A Game Dev Podcast With Jonas Tyroller

0$ Marketing, Steam Demos & Custom Game Engine

This is a conversation with the Australian game developer Tommy, co-creator of the tower defense game Gnomes. Thy made it in a custom Rust Engine with just 10 months of time and 0$ marketing budget. It looks like a game anyone could make, but is it? I was curious to learn more.Links to my Guests➤ Gnomes on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3133060/Gnomes/➤ Sea of Survivors on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2347940/Sea_of_Survivors/Listen to the podcast on the go (Spotify, Apple Podcasts, etc.):➤ https://tyrollerjonas.podbean.com/0:00 - Intro2:29 - Prototyping, Timeline, Demo6:11 - Next Fest, Early Marketing Wins8:25 - Early Access and Launch Strategy12:23 - Switching Teams, Going Solo, Moving to Godot15:06 - 3D vs 2D: Marketing and Development22:11 - Solo vs Team Trade-Offs, Is it Luck?29:16 - Roles, Content Pipeline, Localization35:05 - Core Loop: Moveable Towers, Guilds, Shop, Endless38:49 - Game Design: Economy vs Defense41:45 - Difficulty, Guild Matchups, Swamp Map, RNG, Power Fantasy47:03 - UX-First Design: Minimal Tutorial, One-Hand UI, Juice, Pacing52:59 - Constraints, Limits Shaping Design56:05 - Marketing: Go Narrow/Deep, Reddit, Creators Timing1:03:20 - Fulfilling Fantasies, Don’t Chase Trends1:11:18 - Designing Doable but Deep1:20:49 - Regrets and Post-Launch Changes1:30:43 - Cheat Mode, Jank, and Nostalgia1:31:59 - Copycats on Mobile: Kingshot1:34:29 - Mobile vs Steam and Why Gnomes Isn’t on Mobile1:39:27 - Life Changes, Workflow, and Team Plans1:42:32 - Generalists, Triple Threat, and the Coming AI Era1:48:44 - Nostalgia Sells; You Only Need the Crumbs1:50:29 - Solo vs Team Itch; Don’t Engine-Shop1:52:02 - Do You Have to Suffer for your Art?1:54:20 - Godot Navmesh, Sunk Cost, State Machines1:55:16 - Trailer-First, Vertical Slice, and Variable Scope1:57:08 - Testing Appeal: Playtests vs Trailers and Honest Feedback2:00:30 - Appeal-First vs Gameplay-First2:04:47 - Build a Playtest Community; Observe Actions, Not Words2:08:46 - 500 Testers, Steam Playtest vs Keys, Superfans2:12:40 - First-Time Players Are Gold; Demos and the First 15 Minutes2:17:40 - Treat Your Demo Like a Launch2:18:36 - There is a Playbook and a Splash of Luck2:20:07 - OutroMy game "Thronefall":➤ Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2239150/Thronefall/➤ Discord: https://discord.gg/gVYctptyg8➤ Nintendo Switch: https://www.nintendo.com/en-gb/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/Thronefall-2669627.html#OverviewMy game "Will You Snail":➤ Play Will You Snail on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1115050/Will_You_Snail/➤ Join the Will You Snail Discord: https://discord.gg/G3mRDrKFor the game developers among you:➤ Join our creative game dev community on Discord: https://discord.gg/Ye6zzfQ

