were.
Anyway, thanks for sharing your thoughts on this. Might just be the exercise to keep hammering at something, even if it's glacial.
Hey thanks for the comment and sharing your own experience! Wishing you the best
Very inspiring video! You're exactly right, sometimes it seems like everyone is a coding genius and has been doing it for decades, so it's great to see the relatable beginnings.
For me, I've done a lot of low skill jobs: grocery stores, retail, call centres... I then went to University to do finance. My internships were incredibly boring glorified data entry, then worked in corporate finance for a few years and could not stand the repetiveness, monotony and lack of innovation. I had to get out or I would have woken up 60 still living in Excel.
Fortunately, at 26 I started a successful crypto mining company, which has given me time to learn game dev on the side. Games have always been my #1 passion but it's taken a long time to realize I can acquire the skills to make them as a career. Have a long way to go, but learning everyday, and enjoying the journey. Sometimes feel behind, but this realistic journey you shared helps a lot. One day I hope to open a small studio focused on RPGs :)
I really do believe that having at least one shit job is an important thing to experience. Before I got into development I worked cleaning pots and pans in a restaurant, and I fully appreciate where I am now as a result of that.
In fact that persuaded me to go to college a 2nd time (I just dicked around the first doing music) to pursue IT, having always been interested in computers.
Then from there I was able to get a job at a local web development agency and never looked back.
Not sure any of that would have happened if I didn't have such a bad first work experience, so I do appreciate it today.
I'm 28 and after going to collage and everything else I find gamedev as what I want to do. Did a lot of random things like photographing and book keeper as jobs but gamedev is my first real job.
Before game development I was helping my father to build tombs with marble and granite. Then later I worked in cuisine, prepared salads and sea fruits. Now I'm focused on University and game development. I'm studying for game programming
Love this video
I am a DevOps engineer, and every morning I wake up feeling a sense of dread... I have really started to dislike my job. Lately, I've been thinking about game development. I don't have my perfect game idea yet, but I just want to build and publish even a simple game. I'm currently exploring different game engines and experimenting with them.
Sounds good Simon, it sounds like you have a creative soul that needs its feed. Your DevOps background with it's pragmatic disciplined approach will be useful on the indie dev path. All the best!
i went to a few bars/nightclubs in Sydney 12 years ago lol
haha I failed Mcdonalds interview too. also got fired from subway after 1 month. damn i need this to work out cos i actually suck at normie jobs ...
Haha I feel you on that. Normie jobs have never worked for me either. And I think that's for the best! :)
I've been working in retail until 21. Then I decided to change my life and get into something else. I'm 22 now, recently started learning Unity. Tbh I don't feel like I'm gonna make it. I feel lost. Nevertheless, thank you for your tips.
486.. i remember them...
I grew up playing games on a TI-99. No it's not a calculator, but the calculators today are more powerful.
I took notes during the video to remind me what I wanted to say. Here are those notes: "toilet software engineer". I should document before I forget what I was thinking.
One of my earliest jobs was at an international airport. One of my duties was cleaning a couple of restrooms. Surprisingly (to my teenage brain), the women's room was always messier than the men's room. What was the case for you?
It sounds like you could tell your mom that you are a software engineer and that will work for her. Note only is it accurate, but also she might focus on "engineer" and be happy.
For people getting into software development, we have been given a good example of the importance of parentheses.
(My JOBS) Before (GAME DEV Sucked) != My (JOBS Before GAME DEV) Sucked
At some point in your life you will be programming in a different language. If it has a different order of operations (aka, operator precedence), you'll be glad you developed the habit of using "unnecessary" parentheses. It also helps document intent, which is important for the people who end up maintaining your code.
I dont have to imagine. I got rejected from McDonald's 3 times in the last 2 years.
Fast food sucks anyway you'll smell like grease every day you come home it's nasty. Park maintenance or something might be better.
Amazing video, I'm wishing you the absolute best for your future!
BRO BRO BRO! WE NEED A C# GAME DEVELOPMENT TUTORIAL! PLS LOOK INTO THIS!!!!!!!
Feels pointless but I liked it, thankyou for sharing
Lots of crappy jobs, best non-skilled job was Pizza Delivery Driver. Which was driving around with my gf and listening to music. Worst non-skilled job Chicken catching. You spend 10+ hrs catching 15K chickens in a huge barn. Its VERY physically and terrible for your lungs and it destroyed my wrists. There were career people that did that for 30+ yrs. Currently work from home in healthcare IT. Now am trying to make games butI’m older than any dev I’ve seen starting this new career(50)