How My Game Made $150,000 With NO EXPERIENCE - Full Time Game Dev Podcast Ep. 012

[@thomasbrush]

Isn't Chris the best? ► Play the demo: store.steampowered.com/app/1614440/B_Path_of_the_Teal_Lotus/ ► Learn to make 6-figures with a demo: www.fulltimegamedev.com/opt-in-how-to-make-six-figures

[@danchovy1111]

“Learn coding while you make your game.” For whatever reason, this gave me a lot more confidence in myself. Thanks guys for the talk

[@squidshockstudios1486]

We learned almost everything while we were making the game.

[@kewa_design]

You also cannot learn stuff without a real usepurpose. Working while learning means seeing every result of every Code and that helps to connect functions to use cases

[@Blinkers2007GameDev]

That's exactly what I'm doing. I'm learning as I go along

[@squidshockstudios1486]

Thanks so much for having me on Thomas. We always have great conversations!

[@thomasbrush]

This convo was a treat. Good luck on the demo launch dude!!

[@Magicguy33]

Great video guys!

[@thePadlockesTech]

I'm looking forward to see how well this game does 🎉

[@dannyelmism0]

Niceeeee!!! Starting my journey want to do a beat em up 2D man and all I have seen from the community is love so far!!! Keep it uuuupppp

[@watchtowerdragon7098]

You were discussing that no matter what else is going on in life, your back burner is always on the game. It's not just game dev, it's when you develop a passion for problem solving and have to step away from solving it. Your brain will always keep it on the burner. I have literally had dreams about excel spread sheets and have woken up with solutions to take to work the next morning.

[@Aquilasdev]

I know the feeling you’re talking about. I also listen to a bunch of authors who write fiction. They talk about when they have a plot or character problem often the solution comes to them when they’re not writing. Because their brain continues to work on the problem in the background while your conscious mind goes on to other things. In Game Dev we don’t just have plot or character, we have plot, character, audio, music, rigging, trim sheets, lighting, scripting, and on and on and on. I think it’s hard to step away cause your brain is trying to sort all these different categories and it’s also bugging your conscious mind with the overflow.

[@honaleri]

Inverse is true. As both an author and a game dev, having more moving pieces makes it easier to step away from the problem and find spontaneous solutions, because there are more dots to connect essentially. For me, for example, my game had a problem with one system, and an unsolved problem with the musicality of the game, these two deficits created an immediate connect to each other, and now the musicality and the system in question are unified. Essentially, the more material your working with, the easier it is to find spontaneous genius in it. With stories and art, the world you build tends to expand in complexity before such things become easy. But that's also why as a write, you have to have 100 ideas beneath the story that only shows the reader 10 of them. Let them fill in the dots and they'll be all the more invested because they'll think they wrote it.

[@Jay-Dub-Ay]

What Chris said about “seeing it from above” to know how to ship a game is the game changer. People’s game dev education is missing these high level overviews! So much focus on technical details and solutions in these online tutorials, creative people with design ideas just drown and give up!

[@squidshockstudios1486]

so important to zoom out, so you can better strategize about the smaller things.

[@mischiefmotorsgame]

Great video! Knowing that you didnt start game dev 20 years ago helps me put things into perspective! My biggest fear in going full time on publisher/kickstarter money with 2 young kids at home. I dont want to take the risk of letting the family down. My girlfriend doesn't make too much money to compensate if things go to hell. My game dev journey slowed down after a year because motivation got killed by something I'm terrible at (level design), so I'm making maps that suck because the best way to learn to make maps is...to make maps. Even if they're terrible. Anyways, enjoyed the talk!

