What it's like to release a game on Steam

[@GMTK]

Help make the Magnus plush a real thing! (And save me from buying 100 plush magnets) - www.makeship.com/products/magnus-plush-1

[@Dracosahedron]

I'm too poor to buy the plush nooooooooo

[@Yipper64]

I kind of would have preferred a Uni plush tbh

[@Subspace79]

The fact that this costs more than 3 times the price of the game

[@diggoran]

You should honestly buy 100 plush magnets (or however many you want) to give away to super fans at conventions :) That's a tip I learned from the Hermitcraft folks that I think should be more popular among all creators.

[@redpandah3309]

Does the plushie have magnets inside so that i could stick them on a fridge?

[@1sonicthe]

For the uninitiated, "This is the last video in the developing series" *actually* means that the "Porting the game was a nightmare!" video will be coming out in 3 to 4 months

[@turquoise7817]

on to the next series, "Developed", which talks about porting and all that other good stuff

[@flamingscar5263]

in the modern day, would be more like "releasing on console was a nightmare" not much porting work being unity, the current consoles are same hardware as a PC and the switch is ARM which Unity can build your project as but when it comes down to getting through the verification process these consoles have, that right there is a nightmare

[@Max_G4]

​@@flamingscar5263 Well, at least on Switch the verification process is kind of laughable, based on tte quantity of cheap garbage on there

[@Mustafa_AhmedPGH]

Followed by "Hard mode DLC was crazy!" a few months after that.

[@OrcDeveloper]

@@flamingscar5263 the hardwares the similar, but the OS arent. well actually xbox is, and is pretty straight forward, its actaully just windows stripped down, but switch and playstation arent easy at all, even in unity. infact its enough of a pain that there are companies you can pay to do it for you.

[@Joel-Haver]

Congrats Mark! Such a huge accomplishment and some lovely closing thoughts about creating and sharing art. Looking forward to whatever you choose to make next!

[@its.just.x]

always love seeing you popping in the comments of my other favorite youtubers lol

[@GMTK]

Thanks so much Joel!

[@Evoleo]

Crazy to see one of these YT devlog series actually go through to the release and even the postmortem, rather than going for 4+ years straight, or the project being abandoned somewhere along the way

[@GMTK]

This was a big goal for Developing! I refused to be one of those game devs who gave up on their game

[@Dracosahedron]

@@GMTK It must have been hard not to give up along the way. I would have quit 7 times by now.

[@Evoleo]

@@GMTK great job on reaching this big goal! being a game dev myself, it really makes you appreciate the perseverence that goes into *finishing* a big project like this turns out starting side projects of side projects and getting stuck in infinite game jams are a real bane of actually launching things!

[@augustdahlkvist3998]

Yeah this is why he is a phony. A real dev would scrap the whole project and attempt to rewrite the whole thing in C before ditching that and trying rust.

[@EtsaTwo]

I'm at like 12 years!

[@thegamedevcave]

the start right away with a disclaimer that " hey having 1.5 million subs on this channel might have given me some perspectives you wont get" is so apricated! It doesn't mean you didn't work hard, it doesn't mean that the game is bad (i played a little of it, it's not my kinda genre but i like it so far). and above all, it doesn't mean you didn't work super hard to get the game out. But it does mean that the journey of developing has had some doors open for you that might've been hard to access for other people. On the other hand though, I am sure it also brings with it a ton of extra pressure and stress that most of us wouldn't have to deal with! having 100s of thousand of people watching over your shoulder as you try to figure things out, venture out into some new adventure... that can be scary! Again, i very much apricate your instant openness and honesty about your different starting position. All that said though, you still made it across the finish line and then some. whatever external support you might have had, that's more than most people manage to get to so be proud of yourself because I think i speak for most people in your audience when i say : we sure as hell are!!

[@GMTK]

Totally true - the pressure was quite immense! But the advantages totally outweighed that

[@ramonpablito9154]

apricated!

[@arnesieper8332]

@@GMTK only because you actually pulled through and finished the making the game.

[@chameleonedm]

Did he though? He started this KZbin channel alongside learning game dev. I don't see how he started in a different position at all. He's earned every single bit of this

[@NihongoWakannai]

​​@@chameleonedm What are you talking about? He started this channel long before learning gamedev. He was a very successful game critic on here for many years. Most people don't start developing their game with 1.2M subscribers

[@cutiemonica446]

17:00 Omg it's me I was the DualShockers reviewer, and I just wanted to say this game still sits in my mind quite a bit more than anything else I've reviewed, likely because I'm also a game designer and it's a great example of how to make a video game, but also because it was probably the most fun I've had with a game I was reviewing. Huge props to you, Mark, since most of the time games don't feel super fun or engaging with this job, but you managed to make something so universally appealing that it still made me smile.

[@rmsgrey]

My suggested change made it on screen for the tasklist screenshot - having the developer commentary not stop for cutscenes. I'm probably not the only person to have pointed it out, but I didn't notice anyone else mentioning it on the Steam forums, so I claim at least partial credit for that one :)

[@SableLakeGames]

How many games have you reviewed for this to be the best? Brown nosing for a virtual like 😂

[@vickypedia1308]

​@@SableLakeGames they never said it was "the best" anywhere in the comment, they said it was the "most fun to review"

[@zeedar412]

Your first commercial videogame doesn't need to change the world. It's a huge accomplishment to release it at all. To make a game that is fun, and enjoyable for the majority of your players, is amazing. Good job! I hope you keep going! It's (usually) easier the second time around.

