Apps are big business nowadays and the mobile gaming marketing is booming. A large part of this market are individuals and small groups who are putting together independent games and publishing them on the app store, android marketplace and google play. Many of these earn real money and use game development as their main source of income.
You might think that game development needs design skills, programming skills and years of education but recently there has been many game creation engines (applications) that allow people with little or no programming experience to drag and drop graphics and use easy to understand logic to create simple and fun games for the mobile markets.
Programs such as Gamesalad, Stencyl and Corona mean that game enthusiasts can realise their dream of making games for a living. Each of the programs are free to try and and charge a nominal amount should you want to turn pro. Also, these programs which now has extended to include Game Maker and Torque Mobile means that all you need is a working up to date computer, an imagination and some determination.
If you dip your toe into the indie gaming community you will also find that there is a lot of fantastic support for budding developers across the internet in forums, chat rooms and on social networks. This includes a plethora of tutorials, online books, templates and even ready made game graphics which you can buy online and modify yourself using both free and premium software (see gimp and Inkscape, as free alternatives to photoshop and illustrator).
If you were then to throw in some project management software, a few free social media marketing channels you could be well on your way to making games from the comfort of your own home.
Indie game development is a fantastic and rewarding career choice and can be done anywhere with an internet connection. The only two pieces of advice I would offer are; don’t expect it to be a get rich quick scheme as game development takes many months to do; and make sure you make the games the best they can be as bad games will get you nowhere.
Ian Garstang is an avid indie gamer and game graphic designer creating game art for the masses. When not gaming he enjoys SEO and Social Media and cartoons.
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