Industry Veteran About Coding for Games

This is a conversation with Ricard Pillosu, an industry veteran with over 20 years in both AAA and indie teams, currently working as Co-Founder at Epictellers a 30+ head team working on the CRPG Starfinder: Afterlight.Links to my Guests➤ Starfinder: Afterlight on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/agecheck/app/3245640/➤ Epictellers Website: https://www.epictellers.com/Listen to the podcast on the go (Spotify, Apple Podcasts, etc.):➤ https://tyrollerjonas.podbean.com/0:00 - Intro1:21 - Why Big Success Can Be Dangerous3:31 - Luck Is 70%6:13 - The Hardest Part of Building a Studio: People7:57 - Ric’s Journey so Far9:45 - Becoming a Lead and Manager12:30 - How Does AAA Build Games?16:02 - Prototyping Rituals in AAA18:29 - Pre-Production and Messy Realities20:41 - Scrum Era, Sub-Teams, and the Human Factor22:50 - Charisma, Toxic Positivity, and Milestone Negotiations26:51 - Reputation Traps in Big Teams29:19 - Is Experience Overrated?30:56 - Culture Clashes and the Timeline Fallacy32:49 - Wisdom Over Experience39:12 - Choose Simple Solutions41:55 - Enforcing Pipelines42:26 - From Overengineering to Readability46:24 - When Copying Is Okay47:18 - Don’t Pre-Architect49:18 - Pick Patterns Per Problem54:16 - Be Nice to the CPU55:45 - Why Godot?58:40 - Signals, Call Stacks, and Deferring Work to the Frame1:00:37 - Queues and Frame-Slicing1:02:43 - Start From the Game: Feature Wishlists1:04:24 - Why Decoupling Matters1:05:46 - Turn Manager Example: Building Layer 01:12:06 - Layer 1 Orchestration: Game States and Combat Manager1:14:18 - Syntactic Compression1:17:47 - Micro-Managers: Mouse and Targeting Systems1:20:48 - What Makes a Great Gameplay Programmer1:22:56 - Anti-Patterns: Ego, Overcomplication, Blame1:24:39 - Coding Into a Corner: It’s Part of the Journey1:28:49 - Jonas’s Background and Goals1:31:18 - Coding Mastery vs Commercial Success1:34:02 - Path to Mastery: New Engines, Teams, and Contexts1:35:22 - Reuse and Scalability Myths1:36:10 - Why Build Multiple CRPGs: What Really Transfers1:37:48 - Boredom and Scope Creep1:41:42 - Why Second Games Take Longer1:42:53 - Everyone Should Build an Engine1:48:20 - Why Unity/Unreal Feel Bloated1:50:49 - Godot’s Incentives: Smaller, Developer-First1:52:11 - Will Godot Grow? “Fighting the Engine” Metric1:56:41 - When to Pick Godot, Unity, or Unreal1:57:05 - Closing ThoughtsMy game "Thronefall":➤ Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2239150/Thronefall/➤ Discord: https://discord.gg/gVYctptyg8➤ Nintendo Switch: https://www.nintendo.com/en-gb/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/Thronefall-2669627.html#OverviewMy game "Will You Snail":➤ Play Will You Snail on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1115050/Will_You_Snail/➤ Join the Will You Snail Discord: https://discord.gg/G3mRDrKFor the game developers among you:➤ Join our creative game dev community on Discord: https://discord.gg/Ye6zzfQ