[@tomekk.1889]

It's not actually his first game, although he definitely made it out to seem like that was the case

[@CombatByrd]

Its his first released game.​@tomekk.1889

[@Synest2]

And in the end we never got that 2 hour video about writing a contract we all wanted on the video about hiring a composer :c

[@GMTK]

I actually did interview MOM's lawyer for this but it basically boiled down to "hire a lawyer", which can't really sustain a whole video :P

[@Pannedcakes-90]

​@GMTK Not a lot of people have hired a laywer. Everyone says, hire a lawyer, which is fantastic advice, but the actual process can be daunting. I agree that it's not enough for a while video, but it might be enough as a segment if you do another retrospect video. Dunno how much you want to dive into the business aspect behind game dev, but it would fit there.

[@AstarTiamat]

I agree Idk how to hire a lawyer and how to find a trustworthy one and what red flags to keep an eye out for

[@pitchfire7959]

@@AstarTiamat Lawyers are for the rich. that's one reason most people don't know how to hire one.

[@saininsa98]

@@GMTK please do it!

[@Wraithfighter]

14:47: “99 little bugs in the code, 99 little bugs. Take one down, patch it around, 107 little bugs in the code.”

[@Respectable_Username]

Owww, this comment's too real! 😂 Also: "99 unfinished tasks on the board, 99 unfinished tasks. Get inspired, synapses fired, 200 unfinished tasks on the board" 😜

[@Yo-Andy]

Just on the mention of Speedrunning and what devs can do, Insomniac Games are very aware and in touch with the Ratchet and Clank Speedrunning community. When they released Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart, there were a number of glitches, but one in particular named Wrench Boosting basically enabled us to launch at ridiculous speeds to skip entire level segments and was not very hard to do by mistake by non-speedrunners. Insomniac's solution was to make it so that you also had to be holding L2 to make this glitch occour. This made it almost impossible to do by mistake but not changing the landscape for us speedrunners at all. In my eyes, the perfect solution!

[@SpiderTodd]

exactly, dont make the skips harder or impossible, just make them more secret

[@Jake28]

iirc Toby Fox took an approach similar to this for a wrong warp bug found in Deltarune, too. It's neat.

[@aceae4210]

there was similar that which happened to deltarune (from undertale fame), where there were multiple bugs (though hard to come across by mistake) which saved time in speed runs one of which was wrongwarps (basically when you enter a loading zone, it takes you to a wrong part of the new map), what tobyfox(the dev of the game) did was make it so you had to hold 2 keys for it to work otherwise the bug doesn't work another case in the same game, there's a boss battle where you can charge weapon shots there was a fun where if you held 1 fire key and then spammed fire key 2, you would be spamming charged shots, it was changed so your still able to do that, but now it make the boss battle go into a hardmode

[@MarieCool888]

My favorite anecdote on this topic is Sabotage team with Sea of Stars. They created an amulet (menu option) which standardizes loading times, skips dialogs and cutscenes and reintroduce old bug to exploit for the speedrunners. Wonderful implementation!!

[@MarsJenkar]

When I participated in Make a Good Mega Man Level Contest 3, I had the option to deactivate certain weapons or utilities for Mega Man so that he couldn't use them in my level (40th place out of 175, Explosives Factory). I chose not to, because I saw doing so without a damn good reason (e.g. leaving the weapon or utility active would massively break the level in a way _detrimental_ to the player) as a mistake--I had seen it done in submissions to previous contests and it had often resulted in the level being disliked by the judges, the players, or both. As a result of me leaving all those options on, I've gotten to see my level being broken in all the best ways by speedrunners looking to get to the end as quickly as possible. And I'm looking forward to see what tricks and techniques they come up with next!

[@kasiamleczarska9078]

*"And it is now the objective truth of the universe that for the rest of time, I made a video game, and that cannot be taken away from me."* That was actually very inspiring. I feel like I've just found a little glimmer of motivation to do the things I had long gave up on.

[@kasiamleczarska9078]

Also, the video has left me moved. When you started dismantling your studio, it felt like goodbye. It was great to be able to see your face, Mark. You're my favorite KZbinr and I hope that some day you will, in fact, make another game, knowing that you now have the skillset to make the process easier and more manageable.

[@GMTK]

Thanks for watching, and best of luck!

[@samhblackmore]

I hope you make another game too! And I hope the 2nd project fixes that last piece of criticism you got about the game not being personal enough or representing your creative spirit or something. It seems a little harsh but I kinda get it. I would love to see what Mark would come up with if you went balls to the wall and made something really out there that only Mark could have thought up. Easier said than done!

[@cannot-handle-handles]

I hope to see another game made by you, too, maybe as part of a team of GMTK viewers? As you beautifully highlighted throughout the video, this game was already a collective effort, but imagine how rewarding it could be to have a small, dedicated team. While I do enjoy working solo sometimes, the social aspects of teamwork often give me the boost I need to get through those challenging ADHD slumps.

[@brennansegarra]

God I felt that. Got a little teary eyed when he looked at Magnus and said "You're all I need."

[@LucRio448]

"I hope that you are inspired by my story to go out and make your own games" - my dear friend, I literally decided to go to like (practice focused) university to learn game development, after finishing my apprenticeship in science/QA, because of you. i mean i always wanted to make my own game and at some point in the past considered going to university to learn it properly, but i'm willing to say if i didn't come across your videos and your journey, i'd not have decided to actually persue that now, sooo... ^^

[@GMTK]

Nice, good luck!

