Re: card/board games as income source

[WFreitag@aol.com]

In a message dated 6/6/05 3:44:23 PM, vanevery@indiegamedesign.com writes:

>>But however bad that advice would be, trying to improve 

>>one's financial situation by attempting to design hit card/board 
>>games is at least a hundred times worse.

>I don't know that this is true.  I think anyone who works in a 

>hit-driven industry can't be risk adverse.  I don't think "you should go 

>become a banker" or some other more predictable profession is an 

>answer.  That's just being chicken.  I really don't believe it's about 

>"the odds" so much as going up a long learning curve about what matters 

>to you, what matters to others, what you have energy to pursue, and 

>staying focused.  Some things are bigger than us, but we do have a lot 

>of control over our own destinies.

 
The problem isn't the risk of failure, it's the fact that unless and until 
you get that hit, you're still left stuggling without resources. The plan to 
"make a hit" still leaves you in a passive role, because while you can control 
the quality of your work, you can't control whether it's going to be a hit or 
not. Shoot for "good enough to be proud to publish it under my name," and you 
can get ahead even if it's not a hit -- and you've done nothing to diminish the 
possibility of it being a hit anyway. Nothing wrong with letting that 
possibility be an additional motivation; just don't invest all your self-esteem in it 
as a goal.

I don't think we disagree in any profound way.

Another possibility to consider is to convince an investor to take the risk. 
That path solves the problem of a priori resources. Downsides: it's really 
hard to convince investors to take this particular kind of risk (I've tried; I 
know dozens of others who've tried); and even if you succeeded you'd likely lose 
some creative freedom in the process. (Don't let on to any of my 
indie-movement friends that I even suggested the possibility; they hold outside investment 
in very poor regard. But I believe in considering all available options.) 

- Walt