You (Probably) Can’t Trust Game Dev Formulas

This is a conversation with my game dev friend and former collegue Friedemann Allmenröder. We created ISLANDERS together, he then went on to make many more fantastic indie games such as Pizza Possum, Summer House and recently Slots & Daggers. In this conversation with dive into the philosophy of game dev creativity and I try to understand more about how Fridemman's process for making hit games looks like these days.Links to my Guests➤ Slots & Daggers on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3631290/Slots__Daggers/➤ Summer House on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2533960/SUMMERHOUSE/➤ Portfolio Website: https://allmenroeder.com/➤ Twitter/X: https://x.com/Friedemann_AListen to the podcast on the go (Spotify, Apple Podcasts, etc.):➤ https://tyrollerjonas.podbean.com/0:00 - Better At Games, Worse At Advice1:20 - Appeal × Retention As Core Formula3:35 - Beyond Visuals: Many Kinds Of Appeal5:05 - “Make Something Almost Too Small”6:35 - Finding The Fresh but Familiar Twist8:19 - Useful vs Pointless Innovation11:07 - Why Clear Formulas Break Down13:20 - Intuition As Compressed Rules15:05 - Training Taste With Good “Data”18:30 - Creativity As Remix, Not Creation20:07 - Labeling What You Like And Why22:22 - Missing Discourse On Creative Work23:56 - Ideas vs Execution In Modern Dev24:35 - Origin Story Of Slots & Daggers27:21 - Why So Many Gambling-Like Games?29:20 - Randomness, FOMO And Accessibility32:07 - Farm Game, Weekend Prototype, Publisher Test36:10 - Six-Week Jam To Seven-Month Project41:46 - What “Execution” Really Means45:36 - Sculpting Ideas And Minimalism49:55 - First Prototype And Sketchy Pixel Style52:24 - Unity Lighting, Bloom And Cheap Coherence55:28 - “Everything Must Animate” Philosophy1:00:22 - Fast Polish With DOTween1:02:36 - Sound Design, SFX Packs And Screen Shake1:05:22 - Visual Feedback Instead Of Text1:08:06 - Reused Tech, Wiggly Leaves And The Famous Glass1:10:27 - Building A Strong Tabletop Vibe1:15:25 - Color, Post-Processing And Mood Swaps1:18:53 - Dangers Of Overdoing Post-Processing1:22:01 - Marketing Starts With An Appealing Game1:24:45 - Publishers, Demos And Next Fests1:30:17 - No Secret Hacks, Just Good Basics1:35:11 - Is The Indie-Pocalypse Real?1:38:47 - Dopamine Farming And Attention Economy1:42:10 - Will Quiet Games Come Back?1:43:56 - What To Make After A Loud Game1:44:47 - Game Recs: Rainy Season And Eastshade1:48:43 - Outro And Future Catch-UpsMy game "Thronefall":➤ Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2239150/Thronefall/➤ Discord: https://discord.gg/gVYctptyg8➤ Nintendo Switch: https://www.nintendo.com/en-gb/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/Thronefall-2669627.html#OverviewMy game "Will You Snail":➤ Play Will You Snail on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1115050/Will_You_Snail/➤ Join the Will You Snail Discord: https://discord.gg/G3mRDrKFor the game developers among you:➤ Join our creative game dev community on Discord: https://discord.gg/Ye6zzfQ

How to Make Brilliant Games With 0 Combat

This is a conversation with Danny Weinbaum from @EastshadeStudios, the creators of one of my favorite roleplaying games, Eastshade, currently working on a new game called "Songs of Glimmerwick". How do you make successful adventure game? What makes for good quests? How to write peaceful games and bring them to satisfying conlcusion? How to craft beautiful environments?Links to my Guests➤ On YouTube: @EastshadeStudios ➤ Eastshade on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/715560/Eastshade/➤ Songs of Glimmerwick on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1706510/Songs_of_Glimmerwick/Listen to the podcast on the go (Spotify, Apple Podcasts, etc.):➤ https://tyrollerjonas.podbean.com/0:00 - Intro1:00 - Leaving Lyndow3:30 - From AAA to indie6:12 - Eastshade in a nutshell8:52 - Designing a living world without combat11:13 - Appeal vs fun; discovering the painting loop15:43 - The “walking sim” problem18:06 - Explainer trailers19:50 - Grizzly Games team size and roles21:20 - Market research, scraping Steam27:32 - Eastshade sales and budget breakdown28:55 - Full voice acting31:18 - Environment art fundamentals36:03 - Performance strategy43:35 - Composing “hero shots”44:40 - Unique landmarks, modular tilesets49:41 - tiny open worlds; Glimmerwick’s world51:11 - What makes a good quest54:29 - Case study: the island mystery56:03 - Glimmerwick’s budget, team, and timelines57:35 - Glimmerwick’s origin and the “one captain per game” rule59:49 - Positioning in the witchy/magic-school space1:03:00 - Early reception: wishlists, betas1:06:41 - From free camera to fixed1:13:58 - Prototyping adventure games1:20:02 - Locks and keys done right (Outer Wilds)1:26:18 - Magic systems in Glimmerwick: spells, farming, potions1:28:31 - Tech art pipeline and approach to writing1:31:38 - Marketing; word of mouth1:36:20 - Time system innovation: “event pucks”1:40:57 - Why time makes worlds feel alive1:43:21 - YouTube strategy: audience, impact, and shorts1:49:12 - Turning illustrations into worlds1:53:48 - Where to start with an adventure game2:04:07 - Replacing combat: a merchant-driven adventure idea2:11:06 - Glimmerwick status: wishlists, demo, conversion2:12:22 - Show the verbs: improving the store page2:16:37 - Marketing plans and development status2:18:10 - Designing satisfying non-combat endings; Eastshade’s farewell2:22:48 - Glimmerwick’s ending approach: reunion and nostalgia2:25:26 - YouTube ROI and streamlining devlogs2:31:10 - Thumbnails, hooks, and careful advice2:32:42 - Game quality vs marketing; reading Steam’s middle class2:34:18 - Game show idea, “friend slop,” trends vs art, and co-op2:38:38 - Wrap-upMy game "Thronefall":➤ Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2239150/Thronefall/➤ Discord: https://discord.gg/gVYctptyg8➤ Nintendo Switch: https://www.nintendo.com/en-gb/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/Thronefall-2669627.html#OverviewMy game "Will You Snail":➤ Play Will You Snail on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1115050/Will_You_Snail/➤ Join the Will You Snail Discord: https://discord.gg/G3mRDrKFor the game developers among you:➤ Join our creative game dev community on Discord: https://discord.gg/Ye6zzfQ