[@SableLakeGames]

Look forward to the regret😊

[@LucRio448]

@@SableLakeGamesYou are assuming things that aren't gonna happen :D

[@Caroline-Ellis]

Honestly, not patching speedrun specific bugs and allowing the 1.0 version of the game to be available for play naturally is SUCH A HUGE W for you. A thriving speedrun community can give your game so much longevity and the fact that you support the community will encourage more people to try the speedrun out. Big W, congrats on the launch

[@plinketyplonk3156]

I think the game he made might be about magnets guys

[@ezequielcanale]

no way

[@gonzalodeolivera7329]

Oh wait what I thought it was about the gravitational pull from a planet-sized black inside a coreless sun and also about skipping time by going into an experimental circular particle accelerator to go 100x faster than the speed of light × speed of sound ÷ (Earth mass⁷ - [-Moon mass])× A

[@Rex_Cosmos]

Spoilers

[@Imperial_Squid]

Sure, yeah, old news, I'll tell you the real question no one can answer though, _what the frick is this guy's *name*?!_

[@NoteCat540]

Really? I thought it was about minds?

[@MarcelArtsCW]

When this series started, I had just started learning game dev. When you released your video how you learned unity without tutorials, I used it as inspiration to stop using tutorials. That year was my first participation in your game jam. It was just one screen and a disaster of a game. But alongside you I became better and learned to be comfortable with my skills. This year, I made my third GMTK Game Jam Game and got amazingly good feedback. I don't have a full game like you, just a bunch of prototypes on my drive. But I'm working on my first commercial release and already have the story for my second one. It was a really cool ride and inspiration following this series and I hold it dear in my heart as the time I learned along side with you to become game devs ❤

[@GMTK]

Congrats on the progress!

[@shmooters5599]

Controller glyph option is underrated. I only have a switch controller and I can’t count the amount of times where I’ve had to pretty much figure out button prompts on my own cause the game can’t figure out what I’m using.

[@Mrine2372]

THIS. Also, I've had controllers die and switch to other platform controllers, so having the option to display my most intuitive one is awesome

[@ARandomUserOfThisWorld]

I mean it’s not like there are THAT many ways you arrange some fucking buttons

[@jamescunningham8092]

It’s rare, but occasionally a game defaults to PlayStation glyphs despite what I’ve plugged in (a third party controller connected as an Xbox). I’ve never played on a PlayStation so I have no idea what the glyphs mean. Very confusing.

[@cloudkitt]

I'm still pissed at xbox, or nintendo, or whoever's responsible for controllers using the same controller iconography but flipped. Good job Sony for just making your own thing, lol.

[@PringleFucker]

I use a switch controller on PC but just stick with Xbox controller bindings because that is what I am used to. Just never look down at the controller and you're good!

[@MrFraztastic]

For over a decade you’ve been studying the craft of game design and MoM feels like your final exam. It’s technically proficient and because you’ve shown your work it’s easy to see that you’ve at least mastered the tools of proper design. This makes me super excited about your next project because the next step is learning how to take those tools and make them into something that’s personal and creative and more than the sum of its parts. Amazing work!

[@default8522]

The fact that you both kept the release version available AND didn't patch the movement bugs for speedrunners is truly amazing and deserves nothing but endless praise. I've started running far too many games in the past that end up patching critical speedrun tech in such a draconian manner it just kills the communities stone dead before they even start, and the games simply disappear like a fart in the wind. A genuinely fantastic gesture and plenty proof at how engaged you are within games as both an industry AND a culture. Keep up the sterling work!

[@tylermorrison6335]

My favorite GMTK series comes to an end. I'm so happy I got to see it all the way through to the end!

[@icyfoxe]

22:33 You know what happens when devs want to be 100% happy or confident with the game before release? - Silksong

[@rmsgrey]

Daikatana.

[@BassLiberators]

I'm pretty sure Team Cherry finished all the fun parts of Silksong and just have no motivation to go through the last 30% that sucks to work on.

[@Chibs]

@@BassLiberators I'm pretty sure you have no internal knowledge of the production process to be 'pretty sure' on any take you can come up with.

[@HopperGameDevelopment]

Very honest and mature reflection. Keep your chin up, take a break, and when you’re feeling inspired, have another go at making a game. Also, It’s great that Mark recognises the advantages he has with his YT channel. It would be interesting to see how mind over magnet would have performed without the channel.

[@THEEJONESY]

probably wouldn't have ever happened

[@sebastienvondoom8615]

If he makes a second game, I reckon he shouldn't talk about it on the channel until after release just to compare

[@tymondabrowski12]

Puzzle Platformers are notorious to perform pretty badly. You can see the impact of genre on Janos Tyroller games.

[@force-ti1kp]

its been great following this series from start to finish

[@pedroscoponi4905]

While MoM itself might have turned out relatively unremarkable (not in a bad way IMO but it's certainly true), I think Developing has been a _resounding_ success. I've toyed with the idea of making a game by myself for many years but now I feel like I have a much better handle of what to expect. How hard it'll be, how long it'll take, etc. And I think it's another testament to the series' success that while I feel a lot more cautious about the idea, I don't feel _discouraged._ Quite the opposite, actually!

[@DerekLieu]

Congrats on shipping the game, and thanks for such an amazing behind-the-scenes look. I loved watching every episode!

[@GMTK]

Thanks Derek!

[@GambitRaps]

Been so awesome following this whole development. Thanks for all the awesome work Mark!

[@AirshipOverdrive]

Mark, even if you feel slightly underwhelmed or incomplete over the "missed opportunities" of the game, be proud that you did it AND that you documented the entire thing! The designers of the next generation's equivalent of Portal, Shadow of the Colossus, or Hades will have watched your series and learned from it, saving themselves thousands of hours of trial and error, frustration, and "missed opportunities" ❤

[@Nieoficjalni-chuligani-Toli]

The "my advantage" section of this video is super honest and important. I saw Jonas Tyroller's "Just make great video games" video about games marketing where he totally did not take into account that he'd been running a successful youtube channel with great devlogs even for his older games. Anyway, I started following your channel Mark exactly a year ago by watching the Developing series and it gave me a lot of joy when I was quite stressed. I also created my first Unity game by following your tutorial and as many people here I would like to thank you for showing us your journey.