[@thePadlockesTech]

Argh! I suck at level design, too! It was probably because I spent more of my life looking at people than environments

[@harlzthedev]

Look up level design lobby he’s a great source of information for level design, he has a podcast and KZbin and he has books on Gumroad

[@xantishayde-walker4593]

That whole talk about someone having their identity dismantled or not formed because of mean or disinterested people from their childhood.......that's me. Even though I've been told i was smart by so many people, including my Dad, the amount of tearing down my Dad did when he was pissed destroyed all the good he and everybody else told me the rest of the time. Also, usually when I told i was smart, it was followed by "He would be passing in school if he just applied himself." or "He would be doing so much better if he tried harder." Neither my teachers nor my family knew how hard I tried. I finally found out I have ADHD at 39. Im 41 now and just starting down the path to healing from all the damage caused by none of us knowing what was wrong with me. I'm working on accepting the negative feelings so I don't let them drive me into an early grave or nursing home, due to my impulsive eating of whatever junk I can shove in my face and my inability to even attempt to walk (for exercise/health, outside of work) when I don't have to, let alone go to the gym or work out at home.

[@Legit_SuperFall]

My assigned identity is the genius but lazy destroyer that can do anything but ends up doing nothing. Despite all of that, apparently i'm too stupid to have an opinion or i lack the experience to know anything. My passiveness and tameness was nurtured, but then i was criticized for it.

[@motioncache]

I feel like i need to say this. Maybe just for me though. I believe in you all. Take it from someone else who suspects they have ADHD. School is a rigid box that isn't natural to humans. Humans were designed to learn from direct hands-on experience and implementation. Take this time now to live intentionally. Decide what's important to you short term and long term. Make the long term your north star without losing sight of it. Health, career, and relationship goals. If you are not failing along the way, then you are likely not pushing yourself enough and thus not likely learning. Address your daily/monthly short-term needs, but all decisions about what you use your time for should be carefully considered within the greater context of your long-term goal(s). Time is more valuable than anything on this earth. If friends and family are important to you, balance them into your life. It's too easy to only focus on career goals. I have this problem. Surround yourself with other driven people. Hold each other responsible. This could be online or in person. Do yearly audits of your progress in all areas. Live with intention. If you at least try to aim the direction of your life, you might not hit the target, but you'll be a lot closer to it than if you lived without careful consideration and intention.

[@brandonjacksoon]

Thanks for the interview Thomas and Chris!

[@bronson8x993]

To me, what was said about the "correct" way of doing things, and how one can get stubborn on NOT doing things right, is something I agree 100% ... and it was so nice to hear that spoken out. Of course there are places and times to keep things really organized and tidy and do things rigorously.. still the imagination driving the next grazy idea or mechanical piece, that gives no about rigor or rules and standards, is the tip of the magical spear that makes things amazing. I think that if you have just a couple of tools, and courage to try out your ideas ... you can do incredible things with so little if you use imagination.

[@eckrin]

FYI. Permutation is correct. 2^10 = 1024 Definitely picking up Bo. Had it wishlisted for a while now ✌️

[@DejayClayton]

I'm surprised that a successful game programmer wouldn't know how to deal with powers of 2.

[@DNV7DssC]

Isn't the combination concept more appropriate for the calculation here? 🤔

[@noahbranch6127]

I feel like thinking of work outside of work is a normal thing. Not just in game dev. As a software developer I’m constantly thinking how I can implement a feature or fix a bug

[@LucidVisions]

Man I resonate so hard with asking the questions. "Why do you need to get so granular?", because the brain always be firing. The kind of brain that loved puzzles and Algebra at school, always wanting something to mentally chew on.

[@Smabverse]

I've had my eyes on Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus for quite some time now, the game looks super cool!

[@RealUnreal-yh5bw]

He's a skilled artist, and stumpling over word's totally normal when being interviewed by the legend, in front of 381 thousands of followers.

