The art-game designer talks about his bottom line, how he and his family live on less than $15,000 a year, and why Cheerios aren’t worth the money but board games are
Age: 32
Location: Las Cruces, New Mexico
Why we care: An independent video game designer, Jason Rohrer makes games that make industry big-wigs weep, including his latest, "Between," which just won the Independent Games Festival’s Innovation/Nuovo award. In his off-screen life, Roher, his wife and two children prefer board games.
Your job seems like playing.
You're kidding, right? Programming video games involves a lot of very complicated, mentally taxing, frustrating work! That said, I do enjoy what I do.
Did your 2009 win at the Independent Games Festival create new money-making opportunities?
It helped me build a relationship with my publisher, Majesco. My forthcoming game will be released by them and hopefully those sales will bring in some royalty income. There's also a publisher in Argentina that is building a compilation of some of my games and I will get a percentage of those revenues.
Do you think you earn enough money?
Between monthly gifts from my patron and donations from the public, I earn just enough to support my family: about $14,500 per year, total. But I'd like to accumulate some savings, for the inevitable future when I will no longer be able to program. There aren’t really any old programmers. I’d also like to save for my children if they want to go to college.
With such a tight budget, how do you plan to do that?
I've been doing some consulting work, and I've had some discussions recently with a Princeton researcher about a games-related project. I've done more paid speaking trips recently than I'd like to, because I can't turn down the extra income. Mostly, it's just a matter of me saying "yes" to most offers that come my way these days, trying to figure out how to get more income so that we can save for the future.
You call what you and your wife do — living on $14,500 a year — “simple living.” Why do you do it?
We value our time. By spending less money we need to spend less of our time "just making money." We keep more of our time for ourselves.
Has having children changed the way you manage your money?
Having kids forced us to come up with a plan. Before, I was working on a Ph.D. — I had no firm idea of where I would end up or what kind of life I would have. When my spouse got pregnant, we did a lot of thinking and talking, asking ourselves, what kind of parents do we want to be? I eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner with my whole family seven days a week. What is that worth in trade?
Being an avid gamer is expensive. How does your family enjoy games and still practice simple living?
Easy: I'm not an avid gamer! I haven't bought a new video game console since 2000. There's simply very little out there that's worth playing for someone who is thoughtful and 32 years old. I'm trying to change that, of course. About once a year there is one mainstream game that's worth playing. I can usually play it at a friend or relative's house.
What do you splurge on?
On our budget, we really can't afford to splurge. We do eat a 100% organic and local diet, though. Most people claim that they can't afford that sort of diet, but I'm sure that they spend more money on groceries that we do. Compare the price of a box of air-filled Cheerios to the price of organic oatmeal. No contest.
What big expenses does your family cut out?
Driving a car, buying stuff we don't need on impulse, buying new clothes, eating out a lot, going to concerts and going to the movie theater.
So what you do for fun?
I am an avid board game player — my favorite at the moment is a French game called “Caylus,” and as far as the whole family’s concerned, we play a German game called “The Settlers of Catan.” But good board games can be pretty expensive, so I don't have as many of those as I would like to have.
Last week in Other People's Money: Chef Hosea Rosenberg answered invasive questions about his personal finances.
