Side projects/freelancing where to start?

[uncle_rufus]

Lately I've been thinking I want to explore trying to get into taking on some extra work out-of-hours to:

A. Learn some new skills and gain experience...
B. Potentially create new opportunities...
C. Maybe make a little extra cash...

Thing is I'm really not sure what the best approach is to get started... I'm already a fairly experienced programmer in various languages and technologies (such that I think I could probably pick up whatever I needed)... Have an interest in gaming but realistically I know it's a tough and unstable industry to try and get into...

I've seen there are various freelancing sites about where you can take on little random bits of dev work (not specifically gaming but that's fine), I'm just not sure if they're really worthwhile... I had also thought about picking a few random projects to try and help with (like CorsixTH maybe, the Theme Hospital open source clone) from a learning/experience standpoint

Anybody got any stories or advice to share? It just seems a tough thing to get started at

 

[uncle_rufus]

Honestly, freelancing websites are 90% full of Indian companies undercutting everyone else.

Hmmm, yes I think I heard this from a few other sources as well

As for a gaming aspect, if you could develop gambling games some big sites would buy them or lease them from you, but the maths involved can be mind blowing. You can however buy the maths requirements needed from 3rd parties. We used to do this where i worked before. I may be able to put you in touch with people if needed.

Gambling games... hmm... Maths-wise I should be okay I think (have a degree in it!), but any info on the subject in general would be helpful if you don't mind...

I don't think you'll get a lot of freelancing for the game industry unless it's small studios but it may not pay well. You'd be best getting involved in an opensource project or releasing a few games yourself and just look at moving into the industry full time.

Ah yes I probably wasn't too clear - I expected freelancing would be a separate thing to the gaming side of things anyway - more likely little jobs doing web infrastructure design or other such things I guess...

Full-time is a bit of a dilemma really; the games industry makes me very nervous as far as job stability is concerned... I don't think I could justify taking a chance on switching to it full-time unless there were clear signs of something that was going to really take-off (if that makes sense!)

 

[uncle_rufus]

I posted not long ago about wanting some sort of gaming related side project. If you have any ideas and need help

Will keep it in mind - what areas do you have the skills to work in?

There's a few counter strike skin gambling websites, probably little enough to still be a competitor ...

People either bet their skins on the outcome of professional matches, or gamble on a random win type. A few are csgolounge and csgoshuffle.

I thought betting skins etc. was built into the game itself - isn't it?

 

[uncle_rufus]

Try Upwork — it's completely different from Freelancer.com (for example) and they're the two main websites.

Upwork's made me ~$500 in the past two weeks which isn't the worst ever.

Will have a look, thanks... mind if I ask what you had to do for the ~$500?

C is tricky, the first step would be to carefully examine your contract and approach your boss. Most contracts will forbid this kind of activity without prior approval. you will need to prove that there will be no conflict of interest, no IP issues, etc. Much easier to forget about it and just work on a fun open source project.

I will have a look, but I expect there's nothing in there which forbids it... I would avoid taking any contracts which clearly overlap with the industry I work in anyway just to be on the safe side (and because I'd rather the extra work be something different to what I do 9-5)... good point though

 

[uncle_rufus]

You've got virtually zero chance of landing game development freelance work without industry experience. 'Industry experience' can be as simple as making a few mobile games and banging them out on the app stores though.

Of course; I don't think I was under any illusions about that... I figured getting involved in a few open-source projects and/or something like modding might be a good way to build up some experience to point at as well... though perhaps an app or similar isn't a bad idea either

I've looked at these freelancing sites and it might be ok for the occasional bit of work but frankly I value my time higher than these places offer, you're being undercut by people in the far east with far lower living costs.

Mmm seems to be an often cited opinion of these type of sites... I wonder if it might be easier to simply advertise for yourself via social media etc. and link to a nice looking site showing relevant skills and hopefully eventually be able to get by on reputation alone (as an alternative to slogging through the overcrowded freelancing sites)

 

[uncle_rufus]

Good points... I would hope that I'm not taking on anything like 20 hours of extra work a week!!

Having considered it further though I think I might focus more on the side-project aspect rather than any freelancing; it will probably be slightly easier going, as well as more enjoyable

 

[uncle_rufus]

one of those happy being that likes their jobs!

I'm actually fortunate enough to already be in that position and feel very lucky for it - in fact most everything about it is great except for the salary which is pretty poor...

So a bit of a catch 22 - don't want to risk giving up such a good job especially given how much I enjoy it, but also sometimes feel like it would be nice to be earning a bit more... Thus far I'm trying to convince myself that years from now I'll be thankful that I held onto doing something I enjoy, rather than feeling resentful I didn't jump ship for the promise of a bit more money

 

[uncle_rufus]

Can I ask what it is you do now? Is it IT/programming related?

I'm a software engineer so yes all programming pretty much