This Young Solo Dev Built a Steam Hit in 4 Months

This is a conversation with @zoroarts8930, a young solo dev who managed to land an indie hit with his co-op game Paddle Paddle Paddle. We talk about that success, how to potentially replicate it and also about the role of luck.Links to my Guest➤ YouTube Channel: @zoroarts8930 ➤ Paddle Paddle Paddle on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3570070/Paddle_Paddle_Paddle/➤ Makis Adventure on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1843110/Makis_Adventure/➤ Rogue Jungle on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2352850/Rogue_Jungle/Listen to the podcast on the go (Spotify, Apple Podcasts, etc.):➤ https://tyrollerjonas.podbean.com/0:00 - Intro1:09 - Path Into Game Dev4:49 - Maki’s Adventure Postmortem9:15 - Building a Level Editor15:40 - From Rogue Jungle to Paddle Paddle17:59 - 3-Hour Prototype and Viral Validation20:21 - Two-Week Demo, Streamers, and Early Momentum21:39 - Publisher Deal, IGN Feature, and Wishlist Velocity24:00 - Shipping in 4 Months; Reviews and Netcode25:21 - Graphics vs Gameplay: Stylized Jank26:54 - Capsule Art and Voice-Over Trailer That Converted28:46 - Playtesting and Bug-Free Launch30:58 - Handling Hate and Prioritizing Fun33:13 - Networking: Photon Fusion, Shared Boat, Prediction39:24 - Passion vs Business: Making Games for a Living41:57 - Balancing Heart and Market48:45 - Future Plans: Small Games and a 3D Sequel49:50 - Sales Momentum, Regions, and a Major Update51:44 - Working With Assemble and Filtering Spam54:20 - Pitching Devolver, Publisher vs Self-Funding56:23 - Investing in Audio: Composer Plans, Budget, and Impact59:28 - Influences: Pokémon OST; Learning From Others01:07:24 - Can You Repeat a Hit?01:11:14 - Luck: How Much It Matters and How to Reduce It01:18:43 - Early Flops, Iteration, Strong Steam Pages, and Being First01:22:25 - Launch Day: Hitting Publish, Friday Strategy, and Early Sales01:27:03 - When the Right Game Markets Itself + Next Steps01:31:20 - Rogue Jungle01:39:52 - OutroMy game "Thronefall":➤ Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2239150/Thronefall/➤ Discord: https://discord.gg/gVYctptyg8➤ Nintendo Switch: https://www.nintendo.com/en-gb/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/Thronefall-2669627.html#OverviewMy game "Will You Snail":➤ Play Will You Snail on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1115050/Will_You_Snail/➤ Join the Will You Snail Discord: https://discord.gg/G3mRDrKFor the game developers among you:➤ Join our creative game dev community on Discord: https://discord.gg/Ye6zzfQ

