How This Game Dev Got 100 Million Views In 1 Day - Full Time Game Dev Podcast Ep. 005

I chat with @TwoStarGames , one of my favorite devs who hit the jackpot after his game Choo-Choo Charles got over 100 million views in 1 day.
► Subscribe to @TwoStarGames to stay up to date on his dev logs!
► Learn how to become a full time game dev, free: www.fulltimegamedev.com/opt-i...
► Enroll in my 3D workshop, free!: www.fulltimegamedev.com/opt-i...
► Make your game instantly beautiful with my free workbook: www.fulltimegamedev.com/opt-i...
► Get my 2D game kit, free: www.fulltimegamedev.com/opt-i...
► Join my 2D character workshop, free: www.fulltimegamedev.com/opt-i...
► Wishlist Twisted Tower: store.steampowered.com/app/15...
► Learn how to make money as a KZbinr: www.fulltimegamedev.com/opt-i...
► What I believe: • What I Believe

[@thomasbrush]

Thanks for watching! Hope you learned a ton. ► Subscribe to Two Star Games: www.youtube.com/@TwoStarGames ► Learn how to become a full time game dev, free: www.fulltimegamedev.com/opt-in-how-to-make-six-figures ► Enroll in my 3D workshop, free!: www.fulltimegamedev.com/opt-in-15-minute-3D-game ► Make your game instantly beautiful with my free workbook: www.fulltimegamedev.com/opt-in-instant-beauty-color-workbook ► Get my 2D game kit, free: www.fulltimegamedev.com/opt-in-2D-game-kit ► Join my 2D character workshop, free: www.fulltimegamedev.com/opt-in-2d-character-art-workshop ► Wishlist Twisted Tower: store.steampowered.com/app/1575990/Twisted_Tower/ ► Learn how to make money as a KZbinr: www.fulltimegamedev.com/opt-in-indie-game-income-workshop

[@itsamotherflutter]

Can you teach UNREAL 5 game dev tactics like the ones mentioned in this video? With ZERO! C++ knowledge and using only visual tools? That is a selling point for many!💎💎💎

[@bagboybrown]

If bro makes another successful game he's gonna need more door locks.

[@leopivatto622]

Why his door has so many locks? I didn't noticed at first hahaha

[@gamerdweebentertainment1616]

@@leopivatto622 So leaving the work enviorment wouldn't be so easy aka don't get distracted.

[@TheGrimKit]

lol. i remember during a couple of 2 star's livestreams a few years ago he would barricade the door with his couch. i guess it became a thing he does

[@RedEyedJedi]

😂😂 I watched like 20 minutes of this interview before I even spotted the locks 😂

[@JStack]

@@TheGrimKithe's hinted he lived in a terrible area before. Hopefully not so terrible he feels the need to literally barricade himself lmao

[@aiden5291]

we not trustin his ass until he explain that door

[@myrrysmiasi4866]

That caught my eye too :P wondering whether it's related to being a horror game creator, or the nasty side of fame

[@elvertederodeailik]

It's a joke he does in his channel

[@CharleyThePostman]

Yeah this is just a joke, I believe it can actually be unlatched. Notice the scratches around it too--looks somewhat like his art style, something like My Beautiful Paper Smile.

[@zcnaipowered7407]

Need that tight security

[@CharleyThePostman]

😂

[@TwoStarGames]

EPIC! Go wishlist Twisted Tower broskis

[@JohnDoe22318]

big fan of your channel btw

[@thomasbrush]

Thanks for taking the time bud. You did great

[@findingmosey6447]

Great interview, hard to believe you are 22 but you seem very wise! Good questions too Thomas.

[@greyarea_games]

I‘m happy that you mentioned the blueprints stuff. It‘s so frustrating. I made a whole arena shooter with blueprints, no c++

[@afrasiabmahdy]

Thomas, please make more interview videos, they're so educational and entertaining at the same time.

