A lot of people want to make the transition to become a game developer in a later stage of their life, which there's nothing wrong with. If you already know how to get started, it's a good start, although not everyone is in the same situation. Obviously, in the most ideal situation, you're in your mom's basement and you have the luxury to code away 12 hours/day without interruption and/or need of doing anything else; food is covered, expenses are covered and you'll always have a roof over your head. Unfortunately, it doesn't happen to everyone to be in those ideal circumstances when they want to move into game development.
I'm in a different stage of life trying to get into game development
If you know me, you know I'll never say it's too late or you can't do something. If you want, you can! Now, different situations call for different solutions. Opening a game studio is something complicated that takes a lot of work but also resources. Depending on the type of studio you'd like to open and operate, that'll dictate what you'll want to do and how you want to approach it. If you're looking to open an indie studio with a smaller budget that you bootstrapped or some crowdfunding, you'll quickly notice that the biggest thing running against you is time. That'll be your most previous asset that you'll have to figure out how to get it. Assuming you'd already have a 9-5 or some job, you won't be able to put in as much time as you'd want to. From here you have two solutions: either you settle with working slowly on your game until completion OR you make sure you save enough money to survive a little while, while you go full-time on your project. One solution is definitely less risky than the other but also has less chances of succeeding if you ask me.
I want to make a AA game or a AAA game
If you're looking at a bigger game, you'll definitely need a full team. Now, your most required asset is not time but money. You'll need to focus on how to get funding, and quick. Depending on how long it takes you to get money, once you get enough money to build what you aim to build, that's when the problems start but at least you'll be able to go full-time on it and dedicate 100% of your attention ot your studio.
What should I consider opening a game studio?
The main factor here about doing it in a stage of life where you have kids and/or a wife/husband that you need to take care of, in other words responsibilities, is what are you going for and how are you doing it. If you're going for an indie studio, you can easily put some money aside or get some small funding or crowdfunding to sustain a certain income that can support your partner and kids and you take on game development as a full-time job for a limited amount of time. Make sure you have the money well secured before you make the switch! You wouldn't want to put your family at risk! If you're going for a larger studio, it'll definitely be riskier since you now have to secure a bigger amount of money and you would then add on more responsibilities by having employees that depend on you to keep going. I wouldn't fully recommend the second option unless you're not scared and you believe you can take on the challenge but... you'll be in for a wild one! Please let us know if you do!
I'm in a different stage of life trying to get into game development
If you know me, you know I'll never say it's too late or you can't do something. If you want, you can! Now, different situations call for different solutions. Opening a game studio is something complicated that takes a lot of work but also resources. Depending on the type of studio you'd like to open and operate, that'll dictate what you'll want to do and how you want to approach it. If you're looking to open an indie studio with a smaller budget that you bootstrapped or some crowdfunding, you'll quickly notice that the biggest thing running against you is time. That'll be your most previous asset that you'll have to figure out how to get it. Assuming you'd already have a 9-5 or some job, you won't be able to put in as much time as you'd want to. From here you have two solutions: either you settle with working slowly on your game until completion OR you make sure you save enough money to survive a little while, while you go full-time on your project. One solution is definitely less risky than the other but also has less chances of succeeding if you ask me.
I want to make a AA game or a AAA game
If you're looking at a bigger game, you'll definitely need a full team. Now, your most required asset is not time but money. You'll need to focus on how to get funding, and quick. Depending on how long it takes you to get money, once you get enough money to build what you aim to build, that's when the problems start but at least you'll be able to go full-time on it and dedicate 100% of your attention ot your studio.
What should I consider opening a game studio?
The main factor here about doing it in a stage of life where you have kids and/or a wife/husband that you need to take care of, in other words responsibilities, is what are you going for and how are you doing it. If you're going for an indie studio, you can easily put some money aside or get some small funding or crowdfunding to sustain a certain income that can support your partner and kids and you take on game development as a full-time job for a limited amount of time. Make sure you have the money well secured before you make the switch! You wouldn't want to put your family at risk! If you're going for a larger studio, it'll definitely be riskier since you now have to secure a bigger amount of money and you would then add on more responsibilities by having employees that depend on you to keep going. I wouldn't fully recommend the second option unless you're not scared and you believe you can take on the challenge but... you'll be in for a wild one! Please let us know if you do!