Is being a game developer for the video game industry receives more cash vs. web developer? And, what's the best begginer's guide in doing sideline job while working on the current job?

Docbear64 · 2017-03-27T06:42:29+00:00

I am a software engineer and have quite a few game dev friends . General software( including web dev) generally pays a lot better than game development . Game development tends to be harder , more stressful ,extremely fast paced , and then you add the fact that the pay scale is lowered and Honestly I would only work on games if that seems like a true personal calling you think is worth exploring . The game industry doesn't have to pay as much because game development is considered a dream job so often times you'll walk into environments where it's believed that you are lucky to have a job and the stack of resumes of people vying for the same position only reinforces that.

I would recommend keeping a stable job that pays the bills and working on games as a hobby , Indie development is huge at the moment . Also professional game development can be a lot less fun then developing your own projects. Everybody assumes they'll be working on the next Halo or Call of Duty when in reality you'll probably be working on My Little Pony : friendship adventure.

The best way to make money in games is to have a large user base. That's true whether or not it's free - to - play or a game you actually pay for . Lots of users + ads means a high amount of ad revenue . Lots of users + a good paid app that gets a lot of visibility means you make a lot of money from direct user purchases .

Regardless users = money . If you don't know a way to attract 10,000+ users ( on the very low end ) then your game won't make money .

Don't get me wrong I know working on games can be a ton of fun but very few game developers are profitable and most "Creatives" within the game industry make less money again because it is considered a "dream job " and competition for positions is fierce.

The best way to get a better salary as an engineer is to work for a year or two and move to a new company . I have worked for a little under 6 years now and every 1.5 years I received a major pay increase ( 40%+ raises.)

digijin · 2017-03-28T00:36:32+00:00

Game Dev jobs are hard to find and have a lot of competition, which drives down salaries and also drives up expectations and leads to unpaid overtime, stress etc.

Web devs are the opposite, there are more jobs available than quality devs to fill them. It's a lot easier to get web dev work and because of the competition its a lot easier to demand higher salary, raises etc.

If you really want fast cash then you can go for day rate jobs, assuming you are in a large enough city with enough work, where I am in Australia you can go place to place for years making between $AUD 600-1200 per day if you have the skills.

I was about to plan on selling my game apps secretly

Don't be an idiot. Get your contract amended so that your project is not covered by any IP clause. It's a standard thing to do, I've done it before. You gain nothing by keeping your project secret and stand to lose everything.

Dont expect to make much from gaming. It's very hit-and-miss. Try make money from ads, because if you make money from transactions then you need to offer support and that is a waste of time.

Comments