[@luquest1848]

Hey guys 🙂... With 2 choices per level, the number of unique paths is 2 to the power the number of levels, so with 10 levels, that's 1024 unique paths. Nice

[@nullx2368]

I love these interviews, someday hope to be on that chair talking to your audiance :D

[@gidkid100]

The section about identity hit me super hard. I never received a chance to even explore my identity because I had to work full time while still in high school to support my parents and when I expressed myself that I wanted to explore things that I loved it was looked down on. For years I sunk into a deep depression and I felt like I lost a lot of my childhood and early adulthood

[@Nefelibatacomingthrough]

Somewhat same. As a self diagnosed mild autist I realized in my twenties that I have used all my life trying to be like others. So much so that it took ten years to really understand how much I didn't really fight for myself when I was young. Arguments with parents were futile and all that. Now that I have turned things around a bit I have never been so joyful and hopeful. When I understood that keeping other people "not angry" wasn't my job all the time and everywhere I have found my own direction. On that path Im so much better and I have energy to pay attention to others as they are - not as I think they are. I have never understood people who look back on their younger years and think it was so much better then.. What about all the decisions you have made during your life? Why haven't they brought you to a joyful place?

[@JamesJLetourneau]

In life, always thinking about making the game. But when making the game, always thinking about missing out on life

[@marcomoutinho.gamedev]

yup... the irony

[@animatormark1]

Thanks for doing these podcasts Thomas. They are super informative and inspiring to continue making games.

[@darcy4143]

Im a solo game developer with a game in development right now, it's my first game and touching on the conversation that you mentioned about thinking about the Game all the time is so true. With my background as a musician and sound design it is very similar to game development. Musicians go through a similer process when developing their sound ID when writing music arrangements, songs, along with the big decision choices they have to make for not just writing a piece of music or song but for promoting their ideas to market the band hoping they have a viable product for an audience. Ive always said When you are a creative you never stop thinking its in our DNA. Great video insight thanks.

[@kaleendo]

The "i love you too" was pretty funny lol Awesome interview. Chris' comments about building up your creative tastes really resonated with me. And it's a great way to not feel so guilty when you do a healthy (or even unhealthy to some extent) level of consumption in between work lol

[@azarthi]

Love these long form podcasts, keeps me awake during my day job!

[@musicmikemn]

The conversation around how your identity plays into your ability to stick the process through until the end reminds me of Atomic Habits by James Clear.

[@suryakamalnd9888]

I'm planning to start my game dev studio next year after my college is over, such videos really inspired me for some reason..

[@izem.imrane]

Save your years' life gamedev is already dead

[@goIdfishgamer]

@@izem.imranenot dead but over saturated

[@patek2385]

Just find a normal job and make games on the side... you won't kill your dream this way.

[@izem.imrane]

@@patek2385 Sure.

[@h20dancing18]

@@goIdfishgamer it’s always been oversaturated

[@MrChambers]

Shouts out to Chris! A legend and great human.

[@squidshockstudios1486]

yoooooo. No YOU!

[@warriorcasper]

Wow this episode really resonated with me, thanks alot for giving me the insight and ability to further reflect upon myself.

[@雪鷹魚英語培訓的領航]

Added to wishlist and liked your vid. Gotta feed that algorithm!

[@animemenga125]

I feel like the saying 'if you do something you love you'll never work, blah blah blah". your brain never wants to stop because it's so engaged and having fun. just a thought i had.

[@ajmgdaj]

Playing the demo while watching this. ... fighting the Hollow Knight association in any way is probably just unwise. This _is_ at the very minimum a homage to Holloiw Knight with Japanese themes. I mean the player character is a dead-giveaway. Just embrace it. And no, it will not do as well as Hollow Knight, because it is not as fresh and new as hollow knight. But it also doesn't have to be. It is perfectly fine the way it is. Again, just embrace it.

[@thePadlockesTech]

My stubbornness helped me finish my first game, but others' opinions affected me where I didn't pursue Kickstarter or publisher deals. I regret it tremendously. I have a better game plan with my second game. Trust the Thomas Process.

[@53newave14]

what a wonderful content you make Thomas!

[@JamesArndt]

Thomas getting all philosophical and talking about the "ego".

