How To Make A Game Alone (In 2024)

I chatted with @TwoStarGames about how he made his viral indie game Choo Choo Charles completely solo.
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[@thomasbrush]

Don't you guys just love little old Gavin? He's great. ► Get 50% off Full Time Game Dev: www.fulltimegamedev.com/ ► Enroll in my FREE 3D course! www.fulltimegamedev.com/sign-up-easy3d ► Get my 2D Game Kit Free: www.fulltimegamedev.com/free-game-kit ► Learn Game Dev (Get 25% off with code LETSGO): www.fulltimegamedev.com

[@Philocyb1n]

shoulda gave the numbers tho

[@happypuppywubbies2820]

(( A GOOD IDEA )) A Playstation 5 console game where 100 online players per session can choose to be part of a squad of Marines, Predators, or Xenomorphs. One player per session will have the opportunity to play as The Queen Xenomorph. The objective of the game is for the Predators and Marines to stop the Xenomorph hive, while the Xenomorphs must work together to defend their hive. There are no AI bots in the game, and players have the option to choose which squad they want to be a part of. The game focuses solely on online multiplayer gameplay, without any campaign mode.

[@TacoBear_Studios]

I'm not going to even ask why this guy has multiple locks on his door and a chain with a piece of lumber going through the doorknob....

[@damsen978]

Silent Hill 4 The Room much?

[@Asian_Import]

Man's a millionaire now, he has to protect himself lol...

[@MrsGordonFreeman]

LOL That's what I was thinking @@damsen978

[@dealwolfstriked272]

4:22 for reals though what is that all about?

[@DannyOnateArt]

its a gamedev joke

[@Monkeyking112]

I hate when I see people complaining about asset buying, assets are there to be bought and used. as long as the game is good/fun it's great using assets. asset flip is using asset packs and just blindly placing the assets and try to sell a bare broken game in a week. If you spend months/years in making the game it's no longer a asset flip.

[@cybernoid001]

I wish AAA studios would re-use their own assets more often too (I get that some do, but it seems, at least to my laymen eye, that they rarely do.) They complain about costs of new games, and they can save so much by re-using their own assets. But they seem insistent on needing to remake simple things, like a tree....

[@2changJRPGmusic]

Some of the best games from my childhood were asset flips. Legend of Zelda Majora's mask and the two oracle games were either entirely asset flips or mostly using assets from another game in the series. It's ok to reuse assets as long as you aren't hindering the game with it.

[@bbreimm]

The problem oftentimes is having the bought assets fit together to have an art direction that is coherent. If you don't take the time to do this, the game will look amateur and very poorly made and people will be turned off by screenshots alone.

[@2changJRPGmusic]

@@bbreimm you can solve a lot of issues with post-processing and shaders to give a more uniform look to your game. If you just slap things in there without modifying sure it'll look out of place but only lazy people are doing that.

[@justamanofculture12]

​@@cybernoid001 they do, you just haven't realized. Search up how rockstar optimized Rdr2, Gta games etc, or Bethesda with elderscrolls and CDPR with Witcher

[@andrewshandle]

He's wise beyond his years. He's younger than most of my most junior developers but understands not only the minute details, but the big picture of development. Very impressive.

[@_spineless]

He went to the same homschool co-op that i did and only graduated a couple years ago. I distinctly remember one year seeing a presentation board of his showing off art from My Beautiful Paper Smile, and that's what caused me to look him up again about a year ago before he made Choo Choo Charles. It's crazy to know that a guy i distinctly remember being in my classes is THIS well known now and has created some of the most amazing games for an indie solo developer.

[@deadlock_problem]

@@_spineless "most amazing games" bro you don't even play indie games and here you are talking about impressive shit. Nothing is impressive about this asset flip meme game.

