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disruption bomb, incoming!
Posted By: Revenant1988 <dga1988@yahoo.com>	Date: 3/6/12 8:22 a.m.
In Response To: An open discussion about petetheduck (pete_the_duck) Well, first off let me say that I'm very sorry about your employment situation. These are tough times indeed, and nothing is guaranteed anymore. That's for sure. Pete, I don't know how old you are, and I don't know you personally but I can at least give you an objective opinion. Comic Some of the stuff you create is really, really cool. That said, the things that you create are things that I can't imagine being profitable, let alone enough to sustain someone financially. A web comic is hard work. Any comic, really. An artist needs to have fresh material at the ready at all times. Writers block could break you. Even then you have to think how often are you going to do a comic? Once a day? A few times a week? Once a week? My examples in this case are XKCD and TheOatmeal- both are funny but neither are make their money on just the comic. Some get it through merchandise, some get it through advertisements. AND, to get money from those, it has to be a "hit" to begin with so advertisers take notice of a potential audience. So let me ask you this: Do you think your comic is or could be successful like that? (I'm not saying it can't be, or its not, I'm legitimately asking YOU, what YOU think of it.) Writing for fun is easy. Writing when your paycheck is dependent on it is hard. Just think about it. Forge things, etc This is probably going to be painful, but I can't not say it: I don't see ANY financial stability in using Forge tutorials, contests, or blogs to generate any income. I have several opinions why. - Most people (there will be exceptions) are not going to pay YOU to teach THEM how to PLAY a video game. Logically, why would I want to pay you for forge help or forge tips when I can literally Google until I find an answer, or go to a site like forge hub or another public forum to solicit advice, opinions, and help for free? - As you mention, Reach is nearing the end of its life cycle in relation to Halo 4. Once Halo 4 is out, how many people do you suppose will actively be using forge or requiring a service you mention above? - Who say Halo 4 will have forge? What if it doesn't?? - Forge Blog. How is that going to generate money for you, when you have the rest of the internet to complete with? Other Thoughts Pete, I don't think you should sink all your eggs into one Halo. What happens when Halo is not popular anymore? What if the franchise tanks? I haven't been on this planet for a long time yet, and there is much I have to learn. I'm not going to pretend I'm some wise adult when anyone here can deduce my age simply by looking at my GT but I do know this from experience: Many people will chase, for their whole lives a balance between financial stability and a career or job they enjoy. Those that find both, are truly, truly lucky. I've been on both sides of the track in my industry. I worked for a job that I ABSOLUTELY LOVED. Loved the company. Loved the people. Loved the mission. I never considered it work, because it wasn't. I was so, so happy. However, I didn't make a livable income, and there was no where to move within to do so. I had to leave. I had (and still have) other financial obligations. Debts are owed. Things are needed. I left for another job that was the polar opposite. I made GREAT money. But I HATED my job. I hated the company. I hated the people. I hated the mission. It made me start to hate my trade, the very thing working FOR me. I had to leave. I had to get out. Right now I'm in a place where I *like* who I'm working for, I *like* what I'm doing. My pay is not great. It's not bad, but things are tight. I have to pay attention to EVERYTHING, at all times. To keep balance. And I don't even have a family! I have no wife or kids! No car payment! And yet things are still a challenge. What happens, if you fall into a similar situation? What happens if it makes you hate Halo? How can you put the effort that you put into things now it Halo becomes jaded for you? What happens when Halo turns into WORK? I don't mean 'work' as in this is what I do to get paid, but 'work' as in a grind? A task that becomes tedious... something that must be done to survive rather than to enrich your life? Look at Claude (aka Louis Wu). He is arguably the BIGGEST Halo and Bungie fanboy. He has a whole site that he's dedicated 10+ YEARS of his LIFE to, and thats just HALO. Thats not counting Bungie's other games. Do you see the level in which he does things here? He does it for fun. FUN! There are no advertisements here. He does not sell any products, or endorsements. He doesn't make money on this site, or what he does here (I'm sure he'll correct me if I'm wrong). Maybe he's made a buck here or there on something small, but we know he's got another 'day' job of somekind. Something pays his bills that isn't Halo. That job PAYS for him to have the ability to host such a site like this. You would have a long-ass way to go to even catch the level of commitment that he has and he does it for freaking free. How would you do things differently? How can you make money on it? Again, I'm asking YOU to think about it. And what about your family? Do you have a wife? is she behind you on this? What if she is at first and its too hard? What if it puts strain on your relationship and ruins it? Is HALO worth that possibility? Final Thought I'm not telling you that you can't. I'm not telling you that you'll fail. Don't think for a second, that I am. I'm telling you that the odds are against you, and you run the very real risk of hating something you love. And once you've exhausted that option, what is your plan B, should this plan fail? Someone in high places might see your post and offer you the solution you are looking for. I hope that happens. But if not, you need to have something else ready. I'm a pessimistic person Pete. Sometimes it makes my life harder than it would be if I were more positive. But its saved my ass more times than I can count, and I'm thankful for that. At least going into something, if I set the bar low, it doesn't hurt as much when I take a risk and it doesn't pan out. I wish you the very best of luck. Something will come along for you, but you need to be the one to make it happen. Just keep in mind ALL of the possibilities- good and bad and do whats best for you. You'll have support from many places (like here), but to be 100% honest, I don't think you can make a career out of what you LIKE to do in Halo. I think you need to search for another Job. If that means that HBO see's less (or no) duck comics, forge contests, etc, than so be it. Life, needs to come first. Is Halo, your life? A Halo idea Since you are so focused on Halo, I only have one thing I can think of for you at this very second. You have a capture card, do you not? If so, you know then that rendered films are going away. They may not come back in Halo 4. That's a REAL possibility. Perhaps you could "render" films for people, for a fee? May only last a few months if 343 brings that functionality back to Reach... This idea is a long shot, but maybe you can use it for something...

