Probably shoud go back and get treatment. But I wish you all the best, whichever way you go.

Der Kampfgeist ist beeindruckend. Ich könnte mich selbst noch als selbstständig sehen oder in einem start-up. Aber bei der Lebensgeschichte will ich dir bestimmt keine Zweifel einreden. 😋

Ich weiß, du hast gesagt, keine Ideen mit copyright Problemen. Aber mal so ganz unbedarft, hast du die Möglichkeit zur Zusammenarbeit mit kleinen Indies erwogen? Sprich Merchandise gerade in geringer Stückzahl im Auftrag. Du könntest Motive verwenden, Fans abgreifen, musst aber Gewinn teilen. Die größeren Indies können das vermutlich alleine bewerkstelligen. Und die ganz kleinen, haben vermutlich keinen Markt. Aber dazwischen gibt es bestimmt Interessenten. Was bei manchen Spielen auch mal aufkommt sind Plushies, falls das auch in dein Metier fällt.

Nur mal als abwegige Idee.

A t-shirt with a description "one more turn" on both sides and then when you turn the t-shirt on the left side there's this description again (4 in total).

Stardew Valley character "holding" a head of a t-shirt wearer – in a way the characters in SV hold things above their heads in the game.

"Leeeennyyyyy" from RDR2 in drunk font.

Sorry to hear about your rough health journey and wishing you all the best in recovering.

Now, I know you asked for tshirt designs and this might seem niche at first, but hear me out... You should create socks that have generic looking controllers on them in various colors but on the soles have the following:
Right Sock: "If you can read this"
Left Sock: "Pause my game"

That's a story, indeed. I'm kinda speechless.

I also had my own business a decade ago. All passion, no realistic perspective. I have no ideas ATM as I'm fighting my own demons and brain doesn't function well all the times. Barely any time, I think.

Wait, I just remembered about the group "She told me she was level 18". I'm sure they'd love to see the group's name in a t-shirt and the admins/founders would have no problem with you getting that idea (tho it's not trademarked or copyrighted, probably it's a meme from who knows where, check Memepedia.)

I do hope the best for you with the business, the health, and all the rest. Find your place.

Edit: anothed idea. Came due to the "tees" word in the title. The t-shirts. Although it's not the origin of the name, some people believe it's named for T-Rex, due to the short sleeves, apt for such teropods. So I thought of a big, pixelated or polygonized (gamified) T-Rex with a lot of different era generic gamepads from the simplest ones (NES-like) to modern ones (generic discord-like shape, you know) piled up at its feet. The T-Rex has one gamepad in one hand, trying to close up both trembling hands to handle the gamepad properly, huge sweat drop in its temple and all that, unable to do it. And thinking "so much for gamepad evolution" or similar. Poor T-Rexes, no console thought of them! (Well, they could use a Wii but, no want copyright or trademark issues with the big N, right?)

Let us be agressive:

"Do I get any XP by talking with you?"

(You can illustrate it with some JRPG-SNES-style pictures.)

First off, thanks for the courage to share your story, best wishes and strength especially regarding your health!

I'm not much into that and haven't seen any research, but just by knowing the big stores and looking at Google results, the print on demand market appears kinda saturated to me already. Gaming topics are also covered. However, since you mentioned designing yourself, depending on your skills and ideas you could surely still be successful. Have you considered to offer your designs on already existing platforms instead of creating your own store? Of course you would be independent and could build your own brand, but that takes time and money for infrastructure and advertising. If your business is more based on designing: why not offering designs directly (without the printing) or at least don't restrict to shirts only? I assume that the possible margin is way higher at the design stage, whereas you can't ask much for printing.