[@_spineless]

​@@deadlock_problem I play more indie games than AAA ones, actually. By "most amazing games" i really meant "most unique and successful games", i probably should have phrased it differently lol. Asset flips are games with no effort put into them to the extent that they are using other people's assets to form any sense of quality in the game. If you've seen Choo Choo Charles, you'd know it's not that. The gameplay, graphics, story, and every other part of the game was solely thought out and developed by Gavin himself, and that is not an easy thing to do. Many indie developers use bought assets to get work done more quickly, and that is exactly what Gavin did (but he also modified the assets to make and art style). The game isn't exemplary in any particular area, but it's by no means bad. Just because it's popular and it's a horror game with a memorable antagonist doesn't mean that it's automatically a bad game. As to the "talking impressive shit" part of what you said, i am not saying that Choo Choo Charles is his best project by any means. My Beautiful Paper Smile is a much deeper, more thoughtful, and smarter game by Gavin that i think is very much superior, and is why i say "impressive" in relation to his projects. Like i said though, Choo Choo Charles is definitely not a bad game, otherwise it would be thrown in with failed mascot horror games like Hello Neighbor and Garten of Banban. As an experience it is solid.

[@deadlock_problem]

@@_spineless most indie devs don't have all of there assets except for 3 things as bought assets, that's honestly shocking. I knew it was a slop game but man that's fucking crazy. I can name about 100 indie games released this year that are better in every regard. I could probably easily name 1000 games that put in more effort too. This is blueprints + copy pasta + asset flip + meme horror the game. Nobody is going to care about this game in a year.

[@TheWhiteWolf2077]

Hire me then. It's shocking how junior devs get jobs who do not understand these things...

[@anarchychicken69]

This guy who made choo choo charles is smart. He knew what hook he needed to make a solo game that could make money. If I knew back in like 2015 that Markiplier would get so big, I would have made a horror game I think about a lot a long time ago.

[@michaelthefurrycat2093]

What's stopping you??

[@PatrickRMCdev]

Second best time is right now. Guarantee you there were developers back in 2015 regretting not making “the game” that was trending at the time

[@francescacastronovo647]

I actually got a very cool idea for a game. Wanna hear it? If you want to just tell me cuz I'm too lazy to write it now

[@zcnaipowered7407]

I'm making a game called Adam's Rib not a horror game but I may add horror elements to it later

[@francescacastronovo647]

@@zcnaipowered7407 I got an idea for a game that could make you famous, tell me if you're interested

[@decay255]

Do more of these interviews, it's a great format! But make them longer and go now into the depths of it 🎉

[@CosplayZine]

Not sure if you know how long it takes to make a video or how difficult it is to keep attention of the viewers. Interviews take a lot of time away from people who could be working on their own projects as well

[@mpbMKE]

Thomas does have a handful of longer-form interviews in the course he offers, fyi.

[@IvanTeslenko]

It's just a snippet from an interview that is almost an hour and a half long, the full video is called "Choo-Choo Charles & The Secret To Its Success"

[@bonehelm]

Using the standard boxleiter method, then subtracting steam cut, returns/chargebacks, and avg discount, then his revenue from Steam is in the the ballpark of $2.7 million. So ya, very good. Congrats Gavin.

[@becomeunlimited]

Can you elaborate on those things, how did you count all that?

[@bonehelm]

@@becomeunlimited It's just a ballpark. The gist of the technique is to multiply number of reviews by 30 then multiply by sale price. The theory being 1 in 30 people who bought the game leave a review. But then you subtract steam cut (30%), taxes (7-10%), returns/charge backs(3-5%), & average discount (20%). You can search "steam revenue estimate boxleiter" to learn more.

[@Kpt.]

