What Would Happen If We Just Gave People Money?
I was thinking about this issue when I attended a meet up for independent game developers. I was shocked at the number of people I had met that just develop games full time. I met an entire team of 4 people that have been working full time over the last year designing and developing a mobile game. They have a playable prototype and it&#x27;s fairly entertaining but nothing ground-breaking in my opinion. Running the numbers in my head, I thought that this game would have to clear over a million dollars for it to even be considered a break-even for 4 well educated, hard working young people working over a year on the venture. I didn&#x27;t know their personal financial situations, but I couldn&#x27;t help but be both envious and terrified.<p>I met another person who worked on indie game development for two years and now works for a company designs games for others for money up front. He told me he hadn&#x27;t made any money in the years working for himself.<p>It&#x27;s incredible how many young people devote their time to passion projects with the very limited social safety net of the US. Surely a basic income will increase the allure. The question is, does the world need more indie mobile game developers?