[@El_Diablo_12]

1:20 22 year old 8:00 risks of new projects 9:00 making games that people wanna play 11:00 building something for other people helps with your emotional regulation. You’re not blinded or consumed with infatuation 14:00 rushing pre production because needed income 17:20 importance of virality 30:02 this idea could make a couple hundred grand, then it did much better 30:20 expectations vs reality 32:20 previous game took 4 years , worked with a publisher and wasn’t really profitably 34:40 gamedev is a marathon. Not a one hit and retire 41:50 entire game in blueprints. Has no experience at all with C++

[@AndrzejGieraltCreative]

This is great to see, lots to learn from Gavin and it's really cool to listen to you guys bounce ideas off each other. I didn't realize Gavin was thinking about things from a hook perspective to begin with, I assumed he happened to want to make something that happened to be hook-y, but it's actually quite gratifying to hear that he planned it, because it feels like it's something that can be planned and strategized, i.e. that the dev does have a certain degree of control over his success.

[@thomasbrush]

Subscribe to this mofo ^

[@CharleyThePostman]

This so true, hey Andrzej! I especially liked what he said about the community being hypercrytical.

[@NewHopeGames]

Speaking from my shopping experience, one thing that makes it eye catching is simply the name. That's what made me click when i was on Steam. How do you not click when you see Choo Choo Charles? Very original.

[@flamart9703]

Yes, but not only the name, it's combination of the name, big YT channel and attractive theme of the game, and maybe something else.

[@fluffy6923]

This was awesome. The only thing that was missing is that you didn't covered the topic of how to do proper market research. Gavin did touch that topic, but I believe that this topic deserves in-depth coverage and discussion. My suggestion for the next guest would be David Szymanski.

[@ZeroTraceOperative]

Facts, not enough interviews with David out there.

[@voidboi0]

I did a live interview with Gavin about a year ago and I recall him talking about his approach to marketing. Was an awesome convo and is still up on my channel.

[@fluffy6923]

@@voidboi0 I've seen it a year ago. Thanks for that interview. Marketing and market research are different things. I don't remember him talking about market research in your interview. But he did mention it in this interview. And from my understanding he takes it really seriously and he spends a lot of time on it. And he did spend a lot of time on it after Cho-Cho Charles, so he did gain more knowledge and experience in market research.

[@dreamisover9813]

How pleasant to see the full interview, thanks for sharing!

[@mariosmichael5116]

Thanks Thomas, that interview is super useful! Also thanks TwoStarGames for his good will to share ❤

[@DarkDelver]

That was such a great Interview, especially hearing that the process right from the Start was built around the Character, i would've loved to hear more about the way he thought about the Gameplay Loop, the Quests etc. but i think there's not too much to say about fetching stuff, or making a challenge around it. Glad he's made it, i would've liked to know his thoughts on making a heartfelt game that didn't see a huge success like this, and how this "memey" type Game was such a hit and if it influenced the way he's thinking about future Games or what types to make.

[@khushtrivedi14]

Thank you so much for the full interview Thomas! This motivates me so much to make my own game and publish it! I love how you make sure to cover all the questions that any of the viewers have! Looking forward to more of these interviews man!❤️👊

[@TheSoprah]

I solved the puzzle of why he has so many door locks. 1. Nothing can get outside of his room. He is too lazy to open the door so he is forced to work. 2. Nothing can get inside. No spooky monster and no mom asking "hey, how are you doing?" to distract him from his work. 3. Marketing. "Hey, have you heard of this dude who developed a horror game and has 10 door locks in his private room?"

[@citywizardgames]

This was awesome info, and great job to this guy who has more success at 21 than most at 41! Crazy that he started at 12, gamedevs keep starting younger and younger.

[@SadFaceTheClown]

Great content, thank you Thomas! What's up with the door behind Gavin though? There are too many locks lol is choo choo charles behind that door?

[@brunettimarco]

After a week of hauling bricks (or any physical activity), you end up very tired but stronger in the long run (assuming you nourish yourself correctly). After a week of gamedev (or any other heavy mental task) you end up with (maybe) more knowledge, but strained and many times, weaker than before.

