To the enthusiasm players out there, I hope this Q&A will answer the question on the path of an indie developer. In the end, I wish that there still passionate creator that will bring a true meaning about video games, that it is not just a tool for the people to make profit about, but one that bring fun and joy to the others, a way to share a passion or a story, a way to change people life and beyond. I hope the next questions will enlighten the path to your dream game.
You basically work on making a video game independently, that means that there is no people, like a publisher, that can restrain you from your creativity.
They essentially make games, alone or with a very small team, without the financial back up from the investors. They usually make more passionate and innovative games that difference them to the big studios.
Do usually make games. Ha! Ha! Let the jokes aside, they do design, create 2d or 3d models, make music and most importantly code.
Most of the indie developers will usually work at their house, but if you are not alone and have a pretty reasonable team of a few people, they can also work in a studio.
The minimum is if you can code at least. You must really like it and readying yourself to dedicate this work into it. Fortunately, most of the game engine offers a "blueprint" method to make games, that means you can have no experience in code and do what we call "visual code using blueprint".
Really depend, most of the times, people could not make a cent and others a lot. You can be an amazing coder and make no money. One developer I have in mind is one that make a game alone using only card and 2d assets, and he was expecting making less than one hundred from it. Today he is a millionaire from his hit game called "Balatro".
I have no other things to say than keep making games. The first one will surely not be a hit, and you will learn from it.
You will probably not making a life earning from it.
They will never be replaced by AI, you are the developer and no else will be replacing you. You can be replaced by AI if you are working with a big name studio like Ubisoft. You, as an indie developer you are free from it.
Till you are bored from it.
To keep in mind. Making games is not about making something innovative that will blow everyone minds, and making all the profit from it. It's about making something fun that others will like and also that you will like. Fun is not realism, but reinforcement. - Gabe Newell
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