Sam Scaife

Surprises on My Journey from Hobbyist to Launching My First Indie Game

As someone that spent years outside of games looking in and dreaming of what my future might look like, I want to share some of my experiences now that I’ve made that leap.

It’s very easy to doubt your own knowledge and experience with games when you're not working day to day in the industry. It’s also easy to have unrealistic fantasies about what your life might be like if you were to start working in games.

In this roundtable I’ll share some surprises and things I thought I knew but didn’t really appreciate! And we'll start a discussion for indies experienced or just starting out to share their own surprises.

With each surprise I'd like to cover, What the experience of them looked like leading into the situation and the various ways they impacted the project and people involved.

Here's some examples of surprises we might cover, depending on where the discussion goes:

- It’s going to take longer than you think
- What you’ve learned already is valid
- Putting yourself out there is a lot of work
- You’re going to doubt your project
- People are so supportive
- Releasing really is an emotional rollercoaster

I would love if people take away from the session that their experience creating games as a hobbyist is super valid and will help them in their future if they choose to pursue a career creating games.

Session Takeaway

• You’ve already started your journey into the games industry.
• Find yourself some support.
• Give yourself more time.
• Be kind to yourself.

Session speakers