Is a job and money really needed?

[Troglodyte]

(I'm only 14, and this might be my imagination going too wild, but...)

I've lurked here for a while and saw people being a "little" too busy with their jobs, so they can't make a single roguelike although they've been developing it for years. Recently, me and my MUCH older friend had a conversation about money and the need of it. During the convo, a thought popped up in my head - why can't we live "on our own", without any money - we CAN grow our own food, we CAN get water supplies, and we CAN survive without civilisation. However there are a couple of problems:
1. How to get the money for a plot far away from the city;
2. You need electricity to run a computer, and electricity costs money...

Well, the first problem CAN be solved-you can either save money for a long time, take a loan or wait till a rich family member dies and then spend the abandonment you get... (ok, the third one is least possible)

And for the second, you can buy a home sun-powered electricity generator.

Anyway, you can still take a part-time job then (or go hunting bears and then sell their skins), since you don't have to pay for food or water anymore.

So, is this actually a possible way to live or not?

DISCUSS

[stu]

living off the grid and homesteading is very very hard. growing your own food means working in the fields dusk to dawn. freezing and refridgeration is a problem. root celleraing and in ground cool storage doesnt match them.

solar power is very very expensive and doesnt yield a lot of power (running a lightbulb is one thing, running that 500watt psu is something else).

if you live without money, expect to live without shoes, clothes, easy hot water, cold milk, etc.

[ido]

I guess it's possible because some people do live that way.

However, getting a "normal" job is probably a much easier way of making a living, and will get you a better quality of life with far less effort.

[Troglodyte]

living off the grid and homesteading is very very hard.

Hehe, not really, my cousin lives that way and has about half of the day free (of course, with the help of my aunt)

Your other statements do make a point...

[Slash]

While some roguelikes prove it is possible (Unreal World comes to mind), there are no such thing as roguelike developers or similar classes there.

So I think it wouldnt throttle roguelike development significatively for the risk involved.

[Cymon]

Your question is one that was answered over 150 years ago by Henry Thoreau. You should read Walden, his book about his 2 years living on Walden Pond.

Personally it's a goal of mine to one day live fully self sufficient and have everything I want and need, and then to decide what to hook up with the knowledge that it's my choice what gets picked.. The plan involves alternate power sources and land to grow food on, both of which will require me becoming independently wealthy. Should happen any day now.

[I_Own_The_Letter_O]

A major problem with this dream is the government. They want you to pay them taxes (and you should to a certain extent).

What happens if you injure yourself or fall ill = Hospital = Taxes
What happens if you're burgled or get travellers on your site = Police = Taxes
I could go on...

The other thing is western society as a whole has abandoned the barter/trade system for a more abstract one based around money. You either need to produce a vast surplus of food for sale (difficult under traditional methods) or be prepared to not only grow your own food but also make your own clothes, shoes etc etc.

Where would you get money from to pay for any repairs to your computer whilst you make your roguelike. Where you get money from to pay for your internet connection.

I'm moving house soon and will for the first time, ever, have a garden with actual mud and grass in it. I plan to grow my own veg, herbs and some naitve fruits. To produce 'top-up' food like this is (from my research) lots of little bursts of hard work. Scale that up enough to provide enough for your full diet plus surplus to sell (in a society that favours cheap food) and your working most of the day.

[getter77]

Easier solution:  Work and save for the next many years.  Build up enough money to gain significant compounding interest on it as close to monthly as is possible.  At that point, depending on what all seems to be going down, you can survive the monthly'ish bills off the monthly'ish Compounding Interest.  I think it was Einstein that said Compounding Interest was one of the most powerful forces.

Then from there, providing you plotted out enough for contingenices like all the flavors of insurance----do as you will without having to worry much about the monthly financial impacts.

[Krice]

and saw people being a "little" too busy with their jobs, so they can't make a single roguelike although they've been developing it for years.

Usually you have enough spare time to work on a roguelike even you go to work. If it was only time! I think it's mainly motivation that you need to keep while creating a large scale project.

