Indie Gamedev Podcast

MAKING AN AMBITIOUS FPS GAME ALONE WITH no previous EXPERIENCE. He didn't know how to make games, but by improvising every aspect of game development, he made and published an ambitious 3D game. YouTube: https://youtu.be/buA49oOboNA He didn't know programming, he didn't know any game engine and he didn't know how to make art for games. But he wanted to make the game of his dreams, an FPS game. Three years later, he finished and shipped the game Northern Journey, a 3D game with interconnected levels, whimsical characters, and hypnotizing music, made with Unreal Engine 4 (Blueprints) and Blender. Currently a success on Steam. In this podcast, I interviewed Øystein from Slid Studios in Norway, a Solo Indie Game Developer, where he talks about his unique journey while developing the Northern Journey from scratch, with no planning and no schedules. Did you know that he learned and made everything from scratch, including every asset, texture, sound, and more? Not only that, before making the game he spent 10 years making an indie movie. This interview is packed with valuable insights for those that want to go big without giving up and without burning out when making indie games. Links - The Northern Journey: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1639790/Northern_Journey/ - Slid Studio YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNBzq8B9E84RoCbsgUAmeBw - Slid Studio Twitter: https://twitter.com/slidstudio - Making my Game as a Single Dev (Northern Journey, Unreal Engine 4, Norway): https://youtu.be/lIjt1mKWn4o - The Death of Balder: https://youtu.be/pUvVRBFFfbI - Renoise: https://www.renoise.com/ - Blender: https://www.blender.org/ - Unreal Engine (UE4 e UE5): https://www.unrealengine.com/ - Audacity: https://github.com/audacity/audacity Support or sponsor the podcast and the channel: - PayPal: https://bit.ly/AlfredBaudischPaypal - Join the channel as Super Member: https://bit.ly/AlfredBaudischJoinChannel - Become a patron via Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/alfredbaudisch The Northern Journey is set on a vast landscape inspired by the Norwegian fjords, with a story based on Nordic and Scandinavian folklore and tales, where you hold medieval weapons. Index / Table of Contents / Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:00:44 - Øystein Introduction 00:01:10 - What is The Northern Journey? 00:02:32 - Is it an RPG FPS or Exploration FPS? 00:03:50 - Is the game based in Norway? 00:04:41 - What is your favorite thing in the game? 00:05:32 - Holistic Game Dev 00:08:42 - Did holistic help save money? 00:09:24 - Take a lot of texture photos 00:10:49 - How long did it take you to complete the game? 00:11:09 - Did you work full-time on the game? 00:11:40 - Where to buy the game? 00:12:54 - Making a Movie alone The Death of Balder 00:14:50 - How many years to make the movie? 00:16:27 - Make from start to finish and finish it 00:17:12 - The Northern Journey proof of concept prototype 00:21:10 - How much time to make the prototype? 00:22:11 - Planning the game and schedule milestones 00:24:59 - Improvising Game and Level Design 00:27:49 - Creating immersive big levels 00:30:16 - Gameplay backtracking in big levels 00:32:29 - Creature, enemy, and NPC design 00:34:04 - How to make unique characters? 00:35:31 - Why does the game have so many spiders? 00:37:53 - Game Music and OST 00:41:17 - Is the game successful? 00:43:24 - Additional sources of income 00:44:46 - No lights in the game? 00:47:35 - DAW Software (Music Production) 00:48:48 - Any plans to move to UE5? 00:50:28 - Drawing tablet 00:50:40 - Why Blender 2.79 and not 2.8+? 00:52:27 - Risk of failing: make the game for yourself or for the market? 00:55:37 - New game and future plans 00:58:03 - Game Making as a vehicle of Art Making 01:03:04 - How to focus while working on a big game? 01:06:14 - Where to follow your work? 01:07:39 - Final advice - don't make games, but... 01:08:01 - Make small games or the game of your dreams? 01:10:27 - Conclusion 01:10:55 - Support the Podcast

In this interview with Jake Birkett from Grey Alien Games, we talk about how to work full-time with indie game development, how to make money with small and casual games and how to survive on the long run in this industry. Jake has been a Full-time Indie Game Developer for 16 Years. Video and transcription: Available as video (with optional Portuguese subtitles): https://youtu.be/KooZ-H72i7Q Transcription: https://criajogo.com/podcast/ Like what you see? Want to support the content? My Patreon: https://patreon.com/alfredbaudisch PayPal: http://bit.ly/CriaJogoPayPal Jake's Patreon: https://patreon.com/GreyAlien Additional info: Jake Birkett has 16 years of experience as an independent game developer, 13 published commercial games. Jake is an authority in the indie games and casual games market. Is it possible to develop your own games and make money with them? How to not go bankrupt with game development? Jake Links:  Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/developer/GreyAlienGames Itch: https://greyaliengames.itch.io/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/GreyAlien Site: https://www.greyaliengames.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GreyAlien YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/JakeBirkett Videos and articles: You are spending too long making your game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmIFaAU0mJg You're Spending Too Long Making Your Game | Jake Birkett: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkEE5pvQOR8 How to Survive in Gamedev for Eleven Years Without a Hit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmwbYl6f11c T-Minus 30 interview with Jake Birkett: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iEcjQNeK8I Lessons From 10+ Years Fulltime Indie Dev | Jake Birkett (Grey Alien Games) | MGD #28: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBpXAEaWZT0 TBoIG 2018: Jake Birkett - Make Money from Small Indie Games: You Don't Need a Huge Hit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTZdNVeApTM Are Casual Games Recession Proof?: http://greyaliengames.com/blog/are-casual-games-recession-proof/ Index / Table of Contents / Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction  00:46 - Who is Jake Birkett and Grey Alien Games?  02:38 - Full-time indie, rich and famous  06:02 - Jake's Games  08:41 - How to have game ideas?  12:33 - Finish or abandon projects?  14:17 - How to deal with ambitious game ideas?  15:32 - Your first game must be small  17:23 - How to cover the costs of game development?  20:51 - Chances of having a hit ("Notch factor")  21:35 - Make games or earn a salary from a job?  22:37 - Publish many small games  24:19 - More games lead to more fans and cross sales  25:43 - Sustainable or successful?  26:51 - Casual games market  32:10 - Where to sell your games?  34:37 - T-Minus 30, Jake's new game  38:00 - Engine and tools  41:16 - Who makes the art for your games?  42:59 - Aesthetics matter  43:22 - Where is my computer gone?  44:42 - Where do you live?  45:31 - Where to find Jake and his games?  46:21 - Closing words and final advice