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Akash Thakkar
The Game Industry Professional - eBook Excerpt
Now, so you're aware, this advice will be skewed toward those who are currently (or
planning to be) freelancing in the game industry. Of course, if you already work at a
company, you would be paid hourly or be on salary. If you need some help for nego-
tiating in this respect, I highly recommend the book Nail It by Ted Leonhardt.
That being said, even if you do want to work at a game company eventually, work-
ing as a freelancer for a bit can give you the experience you need for a company to
bring you on board.
While this doesn't sound like too bad of an idea to get some experience, it can be a
massive waste of your time and actually result in you getting less work.
So for example, you might have two-qualifier statements that look But, if you do eventually want to work for a bigger company, your
like this: steps will be completely different. You would likely create a differ-
ent set of demos, work for different types of games, and look in
Indie developers with teams of 2-50 people on the West Coast of other places for your next gig than I would.
USA/Canada.
Simply put, your two-qualifier method will help you determine all of
AAA game studios that make first person shooters and have audio this, even if you don't have the luxury of picking your clients just
budgets of at least $100,000. yet.
So you know, your qualifiers and type of person can be basically Alright, let's talk about money
anything. You can pick qualifiers depending on location, budget, Creative people suck at making money.
game engine, timelines, or whatever else you can think of.
Why?
And as a last word on this, you do not need to adhere 100% to
your two-qualifier method right away! This is used simply as a Because none of us are comfortable talking about it. Simple as
guide to make sure you get where you want to go. If you're just that. We use phrases like "oh, the money doesn't matter", or
starting out, and want to work for games that have budgets of freeze when people ask "so how much do you charge?" before we
$200 million, then your two-qualifier method will steer you in the stammer out a useless response.
right direction so that you can take the small steps necessary to
get there.
2
Of course it matters. We need to eat, after all. In this section, we'll This shows that you're more than just about the money. You really
be covering how to ask for money, thus becoming more comfort- care about being the best person for the job. It shows that you
able talking about it. don't say yes to just anything (even if you currently do). You can
then keep chatting about the game, then follow up later via e-mail,
So how much do you charge? or at a client meeting.
Let's learn about a way to give confident quotes that are both fair
to the client, while also getting you enough money to pay for your Scenario 2: E-mails or client meetings
second Tesla.
Now, when you're meeting face-to-face with a potential client out-
So, there are a couple scenarios that can happen when someone side of a networking event, or speaking to them over e-mail, then it
asks "What are your rates?" can be a different story. That's when you can give them your
quote.
Scenario 1: At a networking event/local meet up
Some advice about charging as a freelancer: Almost every client
You might start running in to this question fairly frequently at meet you will encounter will much prefer being charged a flat rate. None
ups as you start networking more and more. If this happens to you of this $1200 per minute of music or $40 per sound nonsense.
and you do not know these people super well, or you know very Nothing hourly. Just a flat fee.
little about the game, then stop. Do not give them a quote under
these circumstances. Talk about the money later! This is simply because the client will know exactly how much
money they'll have to part with up-front. It won't feel like they're
Why? Simply because you won't be able to provide any sort of ac- writing you a blank check. Although people will tell you it's "indus-
curate statement about money at this point. If you know very little try standard" to charge a per rate (per minute, per sound, etc.),
about the game, their deadlines, their budget, etc. then it will be know that there really is no standard and this method will make it
difficult to give any sort of accurate quote. as easy as possible for clients to pay you.
So, here's a script for you that you can use to defer the money con- Now, on to how to quote. This is one of the most simple and effec-
versation to a later time: tive ways to get a fair payment without undervaluing yourself.
"I would love to chat about my rates, but I'd like to hear more Here's are two scripts for you:
about the project to see if we'd be a good fit for each other first."
"For this kind of project, my normal rate is [flat fee], but I know
Did you see the key words in there? you're a small indie studio, so how much of that number do you
feel comfortable paying?"
"A good fit for each other"
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"For this kind of project, my normal rate is [flat fee], but I know This is totally fine. What you're doing when you first start charging
you're still unsure how much you'll be getting from Kickstarter, so more money for your services is filtering out low-paying clients.
how much of that number do you feel comfortable paying?" You're becoming more of a professional. It may take some time
and tweaking of your numbers to find the sweet spot, but this is
What this does is put the ball in their court. They see what your time well invested if you plan to make a living off of game audio.
normal flat fee is, and then can do their best to reach it. You'd be
surprised how often they meet, or get very close to your given Here's what to do:
rate. This assignment is more involved than the last one, so let's break
down what I want you to do for this chapter:
Now what you charge as your flat fee is completely up to you. Your
rates will also change from project to project. Here are a few Write out at least one two-qualifier statement to help you deter-
things to consider each time a new gig comes up: mine who you want to work for. Feel free to write as many as you
Deadlines want, however!
Overall game budget Write a script that you can use to defer the conversation about
If hiring subcontractors is required (live players, voice actors, money to a later time. It doesn't need to be perfect, but something
etc.) you can easily remember when the situation pops up.
Amount of sound/music needed
If this project will be fun to work on Let's review Chapter 2:
If you'll need to buy any new hardware/software for the project
Potential travel expenses In the last chapter, we started talking about how you can start get-
Anything else you can think of ting paid for your work. We discussed the two-qualifier method, as
well as reviewed some scripts that can help you out when it comes
While I can't give you exact numbers for you to plug-in, just know to charging for your work.
that this method will work in getting clients to pay you fairly. Do not
be afraid to overprice yourself when quoting your flat rate. Remem- Now, before we begin with Chapter 3, don't forget about your
ber, the ball is in their court, so they will do their best to meet your goals and systems! Apply them to each and every lesson. Always
rate in most cases. think "how can this chapter help me?"
Yes, you should definitely retain those rights! And yes, you will Youre also always welcome to get in touch:
want to stipulate that when you're giving your quote. Most every akash@akashthakkar.com
non-AAA studio will be totally okay with this.
Thanks so much! Ill talk to you soon!
There will be rare occasions where the studio will want to keep the
music rights to themselves. In that scenario, you can lower your -Akash Thakkar
rate a little bit in exchange for the music rights. Again, this will be http://www.akashthakkar.com/
somewhat rare with indies. https://twitter.com/akashthakkar
Also, just to be clear, the studio will still have the rights to use your
music however they see fit (trailers, in-game, commercials, etc.)