[@gpsxsirus]

The different paths to completing a level was a big thing in an old shooter on the 3DO, PO'ed. (Later on Playstation and now on Steam) It not only has multiple paths to beat a level, some hidden, but they, sometimes, lead to different levels. Made the game feel huge.

[@DavidZobristGames]

1024 variations with 2 options per 10 levels. BUT it are only 20 unique experiences. As you can go each path once and there is no overlapping consquences bleeding into the next level. If you make different outcomes for each path the variations part comes into play but without it, 20 unique experiences.

[@damori3604]

You should definitely do a podcast!

[@beardordie5308]

So if that two-paths concept is apparent during gameplay, i would want a new game playthrough to indicate clearly to me which path i took the first time around so that my second playthrough can hit all the paths i didn't already do.

[@h20dancing18]

Maybe a simple light or broken lock on the door

[@MarcusArmstrong037]

Ten levels each with two paths is 2 to the power of 10. Which equals 1024 possible permutations.

[@simonfinnie2900]

The math for combinations is just multiply each number of combinations per level by each other. I.e. first level has 3 ways, second has 4, third has 2, then the number of combinations is 3*4*2 which is 24. If the number per level is consistent the you can just take the number per level to the power of number of levels. I.e. 2 ways per level, 10 levels, 2^10 which is 1024 combinations.

[@h20dancing18]

the math for how many paths is avg number of choices times number of times you make a choice. Or you can do num of choices at level 1 times level 2 and so on. same thing

[@jaulloa21]

Your looks have a lot it do with ur games success. I believe

[@TUKMAK]

Definitely feel the thinking about the game always. Its none stop but its a good motivator

[@TheotimAntoni]

for sake put all those interviews on spotify, i need to download those for my sport :OOO

[@magnomendes7373]

Two options per level yields 2 to the 10th power combinations. So it's 1024 different combinations but if the options are independent then it might just as well be 20 levels where you need to beat 10 of them. If they interact with each other, ie. options 11, 12, 21, 22 give 4 actually different experiences to the first 2 levels as opposed to when you reach level 2 whatever you did on level one doesn't matter.

[@jermainebrown6452]

Best question "What kept the fire going?". Definitely excited and intimidated as hell with this crazy dream of making my own game. From the Atari and Nintendo days, it's been a dream. But OMG life keeps lifing and bills dont give a damn about dreams LOL Another great, informative and inspirational videos. Keep going!

[@TUKMAK]

I think the branching paths can be argued that it helps streaming. But i think its just the reaction of the streamer people are looking for not necessarily which path they take. Think the streamabilty matters more if youre going full on worrying about all of the variables. Like lethal company and apex those are still people only watching for the streamer not necessarily the game even tho the games are highly replayable

[@TUKMAK]

I mean you spent so long saying you're making a game look like bioshock. Your hook was BIOSHOCK but willy wonka. It was even in one of the trailers!!

[@GroundbreakGames]

Nothing stopping you from starting a channel and showing us all how it’s done then Mr Expert. What are you waiting for since you seem to know how to do it better?

[@TUKMAK]

@@GroundbreakGames not saying the game has to be exactly like bioshock man, im saying he made the problem for himself by saying that's his hook for the longest time and not acknowledging that

[@thomasbrush]

Correct!

[@Omkuskom]

sorry but I love this. I just played the demo and I love the controls, I love the mechanics and I really appreciate the game being available in Ukrainian. thanks!

[@lowyosh5722]

I wish I could have listened to this conversation because i'm very interested in what Chris has to say and his knowledge been shared but an interviewer who interrupts the guest and tries to find nosense similarities in Chris experiences in order to talk about his own games or path, is a pain in the ass.

