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Achieving the Dream

Discussion in 'Unity Connect' started by WhendricSo, Jan 21, 2018.

  1. WhendricSo

    WhendricSo

    Joined:
    Jan 1, 2011
    Posts:
    171
    I know that a lot of people are frustrated with Connect, but instead of piling on I would like to share my story with the Unity community and development team, and explain why these new changes are so devastating to so many people's companies and offer an olive branch to the developers. I want to help, for all of us.

    Tech Drone's Story

    I started my game development career as many do: on a dream. I was a pizza delivery driver by night and I would spend many of my days making games in Game Maker or Microsoft XNA.

    In November 2010 I discovered the Kongregate Unity contest, and as a result I learned about Unity. This new engine was a huge step-up from XNA, which I was using to create a first-person shooter game engine so that I could pursue my latest and most ambitious project: Attrition



    After downloading Unity and messing around with the terrain editor for a few hours, I was hooked. It was so easy to import models, animate, and build a scene. The idea of prefabs and components was very intuitive. I went home and read the documentation for hours. I was totally blown away by the capabilities of this powerful game engine.

    I read the documentation for two days, start to finish, and I also read most of the scripting reference. After the end of the third day I programmed my first script in C#: a flying infantry controller. My close friend, Craig, started making a character model and over the next few weeks he learned to animate in Blender.



    The work didn't stop there, and by Febuary I decided that I was going to drop out of college, quit my "day job" and start a game development studio. On Feb. 11, 2011 I met with a lawyer and Tech Drone was born!



    I had some connections with professors and students from my time at college and I hired some friends to work at the company. I set up an office in my living room and brought people over regularly to work on our game. I even hired a respected local comic artist to do some concept work, his service wasn't cheap but it helped press the team forward.

    I was an inexperienced leader, however, and although I knew how to make games I struggled to keep the team organized and we missed many of our development deadlines. It soon became apparent that my money would run out long before I was able to finish Attrition and after attempting to finish a casual game to make money and releasing Easy Bot on the Asset Store I let everyone go. I lived off of savings and struggled along on my own with some smaller projects, trying to make something viable on my own that would bring in enough money for me to keep my career. I was discouraged, but determined. Although my game projects at the time didn't work out, I discovered that I could make money by posting on the Unity forums and searching through them for new clients. Available contracts would evaporate quickly but if I checked often, I was able to bring in enough to buy groceries and pay some of my bills.



    Hard Times

    Over the next two years, it was hard to stay afloat. My savings was dwindling and I had to eat a lot of ramen. I found a roommate and moved in, but after seven months I hit a dry spell with contracts and didn't have enough to make rent. I had to move in with my friend for four months and my roommate at the time had to move in with his parents.

    I was active on the forums during this time, and I was contacted by a new client one day for tutoring services. We scheduled to meet on Skype twice a week, and I taught him how to make a Windows Phone game. He successfully published it in December 2013 and recommended me to someone else, and gave me a recommendation on my Unity forum thread for tutoring services. This was a turning point. I gained a client base and soon I was being contacted not only for tutoring but also development services.

    During this time, I came up with a plan to break out of freelancing: a tool called MultiGame which allowed me to re-use the majority of my programming work. I made all of my clients agree to the EULA, which allows me to keep ownership of the code for MultiGame while working on their projects. This also allowed me to add previously-developed code to it, and they were happy with my fast and reliable results.





    The Boon

    In 2016 I was running a very small operation, but in February I got another break. I was contacted by the ambitious leader of a small team here on the Commercial Forums to develop their new game, and I received a lucrative hourly contract with the ability to hire my own help. I phased out my other, small contracts and worked with this new client almost exclusively.

    Over the next year and a half, we developed his game. My company was also hired by a VR startup to develop a music game for the Vive. Things were looking good. We were making a lot of money and I hired a programmer, a designer, and an artist to help with all of the work.

    Unfortunately, the VR company was short-lived, as the young entrepreneur mismanaged his finances and had to shut down the company. It was very sad, he was local to my home city and a friend of mine by that point and he had to move away.

