In honor of the HiB#3 going on right now, I decided to write about the ups and downs of being a part of an indie games company.

Notice that I said “being a part” instead of working for, this simply because I believe that most indie minded people see their work as a lifestyle and many actually might not get any compensation for long periods of time.

Another thing that you will learn in an indie setting is the power of multitasking, yes the kind where you can eat you lunch while coding and talking on the phone, but mostly the kind where you have to do tasks that don’t really belong to your expertise.

As an example two graphical artists, who have finished their work on our next game, have recently become a part of the so called “media/video team”. That means that they get to utilize skill sets that they sorta already had, but now have to really polish up. Things like editing software, after effects, audio recording, etc.

The video team is also a big help for me (the marketing guy) since now I can roll out more material and focus more on other stuff. A long list of PR related things that I also have to brush up on, especially since things are changing rapidly and I pretend to keep up with trends.

We also have a lunch lady who has been on a short vacation, so our main go-to-guy TP has had to take over the food take-out and clearing job. On top of him already being a full-time tester, part-time audio helper and a fixer upper dude.

So in conclusion, a job in an indie firm is never too big or too small. We all have to pitch in and get things done. (Although sometimes there might be a slight pecking order and/or friendly hazing of n00bs).

-Mikael