Funny, i just thought half off the 550,000 people refunded the game (ofc i know not every wishlister bought the game but prob more then 550k bought it) and dev gets half of the remaining money after tax, steam cut ect. and found the same number

[@becomeunlimited]

@@Kpt. well I found 5-6M is estimated gross revenue of the game, so 2.7M net for him is pretty realistic

[@Csbees]

Wow, that's a very secure door

[@nicewater894]

Thought it was for decoration but everyone seems alerted by it, seems like he has the occasional run in with thieves, hate acts or something different. becoming a sudden millionaire is like a death sentence if you cant act about it in the first week

[@CabrioDriving]

just move to a different district or city ;) @@nicewater894

[@ayushsidam289]

Locks in the background 😮

[@AnonymousJohnAutobon]

He's trying to keep Choo-Choo Charles out

[@isaachepp3481]

He had a couch against his door in another video before the locks.

[@mikemikemikemikemike169]

Hopefully with this game he can move from that neighborhood!

[@CosmicSabbath]

What’s the deal with it? Noticed it in the podcast

[@kitsunemusicisfire]

​@@CosmicSabbath joke answer? He's keeping choo choo Charles out. Real answer? He's said before that the door opens sometimes, I think due to the wind, so he has to take steps to make sure it stays shut.

[@thinktanium9789]

that audio editing is very clever, and can save a lot of time rather than loading it into the game and triggering the event to hear one sound, very nice

[@mickeystix]

honestly, that was a really really great tip

[@ghostwarrior-ni1xb]

Yep its really nice tip

[@_spineless]

Gavin went to the same homeschool co-op that i did and only graduated a couple years ago. I distinctly remember one year seeing a presentation board of his showing off art from My Beautiful Paper Smile, and that's what caused me to look him up again about a year ago before he made Choo Choo Charles. It's crazy to know that a guy i distinctly remember being in my classes is THIS well known now and has created some of the most amazing games for an indie solo developer.

[@AirdorfGames]

Choo Choo Charles has some of the slickest, cleanest, most polished UX design I’ve seen in an indie horror game. All the mechanics flow together effortlessly. I was having so much fun playing. I’ve learned a lot hearing about Gavin’s dev experience with the game. Thanks for making this video!

[@jacobs.7925]

Has he worked in the formal industry or was he only a dev by himself? Great guy, mindset of an agile producer and very design oriented, took every shortcut possible without making everything 100% polished (and instead saving time for things that needed, like the train itself). Great interview, Gavin feels like focused all the time on the right priorities, 10/10 for buying assets and not wasting too much time in pre-pro

[@ponkotuu]

game was released when he was 21 years old so i doubt he was in the industry before that

[@fivetwoeighty7012]

Noclip did a short documentary that goes into that

[@hamzahgamedev]

Amazing Video!. I am myself making an open world game alone and this video is JUST WHAT I NEEDED! Thank you so much Thomas and Gavin!

[@Pixy_Games]

Sky harvest

[@hamzahgamedev]

haha yes bro @@Pixy_Games 🤗

[@MellowMutantPlays]

Same

[@TheAlieann]

I loved this interview! It's so fascinating learn about the creative process behind game development of a single person "team"

[@mook_10]

Man, Gavin is clearly super knowledgeable and very interesting to listen to. We don't really see much of that side in his KZbin content since it's edited down to be as digestible as possible, but this was very informative and interesting. Hope to see more like this

[@tcthethird]

Seen the title and instantly opened up a book and pen 📝. Perfect as I’m currently setting the foundations to my game development journey. Appreciate all the insights!!

[@MrHocotateFreight]

Here's My personal tips to add in: Keep a game idea document on your phone. Almost random times of day, you may get a goldstar idea, but not be near a pen+pencil. Type it out or OR Get a free voice recorder app, turn it on and say your idea! You can write it down in a minute, right now you're getting the idea out first Think about why games become household names. Attention to detail, no cheap lazy solutions where interest could up the anté A real personal tip: make it as new as you can. Pick directions seldom taken, monsters we don't understand, mechanics that need to be learned. That's what makes a 1 hour game, for me, into a multi hundred hour fun time I advertise to my friends

[@StopItRyan]

What kind of neighborhood does this man live in with a door lock setup like that? I'm about to go buy another copy of this just so homie can save up to move somewhere safer.