[@josephbornman8462]

Think of him like he’s making videos for his channel. On his channel he talks about his stuff, and game dev topics He didn’t claim to be a pure interviewer And to be fair I thought he interrupted too much too. But in the grand scheme it’s a smaller concern, not a massive one. But again, it’s important to have the right frame I think. He didn’t invite someone on to be just a pure interviewer-it’s a conversation

[@richardsauer1667]

To Thomas. The concept of having two separate path per level only makes good sense if path selection affects the future of the game. If these choices lead to nothing more than different paths to the same end point then this design decision is of limited value. Consider this when you think about how this expands the complexity or breathe of your game.

[@ninjamonk]

Can you put these out on the podcast feed again. The last couple haven’t made it to the podcast. Easier to listen on a walk than find an hour to watch 👍

[@thomasbrush]

Working on it!

[@h20dancing18]

if you get YT premium its both downloadable and listenable (and both at the same time)

[@maksymv]

Thanks for interview... however... it would be great to learn success side behind of Kickstarter campaign. What worked and what not?

[@CryinOverSpilledTea]

Needed this today

[@MavricMusic]

"When you work, work. When you play, play Don't mix the two" -Jim Rohn

[@TUKMAK]

Hey that game comes out on my sister's bday!

[@kaydenhardcastle]

Love the info and conversation! Weirdos on here watching your videos complaining about “why is Thomas Talking about his game stuff on his game stuff channel” hahaha wow

[@motioncache]

Poor Felipe is Rapunzel in the twisted tower

[@gamedevai]

I just released an update on my Eye exercise game / training. One tip I learned from an author is never watch or play a game or movie fully because you will subconsciously become influenced by the.artwork and thus create a game or story in which will be very similar and without much self creativeness. Whats your thoughts?

[@FractalPrism.]

the video player for the webinar does not allow you to scrub backward or forward, this is amazingly frustrating

[@manuelg9418]

Total different Paths with 2 different doors decision 10 times 2^10 = 1024 paths 3 different doors decision 11 times 3^11 = 177147 paths

[@marcomoutinho.gamedev]

about the topic talked about the 15:00 min mark, BRUH I COMPLETELY understand. I relate 101%, and it comes to a point that its start to be very unhealthy ...

[@brandonjacksoon]

I saw Thomas Brush in the The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. He played as Anders Lassen.

[@beardordie5308]

Yes, he was super badass.

[@lecomingbegend497]

Movie was so much fun. It'll be top 5 of the year easily. Up there with Dune 2, Furiosa, Deadpool and Wolverine, and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

[@Linkon18]

What course in the video is Chris talking about that Thomas has made that made it click for him?

[@squidshockstudios1486]

Thomas' course, Fulltime Game Dev

[@WalterWhiteOfficial2011]

Hi I'm pretty new to game developing but I saw some of your videos and wondered should I use Godot, unreal, or unity? Also which one is easiest and which one can I use chat gpt to help me effectively?

[@thePadlockesTech]

I started with Unity and made small games. Then I moved to Unreal in 2019 and made my first commercial game. Now I'm moving to Godot because it helps me add a solo indie Dev who is trying to make games quickly. The tools don't matter, but once you pick one, stick to it for a few years

[@SpiritofNature]

Very good podcast.)))

[@TheSoprah]

Just 15 seconds in the video and Thomas already does his typical self-promotion

[@Thulnar]

This is his channel, isn't it?

[@TheSoprah]

@@Thulnar without a doubt. And it is my opinion that I find it pathetic to constantly self-promote his stuff. It makes a very greedy impression when you do it at this extent

[@thomasbrush]

Lots of love but…. Lol. Me talking about being busy with twisted tower was literally just starting the convo. He asked how I was doing.

[@Thulnar]

@@TheSoprah Well, he at least has a game he can promote... We don't. Envy is the pathetic matter here. Cheers from Italy.

[@TheSoprah]

​@@Thulnar Lot's of love too. I don't want to harm anyone. It's my honest observation and that's it as I watched nearly all of your videos, Thomas. Maybe it isn't as severe as on other videos. But on other videos you only keep talking about your stuff when it's in fact time for others to shine. Like I said: Maybe I am wrong. You can do what u want with my honest feedback. Have fun!

