Advertise on podcast: A Podcast About Game Development

More from us Play Thornity's Games - https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/aarimous_thornity Learn with Connor - https://sundaybrunchstudios.com/p/make-game-dev-a-habit?utm_campaign=podcast&utm_content=ep1_15

More from us Play Thornity's Games - https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/aarimous_thornity Learn with Connor - https://sundaybrunchstudios.com/studio-sessions

More from us Play Thornity's Games - https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/aarimous_thornity Learn with Connor - https://sundaybrunchstudios.com/studio-sessions

More from us Play Thornity's Games - https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/aarimous_thornity Learn with Connor - https://sundaybrunchstudios.com/studio-sessions

The Book/Paper - https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/25670869-why-greatness-cannot-be-planned TL;DR - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDuF4onPmuE More from us Play Thornity's Games - https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/aarimous_thornity?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=apagd&utm_content=make_big_games Learn with Connor - https://sundaybrunchstudios.com/studio-sessions?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=apagd&utm_content=make_big_games

Get Tabletop Tavern on Steam - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3337380/Tabletop_Tavern/ More from us Play Thornity's Games - https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/aarimous_thornity Learn with Connor - https://sundaybrunchstudios.com/studio-sessions

More from us Play Thornity's Games - https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/aarimous_thornity Learn with Connor - https://sundaybrunchstudios.com/studio-sessions

More from us Play Cory's Games - https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/aarimous_thornity Learn with Connor - https://sundaybrunchstudios.com/studio-sessions

Chapters 0:00 Intro 0:48 What has happened since last week? 3:00 What went wrong with Just Keep Fishing? 14:22 What would it have taken to pivot during development? 24:15 What went wrong with Orb Breaker? 28:05 What do you do with external feedback during development? 35:50 Was doing 3 games at the same time a mistake? 41:22 How does the right amount of process help with coordination? 45:38 What were the advantages of shipping 3 games? 53:35 What really matters? 58:02 Viewer question: How long do you wait after shipping a game before starting on the next one? More from us Play Cory's Games - https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/aarimous_thornity Learn with Connor - https://sundaybrunchstudios.com/studio-sessions

Chapters 0:00 Intro 13:42 What comes after a game launch? 24:43 What genre should new game devs start with? 46:17 Finding a game dev strategy that fits your strengths More from us Play Cory's Games - https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/aarimous_thornity Learn with Connor - https://sundaybrunchstudios.com/studio-sessions Additional references The 9 Quantic Gamer Types - https://quanticfoundry.com/gamer-types/

Chapters 0:00 Intro 12:43 The hidden work of polishing a game 17:28 Playtesting, feedback & deciding what to fix 23:49 Why 80% can be better than 100% 50:42 How to actually practice game polish More from us Cory - https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/aarimous_thornity Connor - https://sundaybrunchstudios.com/p/do-one-thing

00:00 - Intro 01:00 - Shipping games 13:20 - Ads for games and validation 26:29 - Elevating Game Jams 31:04 - Evolving the role of a publisher Orb Breaker - https://store.steampowered.com/app/4765160/Orb_Breaker_Demo Just Keep Fishing - https://store.steampowered.com/app/4601160/Just_Keep_Fishing/ Mining and Dwarves - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3987230/Mining_and_Dwarves/ Connor's Game Design Framework - https://sundaybrunchstudios.com/p/seek-out-the-reasons-to-quit

Chapters 0:00 Intro 10:10 Deadlines, productivity, and changing how games get made 15:53 The future of game development and AI 38:11 Dodo Derby 47:15 Building an audience and finding your path as an indie dev References Jonas Tyroller's Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4k7yDfYx24 PEAK - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3527290/PEAK/ A Game About Feeding A Black Hole - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3694480/A_Game_About_Feeding_A_Black_Hole/

Episode Topics00:00 Intro01:57 Personal Calendar Picks12:09 Fun vs. Satisfaction46:45 Can Any Game Make $1,000?59:36 Viewer Question: What Makes a Good Game Trailer?Follow UsCory Connor Game ReferencesIRON NEST: Heavy Turret Simulator Mazey Village Re:Night ReStory: Chill Electronics Repairs Librarian: Tidy Up the Arcane Library! Supermarket Chaos Scritchy Scratchy Rollin’ Ravioli Palworld Shelldiver A Game About Feeding a Black Hole Puzzle Milk Tea Gamblers Table How Many Dudes?

0:00 Intro 2:14 Forecasting Launch Success and the First 72 Hours 6:30 Validating Games and Finding Early Playtesters 15:12 Designing for New Players and the Right Audience 29:54 Game Jams, Steam Next Fest, and Indie Discoverability 40:56 Building an Effective Playtesting Process 48:12 Interpreting Feedback and Reading Player Behaviors Follow Us Cory https://store.steampowered.com/developer/thornity Connor https://sundaybrunchstudios.com/blog Referenced Games A Game About Feeding a Black Hole https://store.steampowered.com/app/3694480/A_Game_About_Feeding_A_Black_Hole/ The Walking Trade https://store.steampowered.com/app/3398110/The_Walking_Trade/ Balatro https://store.steampowered.com/app/2379780/Balatro/ Just Keep Fishing https://store.steampowered.com/app/4601160/Just_Keep_Fishing/ Mining and Dwarves https://store.steampowered.com/app/3987230/Mining_and_Dwarves/ Orb Breaker https://store.steampowered.com/app/4261030/Orb_Breaker/ Referenced Books Nudge by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/690485/nudge-by-richard-h-thaler-and-cass-r-sunstein/ Additional References Min-Maxing Your Steam Launch — A Game Dev Podcast with Jonas Tyroller — https://tyrollerjonas.podbean.com/e/min-maxing-your-steam-launch/ How to Market a Game https://howtomarketagame.com/2025/11/04/the-optimistic-case-that-indie-games-are-in-a-golden-age-right-now/ Incremental Games Database — https://www.incrementaldb.com/ Steam Next Fest — https://store.steampowered.com/sale/nextfest Godot Wild Jam — https://godotwildjam.com/ Ludum Dare — https://ldjam.com/ GMTK Game Jam — https://itch.io/jam/gmtk-game-jam Dream Dev Podcast — https://www.youtube.com/@DreamDevPodcast