Grow Your Game Dev Success Gradually

This is a conversation with Stephen Huang from @isto_inc. They made games such as "Get to Work" and "Atrio: The Dark Wild", each game more successful than the last. Sptephen tells his story and shares his best advice on how to grow your game dev success long term.Links to my Guests➤ On YouTube: @isto_inc ➤ Get to Work on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2706170/Get_To_Work/➤ Atrio: The Dark Wild on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1125390/Atrio_The_Dark_Wild/Listen to the podcast on the go (Spotify, Apple Podcasts, etc.):➤ https://tyrollerjonas.podbean.com/0:00 - Intro0:52 - From Microsoft to making the first game2:49 - Disjoint’s gameplay4:28 - Paid mobile launch flop6:25 - $30k total; hard lessons and humility10:45 - Starting Isto Inc; choosing automation-survival (Atrio)13:50 - Why picking a good idea is so hard15:29 - Atrio architecture (Zenject)17:58 - COVID, starting the YouTube19:56 - Early Access launch21:54 - A lucky break: Atrioc and the Xbox exclusive deal23:58 - 1.0 goes a bit better25:04 - Atrio postmortem: hook too abstract26:06 - Art/style didn’t signal the automation audience27:32 - "We didn’t validate early" (and why that hurt)30:06 - Learnings for next time34:36 - From Atrio to Get To Work; the key‑remapping fiasco36:42 - Building Isto Core: reusable systems40:35 - Pitching Atrioc: data, strategy, and a rage game idea44:49 - How they got Atrioc to care (Reddit bits, rapport)46:43 - Standing out in easy‑to‑make genres49:44 - Get To Work explained: a flowy rage platformer54:32 - Story focus and landing CDawgVA01:02:06 - Skipping Next Fest for streamer momentum01:05:55 - Wishlists via YouTube and what streamers value01:12:00 - Launch plan: hold Atrioc; run a speedrun contest01:14:36 - Designing the Hat sequence for streams01:18:37 - Many paths to success; regional surprises (KR/China)01:21:11 - 3‑part postmortem framework01:25:57 - YouTube vs Steam01:27:16 - Engineering the speedrun comp—and the viral video01:32:33 - YouTube as insurance; leveraging big videos for sales01:35:55 - Build your channel vs courting creators01:47:08 - Short‑form vs long‑form videos01:48:34 - The “Idea Gap”: from “cool” to “I must play this”01:50:52 - Pivoting the next game; streamers as partners01:54:25 - The four most streamable genres01:58:58 - Next up: online co‑op multiplayer02:01:17 - Think long‑term; add one big skill per game02:05:28 - ClosingMy game "Thronefall":➤ Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2239150/Thronefall/➤ Discord: https://discord.gg/gVYctptyg8➤ Nintendo Switch: https://www.nintendo.com/en-gb/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/Thronefall-2669627.html#OverviewMy game "Will You Snail":➤ Play Will You Snail on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1115050/Will_You_Snail/➤ Join the Will You Snail Discord: https://discord.gg/G3mRDrKFor the game developers among you:➤ Join our creative game dev community on Discord: https://discord.gg/Ye6zzfQ

Their Second Game Did Worse, Now What?

