We know that geeks are considered cool these days but they don’t always get recognised for their efforts, not in the way that 21 year old Joe Chedburn, a self confessed geek has.
Joe first developed his idea for ‘Torn’ an online computer game when he was just 15 but no one was interested in it so he decided to go it alone. Five years on his game has become a reality and a big internet hit.
Not only can he bask in the glory of seeing his ideas come to fruition, he’ll basically never have to find a job again as he bags a cool £50,000 a month from the game.
The game which is focused on crime is purely text based, yes that’s right, no fancy graphics at all, and it now has a massive 1.3 million account holders with 41,000 active users. Incredible!
It’s free to play at torn dot com but if you want extra status or points then you’ll have to fork out a few pounds a month for that. Indeed, most players are willing to pay to the extent that the site can generate 50k a month.
Rather than furthering his education the conventional way, Joe preferred to work on his game instead.
Joe is definite proof that spending hours in front of a computer screen, something which many parents frown upon, can pay off in the end, and you don’t need a university education to do it either.
“I suppose when I was younger my parents used to tell me off for spending too much time on my computer but they are quite happy with what I am doing now” said Joe.
I bet they are.
“I have always been interested in computers and I am really lucky to be able to make money out of doing something that I really enjoy” he says.
Yes that’s what we’re all after really.
Joe who comes from Frome is now a millionaire at the age of 21, owns his own home and looks like he has a bright future ahead of him.
Even though the game is about carrying out crimes in an imaginary city, Joe maintains it’s actually about “meeting people” and apparently one couple have even got married as a result of playing Torn.
Bet now there are hundreds of geeks out there motivated to put their own ideas to the test. I guess the motto is if you believe in what you’ve got, don’t give up.
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Wow that’s some pretty good monthly revenue for a purely text based game.
Props to the young guy. Looks like hes has a god future ahead of him.
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