>>49024622>hire fans(disclaimer: webdev that has interacted with gamedev and indie companies) that almost never works out well. There are many who think that making a fangame will directly help them enter the industry, but the truth is that non-gamedev companies hire other gamedev companies if they need a game.
A gamedev company (of any size that can pay a salary) prefers to hire experienced professionals, but they don't ask you to have a successful game, even a game or prototype that only you have played can work, but it has to demonstrate your skills for the position.
for example, for a gameplay programmer, you can use free assets because the recruiter doesn't care about the art for that position, you have to demonstrate that you can create mechanics and implement them and that you have enough knowledge for changes, systems, etc.
there is a problem that many believe that they need a viral success to achieve it, spend years developing (for free) a game (also free) and it is affecting new developers who desperately want to fulfill their dream.
you don't need to develop a game for 600ish hours per person (like idol showdown) in almost two and a half years. if you are not privileged, you can do much smaller projects (if they are going to be free, like a fangame) or in that same time do something commercial, because, you know, your time is worth .
imagine going to your job and working 600 hours for free just for "your pay is exposure".
there are examples with like Holocure where dev Kay Yu himself talked about how it did not help him much (in relation to the exposure of his work in anime):
> "... Without a shadow of a doubt, I would make more money working as a cash register".https://twitter.com/kaynimatic/status/1631868766446551040doing a fangame for the right reasons is fun, you learn, you meet people and you grow as a developer, but don't lose focus, so you can continue on your gamedev path and make a living out of it.