[@boost219]

So much good info in this interview. Gavin’s clearly a super intelligent person and I was able to take in a lot from this interview so I can apply it to my current and future projects

[@spacelion88]

Perfect interview, excellent questions, very informative!

[@DavidZobristGames]

Unity has a splines package which enables you to do exactly what he did. It has prefab population as one of a couple of other options, so you can have a rail for example. You can also have mesh extrude or just make an object follow it.

[@shush4]

STFU nobody uses unity

[@jabean2668]

Honestly wasn't interested in this video because of the title, then I just happened to watch it, and this is exactly what type of game dev videos I was looking for. Awesome video!

[@thomasbrush]

We’re making a super cut. So, what were you favorite time codes from this? Please list below, and upvote other comments.

[@CharleyThePostman]

Gosh the whole thing is great, but I see you would like it to be shorter so more people can watch the whole thing (or market the rest?). I think it would be nice to see parts of his game at some points (say, the volumetric fog portion 55:50 ).

[@Stubbs2501]

41:57 I needed to hear that, Thank you :)

[@eddielonestar7962]

Well done Thomas on a really good interview. Gavin comes across so mature for his age. I had to smile when he said he's been creating games since the age of 12. Lol. Such a cool story. He stuck at what he enjoys doing and now has experienced great success. Can you imagine this dude when he's 30. Congratulations to you both on what you've achieved and also for sharing the journey. I only wished UE5 was around when I was 22. Lol

[@kendalledwards4848]

Thomas ... Jealous Much !!!??? You can almost see the envy in his eyes !!!

[@martinsvanda5874]

Thanks you very much ...thank you both !!!! thats motivation what i need for long time !!!!

[@CharleyThePostman]

Very fun guy from what I can tell, Gavin. I love the way he talks

[@hocestbellumchannel]

22 years old is basically the start of your adult life. Amazing...

[@taskinen1j]

This was very inspiring. Especially the part where you told us to forget what people write on the internet and just do the thing. Thank you @thomasbrush and @TwoStarGames

[@SoultrailStudio]

As someone who is pretty deep into meme-world: Thomas The Train works fine and making him jokingly horrific is ongoing for several years. Depending on the gameplay, this idea was made to trend. Then again playing with fear and horror in an abstract way that is not fearfull in real life, a train - c'mon... with Spiderlegs, this is so far from reality it is not even scary, but in the environment and with the right gameplay it did everythign right: 1. Take some instinct (like obbying / platforming as kids, fears or desires or literally anything else that happens in real life to mostly everyone) 2. Mix it up with something that is semi-trending for a long time beyond the major platforms and give it use 3. Give it something cool! (Driving a train is hella cool, big machines, powerful - that's cool!) As someone who is not thinking this simple about his own projects: It is easy to say why on someone else, but not replicated on ones own.

[@FlatThumb]

Gavin is pretty humble in this video. Do not be fooled, he is VERY skilled and talented! Congrats on the success!

[@johnjay6370]

Love his door!!!

[@fernandotrevinocastro1018]

Ive always Make board games, cards, and stuff as a kid, but ive always shy away of the computer, i work in mantenance too, cus honestly the inestabillity of creating art as living doenst go well with my anxiety. But since covid broke me down, in the proces of rebuilding myself i rediscover my desire to create, i have the manual skills to make an analog board game, and im gonna get the digital art up to speed in that protect, but my next one is a videogame, just found your channel and im glued to the interviews, thanks man

[@experts_sketch1051]

we also want zeekerss from lethal company pls thomas 😊♥

[@Iamjake1000]

Has there been any form of thank you from that guy?

[@adamkacha3823]

great video. thanks.

[@JohnDoe22318]

super cool video loved watching it earlier

[@Reeeekid]

Just a quick note mate ... One thing I noticed in the podcast is that you kept interrupting the two stars guy and it really annoyed me as a viewer now think how much it must've annoyed him please have patience and keep improving your skills

[@patribra]

amazing content!