This is a conversation with Julian Colbus from DigiTales Interactive, the creators of Lacuna and Between Horizons. We talk about regrets from their last game, how to succeed with story based games and how to make it as an indie game developer.Links to my Guest➤ Lacua on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1364100/Lacuna__A_SciFi_Noir_Adventure/➤ Between Horizons on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1921980/Between_Horizons__A_SciFi_Detective_Adventure/➤ The Great Sassanelli on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2195490/The_Great_Sassanelli__An_Interactive_Novel/➤ Unburied Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1911240994/unburied?lang=de➤ DigiTales Interactive (More Links): https://digitales.games/Listen to the podcast on the go (Spotify, Apple Podcasts, etc.):➤ https://tyrollerjonas.podbean.com/0:00 - Intro1:01 - Building Without Marketability in Mind2:04 - Making “Detective” Readable at a Glance3:33 - The Market Shift: 2021 vs 20244:24 - 3D vs 2D: Cost, Detail, and Personality6:20 - Modernizing Point-and-Click7:57 - Growing Team and Scope (and Losing Creative Control)12:23 - Elegance Over Features14:24 - Lessons from Cheap Horror Hits: Nail the Hook, Skip the Fluff15:11 - The Essence of Detective Games17:38 - Solution Inputs That Resist Guessing20:33 - “Choices Matter”24:16 - Semi-Open World Detectives: Combinatorial Explosion26:46 - What Makes a Good Story in Games28:00 - Selling Story Games via Setting; Be Oddly Specific34:05 - Design by Committee vs Strong Vision36:57 - Studio History and Team Scaling39:49 - Becoming a Publisher41:26 - New Business Plan: Smaller, Cheaper, More Frequent Releases42:18 - Stepping into Survival Horror (and Why)43:30 - Survival Horror’s Proven Formula and Feel45:20 - Disempowerment and the Illusion of Scarcity49:45 - Next Detective Game52:09 - The Second-Game Slump: Causes and Fixes56:45 - Don’t Make Direct Sequels as an Indie (Most of the Time)01:00:50 - Steam Cross-Promotion: “From the Creators of…”, Bundles, Discounts01:03:59 - Writing Better Dialogue01:10:27 - Make the Story the Gameplay01:14:57 - Hidden Mysteries and Multiple Active Cases01:17:53 - Open-Ended Inputs vs Bespoke Reactions01:21:48 - Dialogue System: Custom Tool, Booleans, and Logs01:29:40 - Make It Obvious: Premise, Key Art, and Core Loop at a Glance01:31:44 - Descriptive Trailers and Demos That Filter Buyers01:36:45 - Screenshot Best Practices01:39:22 - Design for Trailer Moments01:41:36 - Budgets and Team Sizes: Why Mid-Size Struggles01:44:53 - Indie Math: Real Costs and Platform Cuts01:49:29 - Scope Discipline: Focus Saves Money and Quality01:50:25 - Team Composition: Be Selective01:52:31 - Work with Equals or Better; Pragmatic Dev Beats Over-Engineering01:55:42 - Know What’s Possible (and Where AI Helps)01:59:21 - Marketing in the For-You Era: Authenticity and Hooks02:06:09 - Creator Outreach That Works (and Tools to Do It)02:11:30 - Wrap-Up and Plugs: The Great Sassanelli, Socials, UnburiedMy game "Thronefall":➤ Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2239150/Thronefall/➤ Discord: https://discord.gg/gVYctptyg8➤ Nintendo Switch: https://www.nintendo.com/en-gb/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/Thronefall-2669627.html#OverviewMy game "Will You Snail":➤ Play Will You Snail on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1115050/Will_You_Snail/➤ Join the Will You Snail Discord: https://discord.gg/G3mRDrKFor the game developers among you:➤ Join our creative game dev community on Discord: https://discord.gg/Ye6zzfQ