[@victordebone6842]

But Jonas actually proved the point. He sold more than a million copies of his latest game with roughly 15% of the audience (200k subs) than GMTK. And on his last video "Sell more games", he runs through his channel numbers and copies sold - it didn't look correlated at all - his previous game sold terribly despite the large channel.

[@Nieoficjalni-chuligani-Toli]

You missed the point. It's not about comparing these two guys, which doesnt make sense btw. It's about comparing yourself- a mortal indie dev to an youtuber. I just wanted to say that it's great that Mark highlighted that whereas other youtubers sometimes forget about it.

[@Chibs]

@@Nieoficjalni-chuligani-Toli You literally compare them in the first line of your comment, then when someone points out that comparison doesn't make sense you tell them comparing them doesn't make sense? What?

[@mathieupr6391]

As just a casual viewer that's never gonna dip his toes in video game making, I'm gonna miss this series, but I'm glad you're gonna have some time to breathe without that deadline hovering around you! Great job Mark, it was entertaining, insightful, and just plain fun to follow

[@callmenaka]

A man talks about making a game in a blue room. Turning off lights, than unplug the last one. I'm happy to be here to see this 3 years of yours. Thanks for sharing. Also fk u for making me cry

[@DavidTriphon]

Hey I saw your video on character redesign! Cool to see you here too! I love GMTK's deep dives into game dev. He definitely gained a lot of wisdom from his experience that I'm glad he shared.

[@SableLakeGames]

Sad

[@lijmoo]

37:29 you made a video game AND inspired people. I'm not a game designer or dev, but you have sharp presentation and storytelling abilities. I sometimes caught myself over the years at work thinking about it and 'emulating' what you do in parts!

[@tylerd3766]

I solo designed a board game across a few years and shared so many similar experiences that you had with designing Mind Over Magnet. I know it was a lot of work, but I loved watching this series and loved comparing the many similarities and surprisingly few differences between board game design and video game design alongside this. Thank you for encouraging others to design!

[@epsilonthedragon1249]

As someone on the speedrun page for this game, seeing your care for the runner community makes me so happy. You and I have the same feelings toward these sort of glitches

[@seanaugagnon6383]

I appreciate the real honesty. A lot of people would've just thought "I did this all by myself. Boot strap style" no mate.

[@honeyboyjones]

congrats again on completing this journey! it's been really special to go from watching early development, to getting to contribute to it, and now seeing it out in the world-looking forward to whatever comes next! ♡

[@GMTK]

Thanks Zach!

[@youssefbencheikh8637]

Thank you for the amazing music!

[@norude]

I love the part where Mark said "it's magnet time" and videogamed all over the magnets

[@boomgoesthedynamite69]

how do you mess up the structure of this specific joke so badly

[@ARandomUserOfThisWorld]

I mean that’s probably the joke though @boomgoesthedynamite69

[@Roobotics]

Tangent: If you made a bigger version of the magnus plush, they could be used as a neck-pillow. Also an idea if you think a 'two-face' style one could work, the ends could magnetically click together to stay in place, since they could canonically attract.

[@Meoiswa]

Considering what you yourself thought went wrong with MoM: - Game is too short - Spread too thin accross too many roles - Puzzle design is not refined enough I ponder the question: **What about a Level Designer update paired with an extra level pack DLC?** You could tell us about a big part of videogame development: post-launch support, publishing updates, etc. About integrating with Steam Workshop, and I think it would be a valuable lesson in how to extract even more value from the hard work that was already done, and that even if your videogame doesn't do spectacularly on release, there is always time to make it better in the future!

[@ItsJJOLO]

0:57 was fully prepared for an ad sponsor

[@newtforgegames]

Watching this whole series has been eye opening and to mirror my own journey has been interesting, I too just released my first Steam game and while the scale is wayyyyy smaller than Mind over Magnets watching a handful of content creators play and enjoy my game has been such a great and rewarding experience. I can only hope to one day reach those numbers you have but thank you for documenting everything and being so open about the whole process. It's inspired me to do a similar video and reflection from the perspective of a Dev with hardly any marketing/following! Keep being awesome and inspiring more gamedevs!

[@Hugop_arts]

Kinda bittersweet to see it come to its conclusion, especially with that final shot of putting everything away and turning lights of. I love seeing the journey of people who chronicle the games industry, game making & game design dip their toes in the craft and you fully submerged yourself and resurfaced with quite a little treasure to keep. Congrats Mark.

[@tukeart]

I released my hand drawn demon beat'em up game this January. I knew it wouldn't sell a whole lot, but still seeing less than 100 copies sold after years of work made me feel really miffed. Nevertheless, the people who played through my game really liked it, and more importantly I managed to make a game of my own from first sketches into a finished product on steam, which I'm incredibly proud off. I'm happy that your game was a success! If/when I make another game, it will definitely be a smaller game, and more focus on proper marketing.

[@NPGames4e]

Hey Mark! Dunno if you remember me (The guy who popped in to one of your live-streams yapping about prototypes), but I finished Mind Over Magnet a few weeks ago! First off, thank you for this series and this game! I played the entire game, got stumped on actually quite a few puzzles, then played it AGAIN for the developer commentary. While I haven't been here since the beginning of the Developing series, I certainly enjoyed watching it! A lot of things you've said in this entire series has motivated and helped me with my own game, mainly revolving around the structure of puzzles and gameplay! Mind Over Magnet was a blast to play through, and now I REALLY want more. Thanks for this making game, and this entire series as a whole.