    Present Day

    Now, I've completed my contracts. Until October, I was able to find small contracts via the forum, and I've found some small contracts via the local game development scene. But now, it's harder than ever. Without the commercial job forums, most of the "contracts" on Connect are revenue share i.e. unpaid work with some companies looking to hire individuals but few will hire companies like mine. I've had to let my whole team go, and I'm slowly running out of savings again. I know now, from reading other people's threads and speaking to other business owners that I'm not the only one in this situation.

    The commercial forums were a lifeline for those times in between, and a way to build a business and a reputation online. They were even an excellent resource to find major contracts sometimes, and I've heard from others that they too have built a career on this engine and largely using the forums for client acquisition.

    Now, we're forced to look elsewhere. Unfortunately, Upwork and other freelancing sites are biased totally in favor of the client, and it's not uncommon for them to exploit these systems to get out of paying for work, it's happened to me twice on those platforms. Reddit, Gamedev.net, Gamasutra, and other job boards are spread thin and much of the content is not Unity-related, limiting our options for Unity-specific work and often excluding companies like mine. Reddit is of course heavily in favor of unpaid work, which is frustrating since I need to pay bills and maintain my business. Whereas last year I was considering Unity certification, now it's totally out the window and instead I'm learning UE4, Javascript and Godot to broaden my options. I can't stand UE4's workflow and Godot is pretty immature. It's hard to enjoy working with these inferior engines after being spoiled on Unity for so long. Most of the Javascript work seems to be mobile-focused and my main area of expertise is in AA games development: high-end and low-cost indies who want to complete ambitious projects and have a budget for development, but not a AAA one.

    The Community Needs You

    We are all trying to succeed. Many of us have families to feed. The old forum wasn't perfect, and I think moving to Connect eventually is a good idea. But removing the forum completely has hurt our businesses and dealt a significant blow to the community.

    I want Unity Connect to succeed. I think that, more than many others, I see great potential in Connect as a platform. I want to help Unity in any way that I can to refine it into something that can help sustain our businesses. I hope that my story shows a major problem with the current situation: Unity has pulled the rug out from under us.

    Unity Connect needs major changes to be viable as an alternative to the forum. I've posted some suggestions in another thread but if anyone from the Unity team is reading this, I would be happy to talk privately and help out to test and refine Connect in any way that I can. And please, until Connect is ready, consider bringing back the commercial forum.
     
  2. eatsleepindie

    eatsleepindie

    Joined:
    Aug 3, 2012
    Posts:
    355
    This was tough to read, especially the part where you had to let your entire team go. I am experiencing something very similar in that, regarding Connect, just about every offer I receive is revenue share. I have been finding work via Reddit and Discord, so looking in to those as alternatives may be something you want to consider.

    I do not like to play into the "which is better (Unreal vs Unity) game" so many seem to play, but I will say this: if you visit the Unreal forums, the amount of paid work listed vs. revenue share is very similar to the way the forums used to be here. Most postings there are marked at the very beginning with [Paid] or [Unpaid/Revenue Share]. I'm not suggesting you swap to Unreal, merely highlighting the point you made of "consider bringing back the commercial forum." It worked well for me and seems to have worked well for a lot of others. I have had countless discussions with developers via Skype and Discord who have stories very similar to yours as a result of Connect.

    So that is my input; if anyone from Unity reads this, go visit the forum of your competition and see how organized it is. Look at it from the perspective of someone looking to get hired or someone looking to hire a professional. I am not suggesting - nor have I ever suggested - that Unity give up on developing Connect, but having a system that became incredibly familiar to all of us over the years would be a nice fall-back while the kinks are worked out with Connect.

    Devs are hurting now, and any solution that Connect can offer will be in the future, not now when it is needed. We need the system that was working so well for so many of us back before we can fix the new one. This is one story of so, so many that I have read and they all share a common theme: we're sinking.

    As far as feedback on Connect, at the top of my wishlist is the ability to post that I am looking for work in a way similar to the how I could do this via the forums. Put me on a 72-hour cycle just like before, no complaints there. The majority of my work (back in the forum days) was found by posting that I was looking for work again; it was not the result of me contacting someone looking to hire for a specific task.
     
  3. WhendricSo

    WhendricSo

    Joined:
    Jan 1, 2011
    Posts:
    171
    Thanks for reading my diatribe!