[george]

Definitely, time is plentiful, it's the little distractions and not keeping a steady pace on something that leads to things not getting done. I've heard that people overestimate what they can accomplish in a year and underestimate what they can do in 10 years.

As a side note, I've heard it said that to get really good at something usually takes about 10 years.

If you don't want to, or can't make a lot of money, I think the key is to cut expenses. You'd be surprised about how little money you really need, even in most large cities. Keep your income low enough, and off the books, and you don't even pay much in taxes.

[RolandaBogle]

I think yes, it is our lifestyle now. If you have better ideas, I would be interesting to hear it. And it is not just about the money and the job, even the resume is absolutely necessary. Even for self-employment. But it is not as difficult as it sounds if you just ask for professional help. Check the top resume.

[Skeletor]

(I'm only 14, and this might be my imagination going too wild, but...)

I've lurked here for a while and saw people being a "little" too busy with their jobs, so they can't make a single roguelike although they've been developing it for years. Recently, me and my MUCH older friend had a conversation about money and the need of it. During the convo, a thought popped up in my head - why can't we live "on our own", without any money - we CAN grow our own food, we CAN get water supplies, and we CAN survive without civilisation. However there are a couple of problems:
1. How to get the money for a plot far away from the city;
2. You need electricity to run a computer, and electricity costs money...

Well, the first problem CAN be solved-you can either save money for a long time, take a loan or wait till a rich family member dies and then spend the abandonment you get... (ok, the third one is least possible)

And for the second, you can buy a home sun-powered electricity generator.

Anyway, you can still take a part-time job then (or go hunting bears and then sell their skins), since you don't have to pay for food or water anymore.

So, is this actually a possible way to live or not?

DISCUSS

Of course it's possible - all about making enough FU money and then retiring playing/coding roguelikes all day long.
This is the best time in history to be 14 years old - all about being on the technological edge and doing the right thing at the right time. Be an innovator, use your time to learn something like Python, think about women later (once you're 30 you'll get heaps, before then it's a sucker's game). Play it right and before you're 30 you'll be a millionaire.

But in terms of growing your own food and all that CDDA real life stuff, normal jobs especially in IT are much easier than bothering with that.

[Troubler]

Of course it's possible - all about making enough FU money and then retiring playing/coding roguelikes all day long.
This is the best time in history to be 14 years old - all about being on the technological edge and doing the right thing at the right time. Be an innovator, use your time to learn something like Python, think about women later (once you're 30 you'll get heaps, before then it's a sucker's game). Play it right and before you're 30 you'll be a millionaire.

But in terms of growing your own food and all that CDDA real life stuff, normal jobs especially in IT are much easier than bothering with that.

That's the cliche. But in reality it's not the job that is keeping people too busy but the various mental issues and unproductive distractions used to escape them.
Though if you have kids and a full-time job that's essentially throwing all your other dreams into the garbage. The only choice then is between one or the other, and hobbies must fall by the wayside.
But if you just came home and started working on whatever it is from that point to the point you go to bed, you would have more than enough time to work miracles by our standards.

Nobody wants to do that though. They rather spend their "time off" doing things like watching videos on youtube, or watching television, or playing games, or something else low-effort to contrast with "work".
The guys who I noticed seem to have things figured out are all those dullards who have found a way to make something productive into a means of escape from personal problems.
That way you are killing two birds with one stone. You keep your demons at bay and then are also doing something that's actually fulfilling in the long term...

But then who knows what it is that makes those kind of people...

[Mellown]

Because now we have a modern society.

[wawabe]

I guess it's possible because some people do live that way.

However, getting a "normal" job is probably a much easier way of making a living, and will get you a better quality of life with far less effort.

Some people also try to find different kinds of things to earn money without putting a lot of efforts, and many of them choose playing games like real money slots (https://jp.slotsup.com/real-money-online-slots) and so on, but this is actually the last thing that i would recommend tbh, as playing such games can lead to gaming addiction, so ot'sbetter to be careful with it.