One of the largest publishers here in Finland sent around a circulation through the union rolls. Basically they said that because of the depression they would be slashing freelance prices by 25% with another possible 25% in the next quarter. WTF?! Since when does a publisher do price fixing?

Welcome to Finland where being in a democracy means that you follow your betters. For we all equal, only some of us are more equal than others.

Along time ago and in a different life, I had a rough financial patch and ended up working at Pinkerton. Now the office honcho was this retired Army Light Colonel who was, to put it mildly, not the brightest crayon in the box. Sure he had a PhD and decades of experience in ass kissing but when it came to getting the actual job done his theory would break down in my reality.

One site (that no one wanted to work) had a series of key boxes that the guard would have to go along a preordained route, put the key in to show that they had done the required number of patrols. Sounds simple enough, 4 patrols an hour, go back to the office fill out the log, repeat until you are done...right? Well this site was a Motel 6 in the rougher part of town. There were prostitutes and drug dealers operating out of the motel. So, a guard would do his patrol and hope that nothing happened, becuase if they got sucked into a problem and failed to make the required number of patrols somebody was going to hear about it.

Well, one night I had a total of five incidents that put me off my total. When I realized this, I decided to do a patrol every ten minutes for the rest of my shift. Next morning I get a call that I have to get into the office now. So I go in and I get the riot act read to me about how ya can't skip patrols. I point at that the police were called to the site three times that night and we had two other incidents on top of that. That when I realized I was going to miss the total number of patrols that instead of blowing it off, I opted to do additional patrols to make up the difference. Not perfect but at least I was making an effort. Now the Light Colonel stares at me for a minute and then nods thoughtfully.

Light Colonel: "I got the solution I will make out a new form that you fill out when this situation arises."
Me: "On top of the standard incident report?"
Light Colonel: "Yes."
Me: "Your solution for a lack of time is to create more paper work?"
Light Colonel: "It isn't a lack of time, its an interruption to the routine."

This guy, got promoted to regional head of Pinkerton. Amazing...simply amazing.

Sorry to hear that. Considering what freelancing rates are in the United States I can only guess the impact that you are getting nailed with.

If you ever have a potential employer come up to you and say "Yeah, we've got a great idea and we'd like you to work on it with us. We'll pay you as soon as we make money off it"... walk away. Fast.

We're just lacking an artist.

That's par for the course. I'm going to take a wild guess: that new paperwork you filled sat in a filing cabinet/file folder, went no-where, and was seen by only the boss.

Luckily I work under the university, mostly with academic papers and texts. It means that we charge more for it and I get a better rate of return. In the private industry I could look at half of what I make through which to be honest is beer money.

Game publishing is a pretty small community and it doesn't take long for the unkind word to spread.

I listened to a podcast where Adam Jury was interviewed. He told an old joke that I'd never heard before: "How do you make a million dollars in the game industry? Start with two million."

I listened to a podcast where Adam Jury was interviewed. He told an old joke that I'd never heard before: "How do you make a million dollars in the game industry? Start with two million."

The game industry is run on labors of love, which results in the "run by the fans" mentality. My experience is minimal but I'm guessing you have to really like what you're doing in gaming because if you don't, the money sure isn't going to make up for a negative experience. Which would explain turnover rates at many companies and why freelancers bounce around so much (as they're known to do). I don't envy the tight-rope that publishers and line developers have to walk keep the good writers when budgets are so tight.

How do you make a small fortune in horses?

Start with a large one.

The joke is pretty universal.

I listened to a podcast where Adam Jury was interviewed. He told an old joke that I'd never heard before: "How do you make a million dollars in the game industry? Start with two million."

Adam told me this joke once: "What's the difference between a large pizza and a game developer?"

"A pizza can feed a family of 4."