I would suggest not giving up your day job.
A 'good' game... Tetris is a good game, you can write it in about 30 minutes.
A game will only make money as it's quality.
GFK is the person to speak to on this
http://www.blitzbasic.com/newsletter/newsletter.php?issue=10
Personally, I write games for fun, as soon as you start doing it as your primary income you're going to hate doing it.
From my experience the programming stops being fun when you're under a contract... it becomes a chore and you start to cut corners just to get it finished... eventually you finish the game with a sigh of relief and just want to forget all about it.
How long does it take? Depends on how much time you put in and how big the game is. However, if you have a job/ kids/ girlfriend/ boyfriend/husband/ wife you time becomes a premium. On top of that you have to actually have a life too otherwise you'll become a pale IT spod with no social skills.
It took me about a year to complete Sphere Racer, I did everything on this, the modelling, textures, sound, music, coding. It was also my first 'proper' blitz project, I made a few grand from it.
Hourly rate wise the payback is rubbish, you're better off with a 'proper' job and just doing coding when you feel like it. Then, if you complete a game and you sell it, you can buy a nice holiday or a big TV.
A 'good' game... Tetris is a good game, you can write it in about 30 minutes.
A game will only make money as it's quality.
GFK is the person to speak to on this
http://www.blitzbasic.com/newsletter/newsletter.php?issue=10
Personally, I write games for fun, as soon as you start doing it as your primary income you're going to hate doing it.
From my experience the programming stops being fun when you're under a contract... it becomes a chore and you start to cut corners just to get it finished... eventually you finish the game with a sigh of relief and just want to forget all about it.
How long does it take? Depends on how much time you put in and how big the game is. However, if you have a job/ kids/ girlfriend/ boyfriend/husband/ wife you time becomes a premium. On top of that you have to actually have a life too otherwise you'll become a pale IT spod with no social skills.
It took me about a year to complete Sphere Racer, I did everything on this, the modelling, textures, sound, music, coding. It was also my first 'proper' blitz project, I made a few grand from it.
Hourly rate wise the payback is rubbish, you're better off with a 'proper' job and just doing coding when you feel like it. Then, if you complete a game and you sell it, you can buy a nice holiday or a big TV.