Google is great for finding backgrounds. But you must always ask for permission to use the material unless it is clearly stated that they are free to use. For sound effects I often use Sound Bible. There you just have to pay attention to the licenses and terms. There is a bunch of websites that will come up if you google "free sound effects". Logo is best to design yourself. Those you can't really find unless you are looking for something super generic and unimaginative.

Totally forgot about Paint.NET!! That will get my support most definitely. It is not as feature rich as GIMP but will perform more than enough for most needs regarding graphic design on this forum

Audacity is good for many things too. I've just found some of it's editing features somewhat... frustrating

How much money you can make? That depends on many things. It is nothing to paying most taxes in Finland for example

I must just say woah! The first screens in the beginning just took me so vividly back to Oddworld <3 I love those first two Abe's games. Munch was a disappointment and Stranger's I haven't even played. You have really put in some work into the animations here. I am glad you did. Makes things soo much smoother. Screens look very good. Nicely decorated and detailed without becoming too much.

I read the post regarding music. I'd really like to hear more ambient noises instead of constant music throughout the game. Situations and events do require it but good environment replaces the music nicely

You are most welcome lachaal!

I checked out your report — Looks pretty good there! How long have you been building up your paying client pool?

Hmm... I'd suggest GIMP and Inkscape. They are both free and very powerful software. In good hands they can become equally good as Photoshop and Illustrator. My experience is though that they are not equally easy to use but that is nothing to worry. You'll learn the basics quickly

For SFX? There are many. But I'd suggest looking for ready made sound effects. If you really want to look into creating your own you will need a microphone, USB powered audio interface and a digital audio workstation (Avid ProTools, Ableton Live, Presonus Studio One, Steinberg Cubase etc). I'd suggest Ableton Live for sound design of all those.

So true Raybrite, so true. It is a balancing act especially in the beginning when we are still working in the indie realm. But to answer to newt's actual question.. I could guesstimate an hourly payment to anything between ~5 to 15 USD. Since I give per track or package deals the hours I use vary based on the difficulty of the task.

I like his. I look forward to the final release!

This game looks so great! Seeing talented individuals' productions like this always warms the heart Would you mind sharing the synopsis for the story paulxx?

Good that you have passion that is most definitely needed in the branch of creative work. In that case, I suggest that you DO NOT GIVE UP the thought. Rather I suggest that you further build up the idea, the world, the setting and so on until you have the means/skills/connections to make it a reality. MMOs are complex projects that have a team of talented people behind them. I don't want you to be discouraged because of what I have said. Rather, take it as a cue to dig into game design and get your hands dirty with whatever makes in interested.

The best thing you can do if you want to be a game designer is to start small and NEVER give up a great idea. I've had an idea of a world and a game for 5 years now. Been writing the story and lore for a long time but because I feel it is such a great concept, I have not let it go.

Not enough is the short answer. In the end it comes down to the question can I live with this amount of money? Naturally a country or circumstances are not supposed to be THE deciding variable. Living in Norway with a tax% 24+ depending of your yearly income (average is around 32-36% I think) one must make a reasonable amount of money per month to buy food that is more expensive than most countries, to pay bills that are more expensive than most countries etc. OH I love this country.. --______--" So glad we planning to move somewhere else in a few years

Anyway... To work full time for a production (8 hours, 5 days a week) I've counted that my lowest price would be 3000 USD a month with the current conversion to NOK. Lower than that I can't provide for my wife (she is not working at the moment) and I. That is only the worth of my time. The value of music is not technically part of that but because I haven't done music professionally for that long and I am not that known and wanted etc. plus I don't work full time with music I don't feel that those prices are exactly justified yet. So then I give a much lower price either per track or package.