Copyright is a big issue.. one of the stores I just glanced at, even had a page about it ("Taking it seriously, report infringements"), but then there was Pokemon art all over on the first pages sorted by popularity. :D
I like Adelion's idea of trying to cooperate with indie devs. I know some of them are already offering plushies and other merchandise, but I'm pretty sure you know some indie gems that don't offer these yet. Especially cozy/artful games should be a good target.
As long as you design yourself and don't copy, you should be able to reproduce funny or memorable moments of games in a way that noone could file DMCA on it (different characters, colours, wording), like some comic artists already do. Some memes are that (in)famous that you don't even need the picture for comprehension, e.g. "This is fine."
Besides those you could do designs based on "gamer profiles", maybe a collection based on genres or making fun out of prejudices and dev/publisher statements (e.g. Bethesda's "empty moons are atmospheric)". Puns and wordplays turn into lame dad jokes fast, so I would avoid most of these.

Since I'm currently playing Yakuza 0, "Real Yakuza use a gamepad" is the first thing which comes to mind. It's been used as meme, has been adjusted in many ways and you could even do a self reference aka "Real Yakuza wear [insert store name] shirts".
The game also has many over-the-top side stories and jokes, thinking of Mr. Libido or the bike smahing (see comic below).

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A mug or t-shirt with "No release on Friday", then I would show it to my boss and enjoy my gaming weekend.
The motto "Nothing is impossible!" if time and money permit is also fine.

Sorry to hear that things have been so difficult for you. I wish you the best in your business and your health. I don't currently have any ideas but I will keep thinking about it and ask my gaming friends as well. Please also let us know when you start and where to find them!

I think Press X to Wear is a better name.

For the design part...I think it would be smart to target games that aren't exactly mainstream but have obsessed fanbases. I was in a Disco Elysium group on Facebook for a while and I think those people would buy anything referring to that game. What you can do is to seek these groups and ask them what they would like to see on a T-shirt and they'll give you a bunch of ideas and when you release the shirt you can post on that group and give them a discount code as thanks and to encourage them to buy.

For the starting stock, I have a few ideas:
-Nintendo Switch shirt, one sleeve is red, the other is blue just like the console, the outlines around the neck and the bottom are dark black and the middle is less dark like the screen and you can add symbols for the buttons on the sleeves if you want to take it a bit further.
-I think Silent Hill fans would love the "there was a hole here. It's gone now" quote put on the heart part of the shirt or put on the middle of the shirt but made to look like as if this part of the shirt was torn and then hand-stitched.
-Disco Elysium is a well of quotes but "Life gets haaard! But we go ooooooon!" looks good in my head, combined with a broken record player and a couple of empty alcohol bottles and that shirt will look sick.

I have to say for some reason, Peru is the only South American country that has a special place in my mind/heart and I'm not sure why. Could be their colorful clothes or their pornographic poverty or the way Peruvians look. I've never been there and I barely know anything about it other than the few short documentaries I watched, they're always sad but never lacking in beauty.

All I can suggest in terms of design is to use V-neck T-shirts. They are less noticeable if you wear them under clothes with the collar unbuttoned. Especially if they are discordant in color.
I'm sorry for my English, I use an auto-translator

Life has been tough for you, but it's so precious that it lets a sprout growing out despite everywhere around it covered with snow. I couldn't held my tear reading it. When I finished reading, the tear hasn't changed, but the emotion I have did. It was happiness, although bittersweet. I'm happy for you eeev.

I only know Peru from documentaries, but from what I see the people there are companionable and hospitable, the things we've mostly lost in modern time, the things our souls need as if it is bread.

I don't have an idea to help but there are already really good ones here, and I'm sure more to come.
I wish you all the best. <3

Sometimes we get to much of "stuff that doesn't kill you makes you....". Glad you still have your inner power up and running

As for ideas that are safe to sell, hmm..as opposed to what's up there. I think lame dad jokes sell, BUT market is quite saturated with them (think mom dad player 1/2 and new baby 'joininh new player:). Gaming niche might not be niche enough, but I hope you find your way to succeed.

"All of them failed, bit by bit, little by little."

Remember. There is no such thing as a failure. This are just steps to success and happiness and peace. We all find it somewhere else but without trying and "failing" we would never be able to find them in the first place.

