I’m currently working for free on my first game, awesomely retro 3D platformer with pure polygons called Computer Virus Simulator. With the intention of selling it when it’s done but still, currently I have no money from doing it. Go figure.
Yep that is why I can kind of see why people ask others here and similar forums to work for free. Because they rightly figure most people at these places are already doing exactly that. Heck not only working for free but actually working for free and spending money on assets too. Of course, there is a big difference in working for free on your own projects and doing the same on someone else’s projects. Or at least for me there is.
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Well, some people just like to help out of kindness of their hearts and often times developers are kind people.
Offering something in exchange would be an alternative to simply asking for free work with the hope that your game eventually becomes successful. If you’re a programmer and need artwork, offer code assistance in exchange for art.
I feel like this thread is primarily aimed at those who show up with an idea expecting others to make it for them.
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I love it.
There’s a similar video I saw almost 10 years ago where potential clients keep asking software developers to work for free or at a discount in exchange for sweat equity or good referrals. I can’t seem to find it now and I’ve been looking for it for years.
If anyone here has seen it and has a link, please let me know or post it here.
@schmosef I think I know what video you are talking about, but don’t have link either.
Oh man, I would love to see it again.
That’s where you make a big snow wall across their driveway & spray water over it to help it set nice & hard, then leave a message written in yellow snow/ice
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Hahahaha omg I freaking love that
@tedthebug !!! Wish I had thought of that!!!
I thank Calvin & Hobbes for the initial inspiration, the yellow snow is just me being mean
Hehe. I like how some creative types expect to be paid, when they aren’t good enough that anyone would buy their stuff, if they tried to sell it on the street. As for me I used to see it as just like starting a garage band. People join these bands and start jamming and no one ever pays them. Most bands go no where, only the very best ever make a living at it.
As for me I stopped asking people to “join bands” a long time ago, as there is this impenetrable mindset of people with no skills, who’ll do nothing until they get paid. They don’t understand that people won’t buy your music, until you become really good and the only way to get really good, is with 10,000 hours of practice.
No matter how bad they are, they should expect to be paid. It is up to the person paying to make sure the quality is up to their standards. Expecting to be paid does not means someone is good or will even be hired. Not sure I even get your statement above…why would you want to not pay for bad stuff? Why would you want bad stuff? 
Garage bands is actually a good analogy for many of our game teams. Professional indies are those people who need the income so they can expect to be paid. But a lot of us are just starting out or we are more hobbyists, or we are a group of friends or former colleagues who are making a self funded game and none of us expect to be paid unless/until we actually make a game we can sell.
As one who has worked with and managed volunteers I can tell you that some are fabulous, go out of their way to work hard and produce a lot. Most come and go, contribute a little here and there, and then disappear into the night. There are also those who work to build a portfolio and then go off to find paying jobs. I had a few of our volunteers in the past find jobs with AAA companies based on the work they did for us. Then you have the interns, students who get credit for working for “free”. I have worked with a few of those over the years too with great success, although of course, they usually last for only a semester.
Experience is a huge thing. Very difficult to get a paid job as an artist or a writer or even, in some cases, as a coder, unless you have some projects to show. Those getting college degrees might have a portfolio built through classes and internships. Those who build mobile games can rack up the games more quickly and have a nice list of finished products.
Some of us, self taught, or with degrees in unrelated fields are just happy to be doing something we love. Maybe someday we will get paid. Actually, I turned down a few paying game development jobs when I was younger, mostly writing jobs. I had young kids and didn’t want to be tied down to a schedule. I don’t regret it one bit. Volunteering worked best for me and kept it fun, not a job.
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No one paid me to go to school and I did a heck of a lot of work there. Perhaps if students demanded to be paid for their work at school, they wouldn’t have to waste so much time there. 
Because you might be poor and bad too and want to improve? Everyone starts at the bottom, you can’t get better doing nothing.
Afaik, when people start garage bands, they do it for fun, not for the money. The band is a money sink/expensive hobby and doesn’t bring any profit. It is about “we want to perform”, not “we want to get paid”.
They’re right to demand payment even though they don’t have the skills. If you can’t afford them or if their skills don’t match your requirements, though, you don’t have to hire them.
That doesn’t count. The education is here to ensure that you’ll be able to function in society to some extent.
Otherwise, you know, I could ask you to build me a house for free. Because that’l be a great learning opportunity. Oh, and you’ll be also paying for the building materials as well. Because that’ll ALSO be a great learning opportunity.
Now that you’re adult, the safety nets are off, and you’re required to pay for your own bills, that’s the reason why there are minimum wages.
So, in case of volunteers in exchange for their services you either provide monetary compensation OR non-material value (entertaining/interesting project to work on). If you can’t provide either, then you’ll have to do the whole project yourself.
Don’t expect to get something for nothing. You either pay up, or ensure that volunteers have a blast working for your project. If you lead a project, that’s your job.
You were paid with an education consisting of the basics to get started as a productive and successful member of society. Without it you wouldn’t have been able to do much at all. Game development, for example, requires being able to read the documentation, understanding how to break a problem down into individual steps and understanding high school math.
Pfft, I make games and I can barely add, let alone… trigonometrise.
If students were to be paid for studying then 99% of them would be sacked for turning up stoned/pissed, chucking sickies, sexual harassment etc
Wait, you guys don’t get paid while you study? That’s a sad state of affairs. Students here don’t get paid much. But the student allowance is typically enough to scrape by on food and rent.
Welcome to the United States. Where an education can be just the first step of getting yourself into debt. 
I’m studying in Australia. My first year cost me $17k aud. I put it on a government loan that I only repay a portion of each year if I earn just over about $50k I think. If I die before its repayed the government writes it off as a loss. I get charged an annual interest rate of about cpi or something very low but they did charge me a 20% fee for each amount that I put on the loan. The fee goes on the loan as well & accrues interest. So, education costs here as well but yes, some students are eligible for a small government stipend to help cover living costs.