Making a Cozy Game Hit in 5 Months

This is a conversation with Kathrin Radtke from Spellgarden Games, the tiny development team behind Sticky Business and Ritual of Raven. We talk about making successful cozy games, scope, marketing and more.Links to my Guests➤ Sticky Business on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2303350/Sticky_Business/➤ Ritual of Raven on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2066520/Ritual_of_Raven/➤ Spellgarden Website (Social Media links etc): https://spellgardengames.com/Listen to the podcast on the go (Spotify, Apple Podcasts, etc.):➤ https://tyrollerjonas.podbean.com/0:00 - Intro0:41 - Why People Play Cozy Games2:28 - Cozy Games on Steam: Size and Growth5:06 - What Makes a Game Cozy?7:08 - Spellgarden Origins and Sticky Business in 5 Months10:20 - From Idea Board to 3‑Week Prototype, TikTok Devlogs12:38 - Finding Ideas in Trends, Hobbies, and ASMR14:09 - Designing Stickers with Stickers + Low‑Pressure Creativity17:12 - Steam Page, Viral Tweet, and Finding a Publisher19:51 - TikTok Strategy: Language, Algorithm, Results22:36 - Turning Social Posts into Wishlists24:31 - Why Simple Concepts Market Better27:05 - Smaller, Clearer Projects and When to Share30:05 - Will Spellgarden Stay in Cozy Games?32:05 - Why “Work” Simulators Feel Relaxing34:13 - Designing for Intrinsic Motivation (Not Scores)40:01 - Ritual of the Raven: Automation and Coding43:52 - From Concept to a Big Narrative45:28 - Managing Scope Under Publisher Milestones47:31 - Progression Across Regions, Tutorials, and Pacing49:20 - Marketability vs Vision and What’s Next51:11 - Crafting Ritual’s Art Style with One Artist52:54 - The Pacing Problem in Automation Games55:20 - Making Designs Click and the Cost of Lock‑In59:46 - Advice for Aspiring Cozy Devs and Testing Interest01:03:35 - How They Playtest Cozy and Creative Games01:07:44 - Marketing Cozy Games: Platforms, Demos, Events01:11:04 - Sticky Business DLCs: Why, How, and Backlash01:17:29 - DLCs vs Early Access and Player Expectations01:22:51 - Post-Launch Support and Cozy Recommendations01:26:26 - OutroMy game "Thronefall":➤ Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2239150/Thronefall/➤ Discord: https://discord.gg/gVYctptyg8➤ Nintendo Switch: https://www.nintendo.com/en-gb/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/Thronefall-2669627.html#OverviewMy game "Will You Snail":➤ Play Will You Snail on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1115050/Will_You_Snail/➤ Join the Will You Snail Discord: https://discord.gg/G3mRDrKFor the game developers among you:➤ Join our creative game dev community on Discord: https://discord.gg/Ye6zzfQ

Tiny Team, Huge Sales (Dorfromantik & Star Birds)

This is a conversation with Timo Falcke and Zwi Zausch, two of the devs at Toukana Interactive, the developers of Dorfromantik and Star Birds. This is a game dev success story with some theory crafting about how to potentially reproduce an outcome like this.Links to my Guests➤ Star Birds on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2719750/Star_Birds/➤ Dorfromantik on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1455840/Dorfromantik/Listen to the podcast on the go (Spotify, Apple Podcasts, etc.):➤ https://tyrollerjonas.podbean.com/0:00 - Intro0:35 - Meet Toukana Interactive & Dorfromantik1:28 - Founding the studio and shipping Dorfromantik in a year4:17 - Early Access launch: Next Fest momentum, streamers, and the Steam algorithm7:46 - The itch prototype and Ludum Dare origins8:27 - Expectations vs reality on launch day11:45 - Prototyping many ideas and choosing Dorfromantik16:49 - Building a unique look: trees, outlines, and shader tricks18:44 - Visual inspirations and tips for finding your art style21:31 - Iterating the rules: rotation, edges, lakes, and quests27:15 - Performance war stories: PC instancing to Switch optimization38:07 - Early Access strategy, 1.0 launch, and getting featured41:50 - How Steam featuring works (Steam reps and slots)43:15 - Hiring after success and staying small by design45:52 - Turning Dorfromantik into an award-winning board game53:37 - Why the board game works (campaign, accessibility, depth)57:48 - Partnering with Kurzgesagt and choosing Star Birds01:06:20 - Who did what: Toukana vs Kurzgesagt on Star Birds01:09:41 - Tech art & pipeline: 3D that looks like 2D, procedural asteroids01:14:13 - Designing systems: logistics across asteroids and big economies01:16:07 - No fail-state: keeping it chill and puzzle-like01:19:13 - Scoring without time pressure (and the most hated achievement)01:23:39 - Why Early Access again and the plan for Star Birds01:26:44 - Community feedback, roadmap, and lots more content01:29:53 - Moving launch for Silksong and the pricing debate01:34:10 - Can success be reproduced? Sequel vs new IP01:36:55 - What gets attention now: polish vs recognizable "trash"01:39:00 - Two big levers: Steam visibility vs content creators01:40:56 - Familiarity vs originality and making it readable at a glance01:45:40 - Marketing realities, scope choice, and staying a lean team01:49:49 - Our workflow: prototype, evaluate, refine, decide01:54:04 - Appeal prototyping vs gameplay prototyping01:55:54 - Appeal, player fantasy, define intrigue early01:58:03 - Star Birds' appeal vs Kurzgesagt's high-tension vibe02:01:03 - Narrative vs systems, constraints, and "polish what matters"02:04:40 - Wrap-upMy game "Thronefall":➤ Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2239150/Thronefall/➤ Discord: https://discord.gg/gVYctptyg8➤ Nintendo Switch: https://www.nintendo.com/en-gb/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/Thronefall-2669627.html#OverviewMy game "Will You Snail":➤ Play Will You Snail on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1115050/Will_You_Snail/➤ Join the Will You Snail Discord: https://discord.gg/G3mRDrKFor the game developers among you:➤ Join our creative game dev community on Discord: https://discord.gg/Ye6zzfQ