[@maxg5196]

I started laughing when he talked about taking assets and then scribbling over them to give them his own "unique" style! But that honestly works 😂

[@ariamohebi]

INCREDIBLE video interviewing the legendary @TwoStarGames !!!!! Please make more!!

[@user-el2jv2nn5c]

Wheres his devlogs? And that 20 second video of his customizing the train?

[@papsterling8376]

Gavin’s channel is called Two Star and his handle is @TwoStarGames

[@matthewsmith4399]

The amounts of locks on your door is unnerving

[@yorgunliberal2406]

I would have never thought I would get lord of the rings spoiler in this video

[@ayushsidam289]

Why there are so many locks on that door. 🤔😮

[@Iamjake1000]

Lmao I turned this on and wasn't looking but what the heck 😅

[@Seancstudiogames]

Great interview! Thanks to both Gavin @twostargames and Thomas for this awesome 1 and half hours! Terrific content.

[@Dailyfiver]

“You can make a game wrong and it can still be profitable” My favorite example of this is the original Doom. People look at the code and say “omg this is spaghetti code it’s so bad!!” but at the end of the day, they released doom, it works great, and people love it. The code quality doesn’t matter that much at the end of the day as long as it works well enough.

[@papsterling8376]

Perfection is the enemy of the good.

[@oak-a-kola6630]

27:00 I am not a gamedev, but it sounds counterintuitive that he would make a trailer and then get to the production. Can anyone that understands or follows the pratice shed some light on this point?

[@NorseRonin]

From my understanding, it is to build hype and a following for the game as well as a way to showcase what the game can be to get funding.

[@ajmgdaj]

Loving this

[@milkmeapollo9048]

Wait...why the hell are there 10 locks and scratches on his door as if ChooChoo Charles is trying to get him??

[@foseydontanri7859]

did he explain the door with chains?

[@oyentemaniatico]

it looks like you both live in the same place

[@ihavetosurvive]

Отличный опыт для многих инди. Продолжай Томас, ты великолепен.

[@kingmandrake7824]

my guy got so many locks on his door

[@undeadpresident]

He got 100 million views through the power of his magic earring.

[@MrArtist1971]

37:46 Tools used.

[@GoldenEdits656]

Hey Thomas, I have a feeling you wont see my comment but anyway I just want to say I am starting your free 3d course and I am very excited to see what you can teach me, but I am even more excited for summer because as I am fairly young still I cant get a job until this summer, and once I do I plan on buying your full game dev course and to pursue my dreams of becoming a game developer because I have a game idea that I have developed on for some time now and I would love to see that idea become a reality, I hop that I can get your course soon enough :)

[@rabidscallion9947]

How many were on your team to develop this? How many man hours roughly? Been looking to get into game dev and trying to get a feeler for what an experienced developer needs to take to get to this level. Of course, getting to where you are requires many many more hours but feel free to answer that separately :) enjoyed your video.

[@NecroteckLabs]

He made this by himself without any prior experience, professionally at least.

[@rabidscallion9947]

@@NecroteckLabsOMG that's immensely impressive and inspiring. Thank you!!!

[@physicsguy6625]

One man team

[@dunkleskabarett4655]

58:12 was that Godzilla?

[@kbsjudgmentroom6154]

Legend has it that the spirit of choo choo charles is behind that door

[@TrySomeCG]

Thomas are you drinking oil? lol

[@nikhilvardhantawania4591]

For Unity users making spline is easy there are some cool tutorials out there

[@MrSmashmasterk]

Thomas, what are you chugging at 41:45? The only question left unanswered in this video.

[@RedEyedJedi]

Thomas, did you want to do this interview because the game is about trains?

[@TruckerJoeOfficial]

I hope nobody comes throu the door of TwoStarGame in the interview.