[@GMTK]

Thanks so much!

[@Break.]

I'd like to thank you for this series. As someone who has been wanting to make a game long before you started yours, this series has been invaluable in providing advice and insights on the entire process of making a game. It is so exciting to see the game finally released with positive reception, which regardless of your 'advantage', is no small feat. Over the years, I have picked up so much knowledge from this series and elsewhere (primarily GMTK game jams), and am finally at a stage in my life where I am confident that I am ready to commit to working on a game of my own. Even in the incredibly early stages of my game currently, I have already made use of information you have shared in this series, such as the importance of prototyping and not being afraid to start again from scratch. Not to talk about myself too much but I'd like to leave this comment here for me to come back to in hopefully 1-3 years when I too have released my first again. Once again, thank you for this series, your video essays and game jams over the years and congratulations on the successful release!

[@Mr_SuperCut]

So satisfying seeing this series conclude. Been a joy to watch!

[@roramdin]

biggest smile on my face as you describe rocketing to the sales charts. so happy with what you've done for the community of gamers, game designers, and lovers of the medium. i wonder if this will be required viewing in design classes, it certainly could be a whole course! congratulations mark, i'm so glad that a creator like you tackles this stuff.

[@crediblesalamander8056]

making things is hard, video games especially so. you should be proud that you were able to actually finish this thing and document the process along the way for all of us. looking forward to any of your future projects, video game related, or otherwise.

[@flown_game_dev_2]

13:47 Yoo, good to see my run made it into a GMTK video. On the topic of speedrunning the game, if the run looks at all interesting to anyone reading this I'd recommend you give it a shot (as there's not a lot of people running the game anymore lol)

[@GMTK]

Thanks for running the game :D

[@daniellyons6269]

You should consider eventually adding a level creator mode. It would be perfect for GMTK to have a game where players can create levels, plus it gives you free content for your game, and it gives us new levels to play and make.

[@Skivv5]

I would die for this feature I love super Mario maker, Mario bros X2, codespaghetti's upcoming kirby maker, ultimate chicken horse, and others.

[@obsidianflight8065]

@Skivv5 kirby maker sounds amazing, what?? just by the name, I'm not sure what it actually means but I love kirby (at least kirby super star ultra, haha)

[@mixolumia]

Huge congrats, Mark! I'd like to offer a little bit of good news about Steam revenue you might not realize is coming. That sales spike at launch will obviously drop off, but I've learned that Valve does a lot of work surfacing your game to new players for years. The long tail is real, and five years from now when you're still getting that monthly deposit, you might find the vast majority of your income from the game came in long after its initial release. Steam's cut at the beginning is a shock, but I've come around to it after seeing how much of a return they bring in the long term versus other platforms. So look forward to that. One thing I'll warn you about that I don't see discussed often is that it's pretty common for a sort of post-release depression to hit devs, even when the game is a massive success. It makes sense, your life revolves around this big project for years, and then suddenly it doesn't anymore, and it leaves a hole. I think it's important to be aware that this is a thing so you can keep tabs on your mental state. I find it helps to transition right into another creative project, but feel it out and decide what's best for you. Again, congrats! And good luck with everything ahead!

[@EmperorsNewWardrobe]

This whole process is utterly illuminating and instructive, coming from someone who has been indie developing a game with their programmer for several years now! Thank you!

[@superdrog1819]

When i found this channel first i just asssumed you were an experienced video game developer. I was surprised when you said you had never made a game before, but interested to see how it went. It turns out you did a pretty good job. Respect.

[@Psycho0Noob]

you started a project and finished it to the end and it was positively recieved truly what every artist and devolloper strive to achieve (esp being of the few devlogs to see the light of a release and post release video for once, these are REALLY rare)

[@jaimekurzweg-ne4gc]

I got the game as a thank you for the dev series. It was incredibly inspiring when you announced you were starting the game four years ago, and that's what got me into game dev in the first place.

[@JornamMusic]

As a professional game dev, this was by far my favorite video from the series. The acknowledgement of our struggles feels heartwarming. Thank you for putting this out!

[@blucpinygaming]

Hi Mark, just wanted to let you know that I've been here throughout the whole development process and watched every single episode of this series. This series followed me all the way through high school so it's definitely a bittersweet ending to what has become one of my favorite series on the platform. It was extremely insightful to get an inside look at the work that goes into every step of making a game, and you did an excellent job making every video entertaining and inspiring to watch. Best of luck with the future of the game and keep making great videos !

[@pitchfire7959]

A good rule of thumb I have gathered from multiple indie game developers is the developer makes roughly 50% the gross revenue of their game. In my opinion any game developer is very lucky if they break even for the time and money they put into their game.

[@douglasparker1178]

So proud of you to see this all come to fruition. You *made* a game about magnets! Honestly I've been living vicariously through this series. I've dabbled in game development, but never quite shipped a real game and kept imagining myself in your shoes, living this alternative universe where I actually became a game dev. It's so cool to watch you grow and *develop*, and I really appreciate the way you shared that story with the world. Whatever is next for you, I'm sure it'll be great!

[@johndoz]

Im sure you get a million comments, but I just wanted to say thank you for making this series. I'm not getting into game development, as I simply don't have the mind for it, but the fact that you managed to learn so many new skills for this made me rethink that I knew all I needed to know and couldn't learn anything else. Now I'm a few months into learning how to 3D model and for the first time in my life, I'm happy with the fact that I can do something that expresses myself in a creative fashion.

[@zacseehusen-besky3882]

I’ve been following from the start of Developing, and this series has had a huge impact on me (wouldn’t have started game dev without it). So great to have played the game a couple weeks ago and to see this final video!