Min-Maxing Your Steam Launch

This is a Game Dev Podcast with my guest Cory Darby, a indie games strategist / profissional min-maxer and the co-creator of Click & Conquer, a game that with just 400 hours of work managed to turn over 100K in profits. We talk about how to optimize your Steam launch for maximum visibility and where the indie games industry on Steam is going.Links to my Guest➤ No cost 30-Minute consultation: https://tidycal.com/ckdarby/biz-game-dev➤ Cory on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThornityCo➤ Click and Conquer on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3267900/Click_and_Conquer/➤ Analytics page Cory mentioned for Steam Stats: https://www.gginsights.io/Listen to the podcast on the go (Spotify, Apple Podcasts, etc.):➤ https://tyrollerjonas.podbean.com/0:00 - Intro1:11 - The 72-hour test: what the dataset shows3:35 - Conversion is king: Steam’s fair-shot test and early thresholds6:56 - Designing for conversion: page, trailer, and pricing8:41 - Launch discounts and price psychology (40% for two weeks)10:35 - The controversial post-launch price drop and “is it sleazy?”13:38 - Pricing pitfalls: overpricing kills and you can’t A/B test15:39 - Are prices trending down? Incremental economics18:32 - When deep discounts backfire on perception20:16 - Tags as targeting: choose the right seed audience24:51 - Appeal and instant connection vs “just make a good game”25:37 - Copy what works, add a twist (Cory’s approach)28:47 - Picking a war theme via asset packs—and the backlash31:57 - Mechanics and pacing by the numbers (Click & Conquer)34:33 - Foot-pedal playtesting and auto-edited feedback37:54 - Scaling with collaborations and purpose-built tools44:58 - Riding trend waves: incrementals, co-op, and shop sims48:42 - Co-op lineage (Lethal Company, etc.) and theme waves like trains50:49 - Plotting by tags and where the data comes from52:27 - Don’t be late: spot waves early (Gavin’s advice)54:31 - Trend-chasing vs passion; blending genres and risk58:28 - Building a 400-hour game: roles, hours, and timeline01:00:37 - Why short projects lower risk and speed learning01:04:31 - After the wave: adjacent bets and using reviews/AI01:09:11 - Find genres with volume but mixed reviews; “Professional min/maxer”01:13:55 - AI is already changing dev: agents as co-devs and toolbuilding01:19:59 - Agents that use computers and play games; the inequality gap01:29:04 - The upside: accessibility and the internet analogy01:31:50 - Hot take: game dev shifts business-first; why AAA struggles01:35:07 - A new model: many small AI-boosted teams (and acquisitions)01:37:33 - Jonas’s stance: avoid AI art, use AI for code/tools; playtesting bottleneck01:41:19 - AI as sounding board: design aid (color theory) and more01:43:16 - “Soulless” vs soul: min-maxing as a creative pursuit01:44:15 - Wrap-upMy game "Thronefall":➤ Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2239150/Thronefall/➤ Discord: https://discord.gg/gVYctptyg8➤ Nintendo Switch: https://www.nintendo.com/en-gb/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/Thronefall-2669627.html#OverviewMy game "Will You Snail":➤ Play Will You Snail on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1115050/Will_You_Snail/➤ Join the Will You Snail Discord: https://discord.gg/G3mRDrKFor the game developers among you:➤ Join our creative game dev community on Discord: https://discord.gg/Ye6zzfQ