"Nobody ever asks where it's coming from, they pull out their knives and their radiation guns and booom, you're at war with your body.."

My mother did had cancer in her breasts 2 times and once in the neck. She fought and win 3 times thanks to modern medicine so I would really not be against it. Yeah it sucks at start and losing hair for women is a traumatic experience but surviving and being able to enjoy a life is much more important and hair grow out with time.

"I not only really want it to succeed, I also want to make it something exciting and original. Something the gaming community really digs."

There are many shops selling t-shirts like this but they are not selling much because they are not original. You can probably google your favorite games or well known games like Baldur's Gate III and find 5-10 shops selling the exact same shirts with the exact same graphics on them. To be better than they are you have to mix AI with your own artistic and creative spirit. It is very important to look what other shops are selling and never ever doing the same things that they have on offer thus automatically standing above them on the free market.

"Everything you have always wanted to see on a t-shirt, I'd be delighted to know."

I think BG1 and 2 are old so portraits are probably not trademarked so I always wanted to have t-shirts with Yeslick Orothiar, Kagain, Korgan Bloodaxe, Jan Jansen, Half-Orc player only portrait. I also find it cool to have like a name of a D&D/Pathfinder class on the chest - like Rogue or Ranger or Fighter or Slayer and some weapons and armors these classes can use all over the shirt in random places. Also some stupid things like: Don't look at me! I'm sneaking! or I would like to RAAAGEEEE! or If you roll 20 you can climb on this!

I think Loot Llama Emporium sounds the most cool but Critical Hit Creations the most gamelike :P

Maybe something like "Veteran Gamer" but the "Gamer" part is crossed out and it says "Noob" above it. I thought of that because I've played Rocket League from when it originally released (well, I started two weeks after it came out) in 2015 until last year, when I got bored of it, but I still sucked at it. So yes, if I'd still play I'd be one of very few who has been playing the game that long but there are people who start playing now and they're better than I ever was after they've been playing for a few weeks. Something else in the same vein would be "Experienced low-level". Or even "Old but Gold" and the "gold" is some kind of generic rank symbol for a lowly gold rank. Maybe "Professional Noob". Yes, I realize those are all pretty much the same thing but here are a few more I could think of. Not great or anything, but better than nothing. :D

"I can't pick up more shifts, my inventory is full."
"I'm low on health, where's the next hot dog stand?"

I wish you all the best in health and in business.

On 1 side of the T-shirt or separated on each:
"Famous death quotes"

" I wonder what this button does?"

Hey Eeev, I'll help you as much as possible. Just need to think a bit about not as obvious things as the first I gave

But your story is both sad and inspiring, and I really hope you can start something anew.

Probably a bit biased because i own a shirt somewhat similar to this already buuuut....

A full front spread design of a cat, laying on it's back, in quite colourful/striking colours with the top text "Pet me", bottom " Please?".

Sorry i have no idea (and i just woken up, maybe later) but read your story and i can relate to certain aspects and from one "outsider" to another i just wanted to wish you good luck.

Not clear you want to stay in Peru to get treatment there or go back to Germany (yes western medicine isn't always the best, but i think it must be better then Peru?). I am not saying it's an alternative to it, but look into ginger, apparently some claims are that it's 1000x more effective then radiation.

And trying to be realistic and not get any hopes down, i think this sort of business might be a tricky one, making something in small orders on demand if it's really cost effective and profitable.
A few weeks ago i saw 2 people on shark tank that created very kidlike drawings on t-shirts and tried to sell it of as a special sort of designer mode and somehow they even found a shark to invest in.
i mean if you had some proper ideas that are good and you can find someone that has the same believe, you might eventually want to look into one but first you need to make it happen and grow offcourse and make it succeed.

Damn, rough journey.

Few ideas:

• "I Paused My Game to Be Here"
• "The Cake Is a Lie" (Portal, wink, wink)
• "Respawn, Retry, Repeat"
• "Level Up!"
• "Pixel Perfect"

Take care!