[@icedragon769]

I really appreciate the set teardown at the end, what a poetic and intimate way to end a series that (to me as a casual viewer) feels like it started hardly a year ago. The behind the scenes peek into the monetization side of game dev was really enlightening too. I hope you can buy yourself a lil treat with your monopoly monies, you did a really cool thing.

[@LuizMoratelli]

Sebastian and GMToolkit videos on same day, what day to be alive.

[@carbonsiren]

Caveat to your caveat: most developers don't have to make a top-tier youtube series while they're developing their game

[@Zekiraeth]

Yeah, even if some might say the game itself is nothing special, the fact that we get to see the development process through a very well-produced video series _is_ genuinely very special.

[@savageraccoon787]

Caveat to your caveat to his caveat: Most of these developers are going to still have an actualy job

[@Zanthous_]

Colossal achievement completing this game and getting it out to so many players. The GMTK polish definitely shines in the game, and it's clear you've been improving really fast over development. Congrats!

[@crimsonhawk52]

Tooling doesn't just save time down the line, it lets your enter different modes of thought. At some point, you can *just* keep on your design hat and not have to think "ah I need to code up this one mechanic really quick." It lets you enter a flow state and make better stuff.

[@danielundercow]

I'm truly, really happy for you. That feeling you were talking about, that you made a videogame and nothing can take that away from you, must be absolutely magnificent. Good job for taking this endeavor to the end!

[@Fela01]

Developing was a fantastic video series. Seeing you go from the absolute start of choosing a game engine to learn to fully releasing the game on steam was inspiring. Good luck on potential future big projects like this series. Loved it from beginning to end.

[@randomguy970]

Something about the ending section about regrets and future plans for game design made me really emotional. I’ve been lucky to be able to work on a lot of solo projects (mainly academic work and research) and relate to everything you said so much. For me, this series has been so eye opening for game developing, but also for multi-year project management. I really appreciate your videos. Congrats on a fantastic game and dev blog series. 🎉

[@GMTK]

Thank you!

[@The8BitPianist]

39:26 he's gotten so good at design, he follows the rule of 3 intuitively

[@Serch_YB27]

Congrats Mark! Have been watching since 2021 and it's weird how life has changed after these years snd Im glad you could finish the game. I get that feeling you talked about, about how it is a fact you made a game and it cant be taken away from you. Got that feeling when I recorded an album with my old band and after years of writing, composing, rehearsing, recording.... We practically didnt make any money with it, but having that experience that cant be taken away from you made it so much worth it.

[@GMTK]

Nice!

[@SongoftheLute]

Think of all the people who never finish a game, let alone manage to release it. Your achievement is excellent, and for us who watch you its just proves that it can be done.

[@JeffArbough]

Thank you GMTK, for your honest and humbled reflections on looking back at the process. The earnest, thoughtful introspection goes a long way to helping other game designers, including myself, in peeking behind the curtain of things still to come. I know personally the tremendous amount of effort that you have had to put into this game to make it everything it is today, and I sincerely hope you feel proud of your achievement. As you said, you are now an official "Game Designer", and that cannot be taken away from you. Best of luck and I can't wait to see what the future has instore for you!

[@Bwubdle198]

So what’s next Mark?

[@GMTK]

Sleep

[@Rex_Cosmos]

@@GMTKafter the Magnets MMO

[@Dracosahedron]

@@GMTK Game developers never sleep.

[@NoteCat540]

@@GMTKReading this comment while watching your video makes me realize you look really tired. Great job, you deserve some rest.

[@olaf.forkbeard]

@@Rex_Cosmos MoMMMO?

[@shawnheatherly]

From when the project was first announced all the way to release, I'd been excited to see how this turns out. Having played it, I feel it was worth the wait. You absolutely deserve to be proud of your work.

[@feidry]

Anybody who's never made a game and has been inspired by this story, WATCH THE BEGINNING AGAIN!! This will not be your story. Getting eyeballs on your game is the HARDEST part of the hardest thing I've ever done in my entire life and that's really saying something. This channel is... I won't say its the entire reason Mark sold any copies, but it is a HUGE part of why Mark sold any copies. I'm sure Mind Over Magnet is a fine game, don't get me wrong. But if it wasn't for GMTK, it would have sold less than 100 copies is my guess.

[@NeroVingian40]

Yeah, that’s true. For the most part, this series highlights a realistic take on the process of making a game, but in terms of marketing and sales, it would be a very varied experience to different people, or even in different industries (because there seems to be a lot of comments that says they are now inspired to chase their dreams now). If there’s one thing I could say in this comment of mine, it’s that just keep chasing your dream, it’s going to be worth it, your enjoyment is what matter here, but of course, don’t expect it to be a success story right from the get go. This is the same for every other game developer out there, very rarely that the debut game of a dev is an immediate success.

[@feidry]

@@NeroVingian40 To further boil down your (our?) point: make games because you love making games, not because you want a paycheck. If you want a paycheck, go work for Rockstar or some other big AAA studio.

[@TheKaygent]

@@feidry Absolutely not. If you love making games but want better financial security than an indie has, go work for Rockstar or some other big AAA studio. If you just want to make money in programming go work for the technology arm of a bank or grocery logistics company or something that will draw roughly nobody into it for the glamor.

[@feidry]

@@TheKaygent Yeah I guess I should have been more specific and said "if you want a paycheck from making games*". You'll certainly make more money doing the same kind of job in fintech or something but that's not making games.

[@ZackZiegler]

Honestly, such a great way to end the video, and the series. Had me in awe as you shut things down, then chuckling as you literally struggled to say goodbye

[@BrendaKincaid]

I love how open you are, in contrast to Thomas Brush, where the whole gimmick is to lure people into his money trap. I am honestly surprised that you agreed to his podcast.