[@yomurah]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 u funny as hell man

[@curiousconsultant7922]

This is beyond amazing. It's one thing for a KZbinr to talk about his own vision on making games and giving a sort of lesson but a full interview where you ask someone else to talk about their journey is pure value. Especially when you do a bunch of them that way we can see the similar pain points for instance

[@m0rph3u5.]

Thanks for the brilliant interview Thomas, was really inspirational (like your channel). I actually grabbed the game during this sale as my son was also dying to watch me play it (and of course, me being nosey as well ;)) and we had some great fun. The atmosphere and environment really chilling and the loop is actually fun, the voice acting..etc.

[@unrulynut3960]

the first thing you need for anything 3D related, be it games or movies or vfx, is a good computer or graphics card

[@davidshannon8227]

I love the audio tip where he uses a video editor to link it up :)

[@jikkermanccini]

This was an awesome watch. Definitely keeping these tricks in mind when my project becomes a reality!

[@cybernoid001]

This was a good short interview that I think really helps to open things up for us new aspiring game devs.

[@mattheon]

Choo-Choo Charles has to be one of my favorite recent horror/survival games. I think what did it for me was the pacing. You’re always racing against the clock until that inevitable next encounter with Charles, so it always made me feel like I had only a limited time to complete any given task

[@chrismingay6005]

The approach for sound effects editing is really simple and clever, i love that! Oh and im shocked at the percentage usr of assets vs self made. I would have assumed there would be way less assets so that's a real eye opener for me

[@LittleBlue42]

I'm currently making a game solo in unreal as well, but I also work full time. I'm still currently in preproduction. I have a decent amount of coding done, but I need to pump out a bunch of models to make the game worth showing off in a trailer before really starting to grind. Working on a dev log video to show off it's current state. It's a blast. I love watching videos like these, because I don't have many fellow devs around here to nerd out with.

[@KenneXS]

Good luck bruh you can do it how long you've been on the project & what's the project is it a horror game survival game or beat's em all Since you've done a large part of coding to make it EZ why don't you buy assets & modify them as you pleas you'll save time I mean This is the way

[@LittleBlue42]

@aragami6681 I've been seriously working on it for about 6 months now. I have purchased some assets and modified them, but some stuff I need to make from scratch. It's a fps and vehicle combat game. 80s retrowave style. Vibes. Shoot down rival courier company while delivering parcels to upgrade your vehicle and apartment.

[@BeAltyrnative]

awesome! It's easy to say "I know what he did" and harder to actually do it. Been putting up a lot of my free time making my own projects, got a degree in game design, and yet I still sit here and struggle to stay motivated in finishing my own projects to completion. Truly an inspiration and a very talented guy.

[@inclebnito]

Good for Gavin! Ultimately he's bringing people together and that's what it is all about imo.

[@WiseNoodleOfficial]

I am starting my own dev journey, taking notes! Thank you both!

[@BronsonBragg]

Even the doorlocks behind him are on brand. 😂 it's perfect.

[@dinoeebastian]

I feel like a good way of going about choosing if you should use an asset from someone else or make your own, is to just think about how crucial it is to the project's individuality, like if the game is about growing a tree, it'd probably be a good idea to design the tree yourself and have background stuff like clouds be assets from a store. Of course this probably isn't always the best option, I just feel like it's a pretty sound method for making a good game without making every asset yourself but still making some of them

[@viraj3944]

Thank you so much for this video. Really needed it.

[@user-ip3op1ww1w]

This is so helpful im working on a survival game myself. This VIDEO IS A MUST WATCH.

[@ihuboo6244]

This guy looks presentable and extremely professional while how young he looks. That was extremely eye opening and inspirational. Almost made me feel like I could pick up this sort of career path

[@Frippyfrap1]

are we just not gonna talk about the boarded up door with like 5 locks?

