Well it's kind of important to define the term. I was thinking of freelancing as something separate from working by trade as an independent contractor - less official gigs that don't involve a written contract, etc. - but most people just mean independent contracting when they say freelancing. And yeah, tons of people do that, but if you aren't totally confident in your marketability you can just work for a contracting agency which will hook you up with jobs too.
I think a good piece of advice especially in the world of game development, though I feel it applies to all programming, is to avoid taking on one-person projects; don't set out with the goal of making a large-scale thing singlehandedly. The real magic happens when you're working on a team with like-minded developers, designers, and project managers, as opposed to the lone wolf programmer that stays up through the night endlessly toiling on a product. Working on a team will help you learn faster and avoid making mistakes; you'll be able to bounce ideas off other people and have bad practices corrected early on. Challenging yourself is good, but working with others who consistently challenge you is even better.
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