"You're not special, nor is your game, and you'll never ship a hit."

With those words -- "the uncomfortable reality for most of us" -- longtime indie game developer Jake Birkett (of Grey Alien Games, developer of Regency Solitaire) opened his 2016 GDC talk on how to survive and thrive for years -- decades, even -- without shipping a "hit" game. 

Birkett has survived as an indie developer for over a decade, shipping more than ten games that all made a profit but fell short of becoming breakout hits. His talk was full of tips and advice gleaned from his own experience, and it's worth watching for anyone contemplating (or conducting) life as an indie.

So if you missed it in person, good news: you can now watch the entire talk for free over on the official GDC YouTube channel.

About the GDC Vault

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault and its new YouTube channel offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.

Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC, GDC Europe, and GDC Next already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page. Finally, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault technical support.

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