Ten Tips to Becoming an Indie Game Developer

Are you ready to quit your job in order to pursue your dream of building an old-school isometric RPG with deep character customization and hundreds of hours' worth of gameplay? If so, you might want to read through Jay Barnson's "Ten Tips to Becoming an Indie Game Developer" first:
#1 Commit. Make indie game development a priority in your life. Be willing to juggle, shuffle, and sacrifice lesser things to be an indie developer. And you should be willing to make that commitment right away. This is a tough one, as making games may require you to sacrifice a significant chunk of game-playing. Since most of us become indies because we love games, this is a hard thing to do. It may not be worth it to you. But decide right now is this what you want to be, and are you willing to do what it takes to be that person? Then, recommit often, until you are already there. Daily, if you need to.

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#7 Accept Risks. Making indie games isn't safe. You are going to be sacrificing time and money, and possibly your reputation and self-image, with every game you make and release. There's no guarantees and often, even any likelihood that you'll get back what you put into it, let alone improve things. You need to determine how much risk you can accept to meet your goals. Is it worth a second mortgage on your house and quitting your day job? Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. But you are the person who has to decide where you'll draw the line.