The Indie Income Inquiry is a small series that I do to give new developers a look into potential earnings as a contract worker and/or independent developer. Some months are great, others aren’t, but I’m hoping to give a clear picture of what is possible for those eager to make ends meet using Game Maker: Studio (and/or similar products).

It has been a few months since I have done one of these, but many have asked about INK sales, so I figured that this was as good a time as any.

Overview

As usual, it has been a busy month. I spent most of April working on a small game called INK. It took me about three weeks to develop (20-30 hours a week). After the release of INK, I got started on my full time project with Sandy Gordon and was asked to do all of the code on a small contract gig.

INK Sales

I sold INK on itch.io, through direct downloads (via email), and on the Game Maker Marketplace (game w/ source code). For three weeks of part-time work, I feel like it was a success. For those interested, it has also had positive feedback on its first week up on Greenlight.

itch.io/direct: $594.00
GM Marketplace: $270.00
Total (3 weeks): $864.00

INK, INK Source

Game Maker Asset Sales

Like every other month, I get a small amount of cash flow via the Game Maker Marketplace from assets that I have released in the past months. For the most part, it has leveled off to a steady flow each month.

Total: $316.00

Early preview of our multi-layer island generation

Contract Work

I usually just bunch up my contract jobs because I don’t like sharing all of the details. Pay per hour often fluctuates for people who can’t afford certain wages. This is often recouped by taking a small percentage of sales.

Total: $2000.00

Early concept art for concept gig

Conclusion

I am pretty happy with this month. My current full-time project is about to really take off, so I know that I won’t have much spare time in the coming months. This month’s payout will have to last me awhile, but for me, this amount is fairly substantial.

Grand Total for the month of May 2015: $3180

-Z