[@MrColdstop]

I would recommend trying not to interrupt guests too often. And stop being nervous, you're great!😊

[@jm23543]

Wow, this was difficult to watch. Throughout the entire conversation, it seemed like there was an attempt to minimize the elements that contributed to his game's success, attributing it mainly to "virality" rather than its quality. It also appeared you were more "waiting to speak" than genuinely listening to what he had to say, and then responding with something substantive. Moreover, there were moments when you interrupted him, particularly during parts I (and likely others) were interested in hearing more about.

[@Urotsuki]

id honestly would lovee for you to review toby fox somehow, i know he's reachable through either fangamer or materia collective

[@nullx2368]

Wow, i always hated the "make games you want to play", i personally make games that makes people smile.. or love.. and literally throw money for the game. I would be motivated working on a game i HATE while knowing people LOVE it. Felt nice knowing other devs think like me

[@cuca_dev]

Finally an interesting one

[@RealPancakes3]

hey so im trying to make a game and im constantly locked behind the art aspect because i suck at pixel art and really any art in general what do you suggest for this is there a good pixel art course that can help me go from absolute garbage cant even make a 16x16 trash character to being able to make full on character animations

[@MenudoC]

use AI for placeholder assets. then, if your game looks like it could have any significant amount of success, you can hire an artist and do it properly!

[@RealPancakes3]

trust me i have tried having ai like google bard make me a pixel art character they cant really if you know a good site to get them let me know please@@MenudoC

[@Danny-uo7hk]

What so the white Gandalf Is Gandalf I thought it was his brother lol

[@TheBugB]

Okay I gotta say it. The elitism that exists amongst programmers (I don’t even mean within the context of game development I mean programmers in general) is actually insane. Like feel free to prove me wrong, but it’s hard to deny it in my personal and perhaps skewed opinion. This was inspired by what Thomas said at 44:08

[@nicholasjoannette2254]

Especially in 3d programming and engine development, the actual cleverness required is super impressive. It is warranted, and having the skill brings a lot of money. It makes sense they dont want to give it away. Most forums etc. Are just babbling crabs keeping you in the bucket though

[@borrrrego]

What about the door??

[@11TheWatcher11]

loved the video.... uh.. choo?

[@ghostwarrior-ni1xb]

Wait he's only 1 year older than me

[@CGRB]

Honestly this is a great interview! I am very motivated. Thank you @thomasbrush @TwoStarGames

[@netpeggle4458]

Am i the only one seeing all the locks on his Door and the scratches... 😅

[@hunt120]

Is this live?

[@JACKRIDERPLAYZ]

No

[@adslpiulentoditalia2545]

Yes

[@NeolineTheChaos]

yes

[@aooide]

No. It's a premiere.

[@blakasmurf]

Yes... No... Yessss.... Maybe

[@neozoid7009]

what were u chugging Thomas ??😮❤

[@danishchief1078]

this is the best

[@aliq746]

hey bro, do you need a shorts scriptwriter?

[@DancingDonkey1]

Choo choo cahrles needs a Multiplayer mode

[@aaronreapersoard1098]

Maybe it’s a thing with Gavin and his community but seeing his door with all those locks and boards and the chain is very distracting and no one was talking about it 😅

[@TuriGamer]

tl;dr its streamer bait. Thats the secret sauce. KZbin funny men showed it off and made funny faces while screaming. Battlebit, amongus, lethal company and this is all the same. Its pure luck essentially.

[@Tahycoon]

This's the secret sauce, and I am striving to achieve it. It's not pure luck tho, though you still have to reach out to KZbinrs and offer them your keys and a nice email (and some sort of payment if you can afford it, but I don't do any sort of payments), and if your game is unique enough to fit 1) their content style and 2) introduce something unique that can catch people's attention from just a thumbnail, then you're guaranteed to make money. Good luck on your journey, game dev is the hardest dev form out there, I'm being burnt out and tortured everyday lol

[@TuriGamer]

good luck lol@@Tahycoon

[@zanyarkamaran7436]

50:26 lazy and fake developer😂

[@emilnilsson940]

First!

[@blakasmurf]

More like thirst...

[@JohnDoe22318]

why do people say FIRST there is no point lol