Hi eeev,
first and foremost: Thank you for sharing! I hope you can get good and proper treatment and that you will be fine in the long run, even though it may be a rough ride along the way. 💗💙💗

As for T-shirt ideas... Since I am old school, the only thing that came to mind was the old blue Commodore 64 screen with

LOAD "My interest in your problem", 8
SEARCHING "My interest in your problem"
?FILE NOT FOUND ERROR
READY.

Ideally I would wear that underneath a sweater and remove the sweater if someone keeps bothering me at work. 🤣

That´s quite a rough journey Eev. I am happy you got your hips replaced and sad that the C returned.

I really like the Lions and roses shirt from the link you posted.

As for idea for your shirts. You could try having current events or ''popular topics'' and instead of the real characters to be replaced with animals
or videogame character like characters on your t-shirts.

example: https://sl.bing.net/jVwpe6UgQ7E

First at all, congratulations with the initiative. I always admire entrepreneur people trying an finding new avenues to earn money.

Also, congratulations on getting over the harsh beginnings.

I think the best idea would be something that everybody can agree and recognize. It's like a telephone picture is used for telephones, even when everybody uses mobile phones nowadays. So, nostalgic designs referencing classic video games, like pixelated hearts or controllers. What about the red cross I used to see in Doom games?

More modern "You are Dead"

"I Paused My Game for This?" in sarcastic text

"Player 1 Ready." -

"Player 2 Needed" with a broken heart?

Also, I don't even know much how it could be done. But what about something interactive? Like QR codes leading to a gaming playlist or surprise message. Or optical illusions or designs that change with perspective. I have seen it a few times. Another idea, designs that glow in the dark? (I don't even know if this last one is viable)

Just a few ideas

Hallo eeev.

Thank you for sharing your story, I like your resilient spirit. If you fail, try again!
I wish you all the best and good health, and please kick the Big C's butt!

You have some good designs on your Website already!
My favorites are, "If Not Now, Then When?", Loki's Children, and Elegant Poetic Tree. I mostly prefer some cool and simplistic pictures instead of text and not too many colors. I might be a Gamer but I don't like to wear too Gamey stuff, but that's just me I suppose.
But text like "Gamers don't Age, they Level Up" can be a bit funny to see.

Are you already using AI for the designs? I play around with AI sometimes, and stuff like this could be cool I suppose, but there are still a few AI kinks in them, it's like spot the mistake game ^^
It's all a bit duck themed, just for fun :P

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hey eeev, thanks for sharing your story! I think you're an inspiration to anyone who has to deal with adversity. Whatever you decide regarding your health, I wish you the best.

My thought regarding a shirt would be a series of 'cheat code' designs.

'I AM the cheat code'

A picture of something that clearly went wrong -- 'Oops, wrong cheat code'

'I put in a cheat code but all I got was this shirt'

Very sorry to hear of your health struggles and I hope you have success fighting them with whatever means & treatments you can. I know from my parents' experience that trying to keep active and positive mindset can help enormously when fighting something that seems insurmountable and that you're already ahead on that point.

I admit I'm not a very "meme-y" person but I do have some gamer experiences that might be common enough for a t-shirt. I'll try to think of some more later that are more generalised but the one off the top of my head is a variation of something already mentioned and instantly recognisable (I feel) to one subsect of gamers, if not more.

There's a truly aged, ancient-almost man sitting in front of a computer, emaciated with wild long unkempt hair and exaggerated floor length beard; the room is dusty & cobweb-strewn apart from the monitor on which appears to be playing a game suspiciously like Civilisation. He mutters to himself almost deranged-like "...alright, I really mean it this time, I really do.......just one...more... turn......"

I've felt like that far, far too many times over the years, I including one time where I kept playing till 4.45am pursuing the great Roman vs Aztec/Spanish/Japanese war.......was a wee teeny, tiny bit tired for my work 2.5hrs hours later but damn that'll teach those bastards not to backstab me again ✌️. But I'm not crazy. Seriously 🤡.