Coming Up: Self-Employment (Patreon)

Here's a bit of personal news! Sorry it's long and boring.

"Good bye, secure income."

After 8 years, I was surprisingly let go by my day job's company, in a mass layoff. Whoops! Oh, well, it's just a thing that happens, in the games industry...

And as of now, I am without work; although, technically speaking I'm not unemployed for another three months—thanks to Germany's legally required notice period.

"Hello, self-employment!"

Well, I'm not without "work" technically, either, of course: I've got Pawperty Damage, after all: Lots of work to do, still!

So my current plan is to become self-employed, for a while, and work on my personal projects. Full-time!

And Pawperty Damage's release is soon, so that's phenomenal timing, really.

What does this mean for YOU?

Not all that much, for now, honestly.

There are big changes ahead, for me, but I've decided to keep things unchanged for this game's release, as much as I can.

To me, Pawperty Damage has always been a passion project and I'd prefer to keep it that way!

So, no worries, I'm not pushing to drastically increase my number of patrons, ramp up prices, get rid of the pay-what-you-want option, or anything else...

Wait... I need money to live.

Here's the fun part: With my unfortunate layoff came a juicy severance package, yummy!

Not enough to buy an island and never work again for the rest of my life, but enough to, uh, pay the bills for a year, or so!

So, my master plan is to use my severance pay to finance my self-employment, and once the money is eaten up, I will go back to looking for a normal job.

But wouldn't it be nice...?

Now. If things go really well... I will actually end up making money from my stuff. Imagine!

And the more money I make, the longer I could be self-employed. Doing what I love. Do you see where I'm going with this?

Not to be dramatic, but this is possibly my best shot at living my dream*. 🏆🎊

(*working on personal indie game projects and making an okay living, from that. I can assure you that this is not about getting rich or making those fat stacks of cash—that's not how indie game development works, haha)

...okay, I don't think it will work out, but it doesn't have to.

I'm not saying that to be pessimistic, but I do want to be realistic, here: I will try my best and go as far as I can—and once this exciting adventure is over, I can say:

"I have tried!"

Which is so much better then wondering "What if...?" for the rest of my life! Also, who knows, maybe I realize that this kind of life isn't for me, after all. But, again, there's only one way to find out!

What's next, after Pawperty Damage?

Since my personal game development gig is going to provide my future income, I have to start thinking more in, uuh, business terms.

I will need to evolve that grindset. Embrace hustle culture. Sell. Out.

...or, at least, I'll have to try and make money from what I do. Enough money to pay the bills, ideally.

What does that mean for the future, after the release of Pawperty Damage? Put simply, it means I'll have to work on projects that will make me money.

How that will look, exactly, will also depend a great deal on how the release of Pawperty Damage goes, of course: If the game turns out to be highly profitable, it would make the most sense to continue working on it—obviously!

Alternatively, if I have to look for public grants or publisher deals, I will have to tailor my projects towards those.

I might also explore other sources of income, such as merchandising, art commissions, or some such... who knows!

But no worries: Regardless of what my next project is going to be, a few months from now... I definitely plan to support Pawperty Damage after the release, to fix bugs, add some extra content, and—yes—try and implement custom character import!

Again, Thanks for Your Support!

I've written this post to provide some transparency—thank you for reading!

Like I have said, the silver lining of getting let go has been the generous severance package that came with it. This is an immense privilege, and I understand that—it gives me the financial security to take on this adventure I plan to embark on, and I am incredibly grateful for that.

Likewise, I am equally grateful for everyone who supports me on this journey, and helps me to get as far as I can: It really means a lot to me!

And I absolutely think the journey is the reward; I can't say yet how long or short it's going to be, but I'm really, really excited to find out!