Freelance Work, Would like some advice

Artist_in_a_box

Hi guys

I was contacted yersterday via email from a guy in charge of an indie project. He asked me if I would be interested in doing some freelance environmental modelling for them. He said the work is paid but it is in the form of royalties after the game is released.

I've never found myself in this situation before and would love some advice from my peers on how to proceed as I get the feeling it would be wise to be cautious at the moment.

cheers

Blaisoid

what's your priority?

is it
getting gamedev and teamwork experience?
or
getting assets for portfolio?
or
getting money?

Only you know whether this kind of deal seems profitable for you or not.
if it does then you should get more info in order to see the studio has what it takes to finish this project.

MikeF

generally i'd avoid things like this.
but if it really does interest you, do some research about the project, find out how far along they are, how realiable the rest of the team is, how they intend to make a profit and what share of the "royalties" you'd be getting

TortillaChips

Think of this thing as working for free, just improving your skills, your own personal project with a team or w/e. Don't think about the royalties.

If you're looking for freelance work to earn money then I wouldn't go for this, I don't think this kind of thing would count as freelance.

Racer445

these sorts of "indie" projects (often just mods with an "idea man" who dreams of making the next call of duty) die quickly, so the likeliness of actually getting money from them is slim. if the project somehow DOES finish and end up getting sold, the money earned will likely be much less than doing traditional freelancing or outsourcing work. so if you're looking for money; don't bother.

Ben Apuna

Find out if this team has completed any projects in the past and if so which ones. If the answer is none then it's probably a pipedream, if you still decide to do it then do it for fun and experience, don't expect any money from it. Also, make sure to get the rights to show the work you will do for them in your portfolio at the very least (aside from any royalty promises).

Artist_in_a_box

Thanks for the advice. I asked a few more questions and I think for now I should say no. It's nice to be asked to do some work but at the end of the day it is just portfolio work and I can do that on my own. Not to mention without having obligations to other people.

Thanks for the input.