[@ShockMicro]

I have to thank you so much for making the game accessible to a casual audience. I was never the best at puzzle games, always liking the idea of them, but never being able to complete them. Despite that, I was very excited to play this from the start, as magnetism is just a really fun premise. The puzzles were intuitive, the perfect difficulty for my skill level, and the few true stumpers were very easily helped by the hints. I may never beat all of Baba is You, but I can at least say I've beaten Mind Over Magnet, and enjoyed my time with it very much.

[@HaydenTheEeeeeeeeevilEukaryote]

Working with others doesn’t necessarily mean giving up creative control, especially since none of us end up making exactly what we imagined anyways. What matters mainly is that those working with you show you what they have, and you show them (whether in a quick doodle or what) exactly what you want them to change. Kindly, of course, but be direct (and kind). Masahiro Sakurai’s (creator and director of every Smash Bros. game) youtube channel, specifically the “project management” playlist may come to use.

[@untapped8776]

Well done, Mark! It's been an amazing journey! A few years ago I went through a very similar rollercoaster of making my own graphic novel as a university final project. I find that many of the feelings you have now about your game, its production, and about making more are a lot like mine about my graphic novel. I think it just goes to show the immense amount of work that goes into any creative project, and anyone who sees one to the end should be massively proud of it, regardless of its objective quality.

[@yaron_izzikf]

At the moment, flying up the pipe to enter "World 2" with Magnus... Excellent game. Only good vibes in it. Good luck! Edit: Smart puzzles and great ideas tightly implemented. The animation, characters design and movement are great, background scenery is eye catching but not in an intrusive way, cool soundtrack and fine tuned sound design. Pacing and level-building progress are on-point. Again - Good luck!

[@GMTK]

Cheers!

[@rokahn]

Congratulations Mark, we released a Guitar and Violin album with my wife and it was such a big project to undertake. I feel like all game devs deserve some respect, because at times the fact that a game even releases feels like a small miracle.

[@watariboshi]

I would love to see you do another developing series where you do work with a team, and you are the lead designer, if you are ever up to it. There's been a lot of indie game devlogs for solo developers on KZbin recently, but I dont think there's as much content for people working in a team. Also GMTK has been a channel about game design, so it would be cool to see you focus on just the role of being a game designer with the rest of the team taking the other roles needed to develop a game.

[@Lukros76]

Really proud to have been along for even a part of this ride. Just the fact that you finished an entire game alone is an unbelievable achievement in itself, not to mention the channel and how it performed admirably. Continue doing what you do man, however it feels best for ya!

[@vladimir_ckau]

From thumbnail alone - yeah. Released my game like 5 or 6 years ago. Was flooded with bug reports and negative reviews. Fixed something, and had to abandon it after coming completely burned out on gamedev. Somehow, this game still gets reviews and people are asking for bug fixes in the discussions.

[@nate567987]

Yea…

[@deoxix]

What an incredible series that made me realize deeply all the different aspects, decisions and struggles that go into making any videogame a reality. Sorely needed for anyone into this hobby. Congrats on releasing Mind over Magnet!

[@yufeng1707]

Loved the game. I feel like the game could have at least been twice the size with more puzzles per chapter. Maybe like a Side-B, Side-C thing from Celeste. It's a great game engine that didn't get explored enough.

[@jca1298]

actually, the game being relatively short and with nice self-contained levels was a massive plus for me. I rarely have the time to play anything at all and it makes me sad that my backlog keeps getting larger with unfinished games - some of which I have actually never even started because they are just massive 40+ hour super complex experiences. MoM was a breath of fresh air which made me happy and feel like I accomplished something. Thank you for making this great little game. ❤

[@runningbravado]

Emotional! What a journey, you should be very proud of yourself! Thank you Mark!

[@marcus_rigonati]

Mark, first of all thank you for your video! It reminded me of how much I like game design and how much I want to create my game! I'm a simple software developer and I love games, I started my project around 6 months ago but "life" happened to me and I got demotivated over time, I know your channel for a long time and I remember the first video where you announced you were making your own game, for me it's amazing to see how far you've come and how the game turned out to be, thank you for not giving up! This video here and all its conclusions, got me feeling inspired again to go back and work on my game project, specially when you said that even if this is the only game you will ever make, you will still be proud of yourself! That made me realise a lot of things about what I want right now! I'm not sure if you will ever make another video on this topic but I got really curious about one thing, so I'll leave the question here: How much do you think "making videos for youtube" helped you to keep working on the game? I mean in a motivation point of view, having to force yourself to work on it even on the days you are not feeling as good, because you know you will need to make a video about your progress, do you think this fact played a big role?

[@eelmail2077]

I’d love a video someday on creating free vs paid DLC for Mind Over Magnet, with pros and cons.

[@XragonX24]

I have to say, this is one of the greatest treats I've ever experienced on KZbin. I've watched every Developing video since day one, and as a creator, your insights to the creative process has been both inspiring and helpful for my understanding in what it means, and feels, to make something from beginning to end. For those who may never make a game, this is something worth watching. It gives me a vicarious joy to see this game out there, and having Mark come away as--imo--an elevated man. I also can't begin to say how absolutely encouraging an edifying, and revelatory this piece of behind-the-scenes is for me--regardless of the fact that I myself may never get the chance to make a game in my life. Not everyone can say they created something, and I hope one day I can get there--despite the possibility that my work may never see the light of day. Thank you for all your effort and candidness Mark, and always hold this achievement for the rest of your life, for neither God nor the devil can take away this fundamental FACT that your creativity did, for one glorious moment, exist beyond the meta-physical. Congratulations my fellow artist.

