Nothing to lose but my life... and I got that for free!

One thing that really stood out to me about this article and from all the lectures is just how complicated and risky the business of the video game industry is. The article breaks down the math using an example of how many sales of a game are required even to make back the money spent on developing and marketing a game. The different currencies and taxes can be quite complicated when something is sold in more than one country.

Another thing the article pointed out that I completely forgot about is that some unsatisfied customers will require refunds. This industry presents many unknown variables. A publisher can't know how many people will buy a game, how many will request refunds, nor can they know how changing tax laws may factor in. This information scares me because I don't like taking risks, and I sometimes fear that by enrolling in Full Sail, I have taken a gamble with no guarantee of return for the investment of time and money.

Fear of the unknown is actually a great weakness of mine, and I suppose that is something I will need to overcome whether I do indeed get a job in the gaming and/or esports industry or whether I continue with my own plans for my business of being a chess coach.

Math is important, but math cannot be done with numbers that are not known at the time. As such, someone has to believe in what they are doing to be able to take that leap of faith and try something that could result in total failure. However, as someone who is a gamer and has enjoyed video games my entire life, I can see that sometimes the risk is worth it.

I would like to share some quotes from a character in Final Fantasy 6 who is known as a Gambler willing to risk his life to fight against the evil empire.

"Why not? Nothing to lose but my life... and I got that for free!

I can't be attached to anything... otherwise, I couldn't be a gambler."

-Setzer Gabbiani

So, while I may be unsure of many things, including my career path, I do know that I need to have the same attitude as Setzer to accomplish anything.