What is a freelancer?
A freelancer, in the game development industry, is someone who undertakes contract work as opposed to full employment with a company. Freelancers are also appropriately known as ‘independent contractors’ . These contracts can vary in size, length, and content, and are selected and undertaken on an independent basis. Freelancers are self-employed, which is where most of the advantages and disadvantages of freelancing stem from.
How to get started as a freelancer
The fact that freelancers are self-employed may make it difficult to know how to get started. You’ll need to have a strong sense of self-motivation in order to get started as a freelancer, as continuously looking for and securing work is a major part of this career.
Freelance contracts are posted on traditional job searching websites such as Indeed.com and Reed.co.uk under the tag ‘freelancing’. However, there are also websites which are purely dedicated to posting freelance contracts such as Upwork and PeoplePerHour.
There is no one specific set of criteria which are necessary for working as a freelancer in the games development industry as requirement change from contract to contract. However, it is a good idea to ensure that you have an up to date online portfolio which showcases your most recent work. It may also be a good idea to develop separate portfolios which are tailored to showcase your work which is most relevant to the contract that you are currently applying for.
As a freelancer, you may also be requested to work a specific contract if your work has gathered enough interest in the industry. It is important to promote your work so that it may become well known, as this will help you to secure future contracts. Again, an online portfolio is a great way to showcase all of your relevant work to potential employers. It is also a good idea to advertise your work and your availability as a freelancer on social media and networking platforms such as Linkedin. You may also wish to set up a Google business page so that past employers or clients can leave a review which will help to improve your reputation and show your reliability. This is especially important since securing future work depends on your reputation from past contracts.
Advantages of being a freelancer in the games development industry
Freedom – freelancers can move from project to project without being anchored into a single franchise, company, or niche.
Experience working with many different companies – this is a learning opportunity and may allow the freelancer to scout out companies that they would be interested in joining.
Self-managed – freelancers can select when they want to undertake contracts. This means that they can decide when they want to take time off and when they would like to undertake additional work.
Access to self-employment funding or training schemes – If you are going into self-employment or starting a business as an indie developer then you may be able to access support and funding schemes such as The Prince’s Trust ‘Enterprise’ scheme and HMRC Universal Credit Self-employment support.
Flexibility of location – being a traditional employee of a company sometimes requires relocation and once the job is undertaken permanent residence in that area is typically necessary. However, working as a freelancer allows for flexibility of location as contracts can be undertaken in any area for short periods of time with freedom to relocate in between contracts.
Disadvantages of being a freelancer in the games development industry
Time consuming – Freelancers spend a great deal of time looking for work.
Lack of stability – Freelance work does not provide the stability that working as an employee of a company does.
Self-managed – freelancers need to ensure that they plan ahead for what comes next after their current contract finishes.
No access to company pension schemes – as freelancers are self-employed it will be their own responsibility to set money aside for their pension.
No support for sick leave – if freelancers become ill or find themselves temporarily unable to complete any contracts this can affect their income.
Learning curve for new companies/projects – continually working for new companies means that freelancers may be exposed to constantly changing rules, standards, and practices which vary from company to company.
Constantly changing rate of pay – the rate of pay may vary from contract to contract which makes it hard to predict how much income will be earned in any given month. Furthermore, freelancers may have to settle for a lesser paid contract and will eventually have to end any high paying contracts.
These advantages and disadvantages of freelancing show the AAA studio employee/freelance dichotomy, as the advantages of freelance work are the disadvantages of AAA employment, and the disadvantages of freelance work are the advantages of AAA employment. The basic gist is that working for a AAA game studio provides a great deal more stability than working as a freelancer while working as a freelancer provides significantly more freedom.
Why I don’t want to be a freelancer
While I understand that freelance work is advantageous in the amount of freedom that it provides I feel that the cost of this freedom makes freelance work not worthwhile. I would be concerned that I would not have any sense of job security or a safety net to fall back on. Additionally, securing work is difficult and you aren’t paid for the time that it takes to secure a contract.
Furthermore, freelance work would not suit my preferred work style as I want to work within a team where I would be able to share and develop ideas with my teammates. I want to be able to form workplace relationships which I feel would be difficult to do as a freelancer since you may only work with a team for the duration of a contract.
Its up to you!
if you wish to learn more about becoming a freelancer in the video game industry there's a variety of videos on YouTube here's one to start you off!
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