[@AbbreviatedReviews]

My biggest takeaway here is that British Monopoly has different lands than American monopoly.

[@DamonSouls2]

As someone who’s been watching since the start, and has now played the game myself, I just want to say Well done, Mark! This has been such a cool project to follow and a real labor of love. Congratulations on your first game!

[@TheErikjsm]

after this journey is starting to wrap, do you think you will continue making more games in the future? i understand if its hard to say right now, just curious.

[@GMTK]

Definitely some game jams and some more interactive essays ala Platformer Toolkit. But not sure about another big game!

[@TheErikjsm]

@@GMTK looking forward to it!

[@madnesspurple8454]

@@GMTK I heard of a cool game jam called GMTK Game Jam. Will you be entering it?

[@Steandcoffee]

I got a bit emotional at the end there! Thanks for this series Mark. Me and my wife always look forward to the next installment.

[@professionalvillains134]

It's been weird following this process as I ended up being part of a team that released a game the day before Mind Over Magnet on Steam.

[@nullandvoid7881]

how did your experience compare, out of curiosity?

[@professionalvillains134]

​@@nullandvoid7881 There are a number of different ways, as I see it. Our game should stand on its own two feet more than Mind Over Magnet. Those are actually crazy numbers Mark has for a small indie developer. I think only about 10% of indie games sell more than 5,000 copies in the first year, which he did on day one. We have 54 Steam reviews (94% positive), and that's a pretty good result for a small indie game, just to compare to what Mark has done. So, his videos are definitely what sold the game, but he's also really produced some great videos, and I can't imagine having to make both a game while producing videos as big and detailed as his. Just makes me tired at the thought. We don't have a KZbin channel of Mark's size, so we probably thought more about our game’s design and how it could stand out. From the start, we've found something we wanted to do that we thought we could get attention for by saying just a few lines. ‘Every time you die, a new story begins.’ is the core of our game. We also spent a lot of time looking for unique collaborations where our games could get some visibility. Because if we just share a tweet, no one sees it. :) We've probably also spent more time raising money for our production. We ended up being supported by the Danish Film Institute. It was a long application process where only a few of us who applied for support got funding. Part of my salary came from an art grant I got because I have previously been involved in making other indie games. (For example, Anglerfish, which was nominated for game of the year in my home country, Denmark.) Creating a game of Mind Over Magnet's size is never easy. Mark has also done a lot of work to get to his success on KZbin, so I have nothing but praise for him and Mind Over Magnet. I hope that answered your question in a worthwhile way for your curiosity. :) And by the way, our game is Security: The Horrible Nights. ;) (80s pixel horror love.)

[@professionalvillains134]

​@@nullandvoid7881 There are number of differenet ways, as I see it. :) Our game had to stand on its own two legs more than Mind Over Magnet had to. Those are actually crazy numbers Mark has for a small indie game. I think only 10% if indie games sell more than 5,000 games in the first year, which he did in one day. We have 54 Steam reviews (94 postive), and thats's a pretty good result for a small indie game, just to compare to what Mark has done. We don't have a KZbin channel of Mark's size, so we probably thought more about our game's design and how it could stand out. So something we would like to make and that we thought we could get a little bit of attention for by saying a few lines. "Every time you die, a new story begins." is the core of our game. We also had to found unique collaborations to get som visibility for our game. Because a video on KZbin made by us don't get any views. :) We've probably also spent more time on raising money for our game. We ended up getting supported by the Danish Film Istitute. It was a long application process where only a few of us who applied for support got funding. Part of my salary came from an art grant I got because I have previously been involved in making other indie games like Anglerfish, which was nominated for game of the year in my home country, Denmark. Creating a game of Mind Over Magnet's size is never easy. Mark has also done a lot of work to get his success on KZbin, so I have nothing but praise for him and Mind Over Magnet. I hope that was what your curiosity was looking for. :) And our game is by the way Security: The Horrible Nights.

[@professionalvillains134]

@@nullandvoid7881 I tried 3 times to reply to you here, but KZbin keep deleting what I wrote.

[@McMxxCiV]

Thank you so much for showing us every step on your journey, and not sweeping any of the bad or hard times under the rug. Your channel - this journey and the other stuff - has been instrumental in helping me, a 40 year old burned-out language teacher, decide to start a bachelor in independent game production at DAE this last september. Thanks to your work, I'm not as naive as some of my younger fellow students seem to be when it comes to ideas of easy money and good vibes only, and I can give the harder moments the room they claim while keeping my eye on the good. You have been, and I'm sure will continue to be, a net positive force in the world of video games.

[@GMTK]

Oh nice, good luck!

[@McMxxCiV]

@GMTK for what it's worth, the advice I keep hearing is to make multiple little games first. If I'm not mistaken I have a course somewhere down the line where we just repeatedly make games in a small team on a two week deadline. It's similar to most creative endeavours in that way: first finish small projects repeatedly, not worrying too much about how good they are, until you're used to all the steps from start to finish. Think songwriting, creative writing, etc.

[@SophiaWoessner]

The roto on the text @ 6:18 is really good

[@Flashv28]

Green Screen mask

[@SophiaWoessner]

@@Flashv28 No, that's roto, you can see as it changes in a sorta jumpy way. Green Screen would be smoother.

[@isakzettervall2877]

Developing has been my absolute favorite YT series to watch these past years. Thank you for making it, Mark!

[@Project-NSX]

Hi Mark! Just a quick FYI its also possible to catch bugs on builds without player feedback using Unity Cloud Diagnostics. I don't know if this affects what you need to disclose on Steam about what data you collect, but it can save a ton of time figuring out exactly why some bugs happen, like if an edge case causes an exception.