Entry level average salary for Game Designers is around 50K USD, or $24 Per Hour equivalent, veteran positions make over 100k USD. For artists that number is even higher, from 60k to 120k.

In the last 3 years alone Indie games have gone from about 10% of the market to 20%. There has never been a better time to abandon the corporate overlords and make your own games with small teams and studios.