    I may have to switch. Hopefully not. I will make it through but this situation really sucks.

    I'm looking at a move to consumer-facing products. I have renewed focus on MultiGame, and I'm also learning marketing strategies from a friend and doing my own research. It seems a lot riskier, but I think it will pay off in the long run. After all, I had a great return of investment on my first Asset Store pack so maybe that will be how I make it through the end of the year.

    As far as Connect goes, having an easy way for people to post small, one-off tasks that's simpler than posting a job would help. I made a lot of money by completing a lot of smaller contracts, they add up fast, but now people are less inclined to post them in one place since it's harder to do it on Connect than on a forum.
     
  4. WhendricSo

    WhendricSo

    Joined:
    Jan 1, 2011
    Posts:
    171
    Good news! I've been contacted by several clients (outside of the Unity website) and things are looking up again :)

    I suppose I just have to look elsewhere for clients, Connect as it stands is not able to replace the forums and it seems that I'm doing much better on my own.
     
  5. Ashkan_gc

    Ashkan_gc

    Joined:
    Aug 12, 2009
    Posts:
    1,117
    Hi
    Hi a very similar story :( :) :(

    Can you share with us, how are you finding work again. My last contract found on the forum which took 14 months is finishing and I'm really experienced with multiplayer stuff but connect with old projects which are very old and ... doesn't seem to help a lot.
     
  6. eatsleepindie

    eatsleepindie

    Joined:
    Aug 3, 2012
    Posts:
    355
    So great to hear! The decision to avoid Connect and find work elsewhere seems to be working pretty decent for a lot of us.
     
  7. WhendricSo

    WhendricSo

    Joined:
    Jan 1, 2011
    Posts:
    171
    There is no big secret, just networking with potential clients, competitors, and contractors the "old-fashioned" way. Do what you have to do to get new clients, even if it means cold-calling. If you're friendly, precise, professional and honest then people will work with you. But I wouldn't rely on Connect as a platform for finding new work. Unfortunately the forums were removed long before Connect was ready to take the burden.

    I met my clients through my local game developer community. If there isn't a community in your area yet, you can always create a new Meetup or otherwise organize a new group in your area.

    Tech companies and even non-tech companies sometimes need flashy marketing apps, interactive web content, or 3D graphics. Unity can deploy to any platform, and making "serious" or non-game 3D content with it is always an option.

    Colleges and universities can also be a source of revenue. Many of them have computer science or game development programs, and you may be able to get a contract with them.

    I know that this is a hard time for a lot of people. Each new challenge is also an opportunity to move outside of our comfort zones, to grow as developers and entrepreneurs.
     
    MaciejKrzykwa likes this.
  8. WhendricSo

    WhendricSo

    Joined:
    Jan 1, 2011
    Posts:
    171
    Thanks :)
     
  9. MaciejKrzykwa

    MaciejKrzykwa

    Joined:
    Aug 28, 2015
    Posts:
    52
    @impossible I read your story and I totally agree with you. It is possible that I was misunderstood by you in another thread but I also think of the Connect as something potentially good. However, my thoughts are drifting to the conclusion that it may not be good for every kind of work but who knows!

    This:
    and this:

    are exactly why I speak out loud that we need the forums for a time beeing!

    But count me in if there will be a consult group for improving the Connect! I sincerely want to help it to be better.
     
    WhendricSo likes this.
  10. WhendricSo

    WhendricSo

    Joined:
    Jan 1, 2011
    Posts:
    171
    We all want it to be better!

    Unity enabled me to become an independent developer. Without it, I would have taken a job offer at Red Storm, many years ago. I would have no autonomy, and I likely wouldn't be very happy with my job. But I love game development, it's my passion in life: to build games and enable other game developers.

    When Connect was announced, I thought it was going to be the next great thing, to help me grow my business further. Instead, it's been a hurdle to be overcome. Perhaps that's okay, if I can bring in my own clients from elsewhere, that's a good skill to have and also makes me less reliant on one gamedev community.

    After organizing local Meetup groups for several years, I have a lot of experience organizing communities now. I would also be happy to contribute in any way that I can.