This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Anul Agarwal
I am a 26-year-old developer from Vadodara, Gujarat.
What do I develop? Websites, and apps before - now I make games and earn a good living ($5,000 - $9,000/month)
I have developed since I was 15 (out of passion and curiosity). I started making simple websites using PHP, JS, and MySQL (+HTML/CSS). I used to finish projects for 12th grade students and get some small fees in return.
In 2014, I was 16 and switched to Android Apps. I made utility apps - music players, photography, launchers etc. Made around $1000!
I joined a design university in Pune which included gaming as a course. 3 years later I went to Scotland for Masters, all the while still making apps on the side as a passion. I did not earn a lot, as I was busy upskilling and enjoying my Uni life!
Right before COVID, I returned to Pune for a job, and during COVID I 'quiet quit' my work and started building games on the side. The job was paying me ~$400/month [fresher].
I got fired eventually, and set up my small remote team to make games. I hired a couple of game devs and artists. I partnered up with publishers who would fund our hypercasual mobile games. I did this from 2020-2022. I earned about $60,000 in total over these 2 years.
I got a good job offer from a gaming company in Germany in 2022 - got fired again, and I came back to India. I saved about $22,000 in 10 months while I worked there.
From 2023 to now, I am again making games - mostly as a solo developer but also hiring some freelance people time to time.
I make web games for platforms like Coolmath games, Gamepix, and GameDistribution. I also take on freelance projects. They pay well, per game, for someone living in a country like India where costs are low. Over the past few months I am earning $5,000-$9,000 every month.
Each game takes around 2-3 weeks to develop, test and ship to these platforms. I will also put my games on JioGames soon.
I use tools like ChatGPT to write most of the game code for me. Check out this video where I earned $10,000 from a game I made using ChatGPT.
I upskilled in writing and I am very active on LinkedIn (~10k followers). I get my clients and partnerships from there. Writing allows to me talk about my development process in a fun way and gets more people to reach out to me.
I am more like a 'solopreneur'/'indie' game-dev who wants to leverage social media.
All of this to say, focus on upskilling and keep at it.
Developing apps/products is my passion, I have been fired from all 3 jobs I did but that does not mean there is no alternative path. I can never fit in any job structure because I work at a very flexible yet high pace.
At some point, I may switch back to apps! I miss finding problems in my daily life and creating solutions around it!
Happy to answer any questions!
This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Anul Agarwal
Anul Agarwal | Sciencx (2024-07-25T19:12:24+00:00) My 11 yr journey as a [solo] developer (I am 26 yr old now). Retrieved from https://www.scien.cx/2024/07/25/my-11-yr-journey-as-a-solo-developer-i-am-26-yr-old-now/
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