[@tjriley1795]

Once I noticed, I couldn't un-noticed it

[@FrankDaBank25]

Think about it. Why would there be an odd amount of locks and boards on an interior door deliberately in the background of a KZbin video? Thiiiiiinkkkkkkkkkk

[@visibll]

I didn’t even notice till you pointed it out

[@FelipeFleming]

More of this please!! Love it !🎉

[@GameDeveloperTraining]

So much useful info here. It can't be overstated how important the planning stage and document are. So many indie devs either quit or just release a buggy mess because they didn't do the prep.

[@TheExplorer2K]

I just discovered your channel and I loved this. I wanna create a game as well and I'm still figuring out an idea. I've gotten inspiration from many games after watching a lot of Choo-Choo Charles and from the developers point of view, I feel motivated.

[@sahilverma_dev]

1:00 please ask him why he have so many locks in his door

[@zboone_]

Lol

[@alexanderdominguez8138]

I'm taking a game design class and it pretty cool that what im learning is actually a true way on how to make a game like the come up with a ideal then make a GDD and ect.

[@superanimeboi6547]

This motivated me even more, you guys are true inspiration. Thanks for sharing and I will become a student and buy your product.

[@e-man763]

my personal favorite game from two star is paper smile, the hand-drawn look and feel of that game is just one in a million.

[@randospawn7495]

I remember watching the choo choo charles guy's dev log way back when

[@mchadz7953]

The guys got so many locks on his door like choo choo Charles actually came to life and haunts him every now and then

[@anarchoyeasty3908]

Right, I was wondering why no one was talking about his fucking door.

[@CrownEyes]

even in the podcasts his door is boarded up 🔨

[@eb2loop]

great video and good luck with future projects!!...and btw did anyone notice all that protection on his door?

[@JonLynchIsAlive]

Humble dude. He's achieved massive success as a very young solo game dev launching a single game. That has to feel great.

[@PittsTake]

I want the backstory on the door though.

[@ominae1]

I only have one question. What is behind that DOOR?!

[@r.f886]

Yet another Good & instructive video thank you kindly. Just 1 Question is Occupying my mind:" Is Gavin keeping the real Monster Train Behind that Reinforced door in his room ?!"

[@lieutenantlunar7234]

You know someone loves their horror games when they got a hello neighbor door in the back with like 5,129 security measures

[@nickbecerra9580]

Honestly, the most important assets are hand made. Respect!

[@Ei-mx1we]

This is easily one of the most inspiring videos on youtube.

[@kryptkeeper2303]

I have so many Questions about the door in the background

[@fabiansanchez954]

Looking the door behind him is easy to know where did he get the inspiration for the game

[@peterstein4376]

Guy has a great mindset for his project management side of things.

[@remedytaylor]

I’ve been solo developing my game for 2 years has been the funnest journey and the reward will be making it to the finish line all by myself

[@zerro4498]

That's cool and all but can we adress Gavin's door ?

[@valcaron]

maybe he lives in Portland

[@StopItRyan]

For real, dude needs to move somewhere safer

[@Scarcheeze]

That his portal to another eldritch universe.

[@rileymchugh5316]

I NEEDED TO SEE THIS! THATNKS THOMAS AND TWOSET

[@omerfurtun4115]

Best thing you can do for your self as lone dev, is to stop watching videos and get to work on your project as soon as possible. YT is a black hole and there's always a better way to do something. Doesn't mean you should do it the best way possible. Just. Do it.

[@redpie907]

Its okay Thomas you are great and super and cool too :D keep up the amazing work, teaching is not the same when you make one game and show the process of it :D horror is always good its like retro, because people a lot of people like to be scared, the hormones stuff and everything :D the vibe...

[@Leila_Numanor]

I can't stop looking at the door in the background. :)

[@TechieeDev_Games]

This content is underrated, I don't know why it's getting not much views and engagement

[@ayushsidam289]

Thanks for the video Thomas sir. 🙂🙌

[@panampace]

Key takeaway: find a unique angle in a rising trend, make a simple effective game loop, download assets but stylize them, and have a finished product before launch so you can focus on marketing.