[@myprivatechannel1695]

Thomas i heard sometimes in your videos about a "Church" you go to. Can i ask you what religion? Nice video as always, you are an inspiration for a lot of us.

[@dannyelmism0]

I am doing my 1st beat em up 2d!! Godot or GameMaker Studio?!?!? Any help?

[@GhastlyGamesLLC]

Thomas, how are you going to release Twisted tower when "Twisted Towers" is trademarked? I have the same issue for my indie game so I was wondering what you were doing.

[@ofaca1429]

How do you guys get ideas for making your games? I always keep thinking about games to make, but every single time I feel like it wouldn't be fun...

[@HedgeFlounder]

Have you made any games yet? If not, don’t worry if it will be fun. Make something that you think will be fun to make. You’ll learn way more if you enjoy the process and in the process you’ll also learn what makes a game fun.

[@squidshockstudios1486]

Analyze a game that you really like. Really think about what makes it fun. Inspiration is always the first step for me.

[@ofaca1429]

@HedgeFlounder yeah, I've had. I just never really went forward with it

[@ofaca1429]

@@squidshockstudios1486 nice, thanks for the tip!

[@CaptainRx-ss3rt]

It’s not something that fall off of the sky, idea come with practice, not the other way around

[@SwitchUpYt]

Great game

[@user-pe9qg3hg3k]

Thomas Brush is an excellent orator. Also, no game dev has the right to look as good as he does, and I'm a hetero dude

[@WeWriteApp]

the world is a game. that's why inventing a new game takes over your reality 15:11

[@l.a.w.6494]

Wouldn't hollow Knight in Japan be a good hook?

[@Jadebones]

Lol, Thomas might be "researching" on that site for a little while.... You need to keep in mind that these are "SALES FIGURES" and not actual revenue the devs received themselves. There are a LOT of expenses and middle men between the sales figures and the (indie) devs.... There's only a salary if you're at a "AAA Studio"....

[@ultimatecombatsportspb]

😅i wake up thinking about my projects, all day at work i think about my projects, it’s probably un healthy…

[@gameworkerty]

Didnt know you were an Oingo Boingo fan

[@thomasbrush]

Huge huge fan of

[@lost50]

This looks like Nine Sols

[@larryneagu1180]

clickbait - NO EXPERIENCE??? really? let's not forget you're a KZbinr primarily and a game developer secondarily. And you are the first because you failed at the latter.

[@Kenbomp]

I just want to buy the game that's made by an eagle scout

[@BenjaminOwenSlattery]

20:00 2^10 = 1024

[@halfbabysmom7301]

Thomas loves money - I do too - He does more 😅

[@TUKMAK]

I gotta start smoking some nicotine so i can finish my game hahah

[@thomasbrush]

No! Don’t do it!!

[@TUKMAK]

@@thomasbrush Too late

[@minusnine5036]

Man this felt like such a drag to listen to. I know these talks are meant to create awareness for your game, but Thomas bringing up twisted towers every other sentence got annoying after a while. Sorry, guess I'm just more interested in hearing what the other dev has to say about their experience.

[@socialkidmusic]

Looks way too much like hollow knight, I’d rather play that. I know that sucks to hear, but I’m just keeping it real.

[@joesenpai2347]

Bo is a copy paste from Nine Sol... LOL ofcourse it was easy to make.

[@izem.imrane]

Save your money and time gamedev is already dead

[@CarpeDiemsNuts]

Sounds like someone needs a hug, don't give up on your game just yet!

[@izem.imrane]

@@CarpeDiemsNuts just an advice for beginners

[@madaraainna]

agreed

[@Watzefuk1192]

Just curious as to why you’d say that.

[@shonmacklin9613]

Time and money can be wasted on plenty of things. At least gamedev is a challenge and purposeful 😊