My MK V Costume

Message Index

An open discussion about petetheduck	pete_the_duck	3/6/12 7:14 a.m.
Re: An open discussion about petetheduck	sharpsniper99	3/6/12 7:24 a.m.
Re: An open discussion about petetheduck	sharpsniper99	3/6/12 7:33 a.m.
Re: An open discussion about petetheduck	ElzarTheBam	3/6/12 7:56 a.m.
disruption bomb, incoming!	Revenant1988	3/6/12 8:22 a.m.
One single answer	Louis Wu	3/6/12 9:27 a.m.
Agreement.	Bones153	3/6/12 10:08 a.m.
Re: Agreement.	pete_the_duck	3/6/12 10:17 a.m.
Re: Agreement.	kanbo	3/6/12 10:26 a.m.
Re: Agreement.	RC Master	3/6/12 10:54 a.m.
Re: Agreement.	kanbo	3/6/12 11:04 a.m.
Re: Agreement.	RC Master	3/6/12 11:26 a.m.
Re: Agreement.	kanbo	3/6/12 11:41 p.m.
Well said, Revenant...	SEspider	3/6/12 2:05 p.m.
Re: An open discussion about petetheduck	pete_the_duck	3/6/12 9:04 a.m.
Re: An open discussion about petetheduck	DEEP NNN	3/6/12 9:23 a.m.
Re: An open discussion about petetheduck	bluerunner	3/6/12 11:06 a.m.
Re: An open discussion about petetheduck	The Woaf	3/6/12 9:52 a.m.
Re: An open discussion about petetheduck	Schooly D	3/6/12 10:34 a.m.
Re: An open discussion about petetheduck	Pkmnrulz240	3/6/12 11:27 a.m.
Re: petetheduck hears the people	pete_the_duck	3/6/12 12:00 p.m.
Re: petetheduck hears the people	Beckx	3/6/12 12:10 p.m.
I second this. ^ *NM*	Kermit	3/6/12 10:09 p.m.
Re: An open discussion about petetheduck	Leviathan	3/6/12 5:38 p.m.
Shut up and retroactively take my money! *NM*	Bryan Newman	3/6/12 5:52 p.m.