[@notmuchikensei7934]

Check out Charlie the Choo Choo - "children's horror story book" written by Steven King. (It's a collector's item, obviously for adults)

[@birrayplay]

Muy buen reportaje, realmente es todo un mundo el desarrollo de video juegos y el gran conocimiento y dedicación que conlleva!! Un groso total para poder llevar adelante el proyecto solo

[@AdnanRobyn]

Brother, ya gotta tell us the story behind that LOCK - LOCK - LOCK - LOCK - LOCK - STOCK AND BARRICADED door behind you. The game's amazing, btw. Enjoyed it a lot.

[@MrDmadness]

He's a werewolf and it's a full moon night ( I assume )

[@SirTotallyAverage]

That sound trick is golden.

[@Ata5ll]

Going by the amount of locks on his door and the cloths he is wearing it was probably very good ;D

[@OverthrowMedia]

he got choo choo Charles locked in his basement,

[@theprinceofinadequatelighting]

Wait, so Choo Choo Charles isn't based on Steven King's "Charlie the Choo Choo?"

[@theempireofstud]

YAYYYY NEW VIDEO!

[@rafedalwani]

I appreciate the fact that you have a game development course, but I couldn't find the materials that you will be covering. This made me feel that I will be buying fish in water. The course is not cheap and I need to see what I am getting before I commit to paying this amount of money.

[@Roughpaws_Studio]

One thing that he didn't mention is the importance of using project management software. I'm using the free version of Asana for mine 👍

[@ricardofilipe8973]

Guys house is really secure behid those locks man jeez.. nice interview tho great work

[@LoboBRA]

I'm loving the video, really cool stuff but I'm just seeing 720p resolution, is that it?

[@DirectorToby]

Really enjoed this!

[@leethememerwolf]

Quite helpful intro!

[@HakenMods]

bro needs a few more locks on that door xD

[@baziztsahy3927]

Thank you for this great video

[@Aberexis]

Can't believe you didnt ask about the door behind him with 5 separate locks, chains and several boards nailed over it...

[@GameOver-nm2us]

He made that game alone? Oh wow, I didn't play it but I watched an hour long full playthrough about it and it seemed like a team of at least 15 people made it, that's impressive

[@plexine_]

The fact that i be struggling doing c++

[@oibraizolebulla]

Is this man expecting the damn trojan horse to come smashing through his room? He's got more security than Alcatraz

[@oirionman]

Man I hate how he makes it look so easy. I’ve been doing game dev in unreal for a couple years now and I am still nowhere near being able to create games like that. My games always turn out to be a technical mess even when I spend an enormous amount of time planning it out.💀

[@ryanartward]

I work in Special Ed at a school and the kids won’t shut the f*** up about this game. You are doing something right buddy!

[@NotSocuriousGeorge-uq5im]

Top tie advice thank a lot

[@Dogwalker33]

Great video but pls 1080p :)

[@-Azroth-]

Im quite surprised that he didn't use davinci resolve since when it comes to sound davinci is just insanely good

[@evelynknight-gc3ez]

Even the doorlocks behind him are on brand.

[@VaibhavShewale]

well that was really amazing

[@valitsemllaluokanavahyvaks3556]

Dude's got some locks on his doors and planks :DD

[@blackestbill7454]

the video i needed

[@olitheone]

These guys are inspiring 💪🏻

[@Plexpara]

i really like his Door

[@snails6997]

You guys can see that? Almost majority of the works is all about marketing. Trailer, influencer, even down to the form of enemy is marketing oriented. So, if you do this stuff, marketing is what you must mainly think about. Because its not about you or your game, its about your targeted player.

[@CS-bd5of]

Bro is trying to keep choo choo Charles locked out his house ☠️

[@ilkinali8793]

Nice kits