► Support David and enroll in his course: courses.gamedevunlocked.com/p/game-dev-unlocked?coupon_code=WHSTHOMAS80&product_id=3035771 ► Play the demo: store.steampowered.com/app/1559720/We_Harvest_Shadows/ ► Learn how to become a full time game dev, free: www.clkmg.com/fulltimegamedev/webinar
David Wehle is an incredibly talented and visionary game developer, and it's been such a privilege to work alongside him. Among everyone we've collaborated with, David stands out for his humility, compassion, and empathy. We genuinely couldn't ask for a better partner in bringing this project to life, and we feel truly blessed to be part of his journey. Watching this talk was deeply inspiring-it resonated with developers on every level. His support, patience, and dedication mean the world to us. Thank you, David, for being such an invaluable part of our lives and our work.
Being the younger brother of David, I’ve always seen such an incredible creative side of his during our childhood. So amazing to see his work reaching other gamers and creators!
I can tell you two are good friends. Ive seen a lot of interviews on this channel, and this is the most comfortable one. Like you guys are just hanging out opening up.
1:28:52 "that's what I think the great stories do out there, they teach us about ourselves most of all and then we become better people for it" great observation!
As an experienced software developer (+10 years) and a beginner solo indie game developer and artist (around 2 years) I can't agree enough with the example of "building a house in the middle of a hurricane". This was something that was haunting me for months, I'm finally being able to understand my feelings, it is some sort of self-awareness that is helping me to get through this challenge. Most of this knowledge comes from the talks I hear in this podcast series, so please continue with this content, it is helping me as a indie game dev more than anything else before and will certainly help a lot of other indie game devs out there!
Commenting that it seems Thomas you have taken a lot of the feedback from the comment section. This podcast was much more “professional” on your part. No long rants, stayed more on topic, let your guest speak, not overdoing self promotion, minimal ego stroking, removing your bits of starring off into the distance, etc. Nice job!
I needed this. Thank you Thomas and David Whele... I was going through a rough patch in my journey. Thank you for everything you shared. it helped a lot!
I know you probably heard this time and time again but I want to say I admire your passion. I come from a poor background and always wish I had the education/resources to become a game developer. Now I’ve decided to self teach but immediately was intimidated by all the burn out on youtube. Your truthful story encouraged me to not quit even though I know what’s ahead of me. Keep inspiring man!👏🏾🔥
wow - I relate to this video at a very deep level. Thanks to both of you for the vulnerable conversation. I've been working full time as a game dev for others for 30 years and writing books on the side. Mostly because the people I work for have non-competes that don't allow me to make games on the side, but also because I love writing and storytelling. One time, when I was in a HUGE creative funk I was chatting with my editor, a wonderful, successful editor from one of the big book publishers. She's seen it all, and she gave me this advice. "If you can quit, you should." It was her best advice for being happy long term. She told me that right after I finished my 2nd book, and I took it to heart. Last month, I published my 13th, and perhaps, final book. I had to work through it - I had to get the stories out - I had to explore. Two weeks ago I moved that story exploration to making a game FOR ME. I don't know that I'll ever publish it. Not sure I want to, if I'm being honest, but I'm grateful everyday for the outlet. I really do love and appreciate you, Thomas. And David (who I worked with at The Void for a minute :)), has been a huge inspiration for me as well. You both do a lot for the community, but it's honest discussions like that that truly touch and help me. Thanks.
Amazing chat between you both. Empathise so much with Thomas when he said he’d missed that October deadline. We made a cosy horror tabletop RPG and it’s also going to miss Halloween 😅
really good interview! You guys bring something (a realistic and honest perspective) to game dev youtube that is different to everyone else and i appreciate that
Love your channel, but would like to see some more variety. I miss the Steam page reviews especially. I think it's good to look at people who've had huge success but also focus a lot on examples of where things could improve. Would also be cool to see stories where things went really bad, all to learn form of course. Wish you the best.
I bought Game Dev Unlocked, David. I was setting aside some $ for it and this sale allowed me to buy it YESTERDAY. Been loving it so far. Thank you! and I'm so stoked for We Harvest Shadows. I'll be a day 1 buyer. (same with Twisted Tower. Already got $ set aside for both)
Just got the course. I hope it helps him finish his project, without having to take a publisher, if he doesn't want one. Good luck, and I loved this discussion.
What an episode, Thomas. Really valuable for those of us in the weeds working on our passion projects. David I really hope this game goes gangbusters for you and you are afforded the opportunity for a break and a reset. My son and I loved the first tree and I can't wait for We Harvest Shadows! Can I suggest listening to Andrew Huberman's latest episode with Lex Fridman... He goes deep on dopamine and burnout and how to manage and, importantly, reset that dopamine balance. Love to see you continue making games, just not at the cost of your mental health. Wonderful, insightful episode... thanks for this one ❤
Wow initially i thou the path was difficult but later in the video seems u both are making and investimg over hundreds of thousands into your own game devs,gamedev is such a see saw up down biz, take care guys
I just realized the new game is reflection of his mental self. Dark, depressive, empty. Guy is strugling and I feel for the guy. Fuck, he spent all of the money from the first game and probably some more and is now betting on a second game. Going full time dev was not a smart choice when you have a family to take care of. But you see it in his first game that the reflection of him was full of hope and joy and beauty. Guys, take a lesson here. Keep your dayjob and your sanity. Being indie dev is like being a robber and robbing banks. You cant just rob one and be done. You have to keep robbing. And game dev isnt fun at all when it becomes a job.
I saw Splattercat play the demo. I had it up on my second screen and it totally stole my attention away from my dev. It gave me some silent hill vibes so it is appropriate he is wearing a silent hill shirt. Splat had the best reactions to it and made me want to play it. Also... you get to take care of a stray cat. You all are way more successful than me but I can relate to some of your emotions. It's crazy because I didn't recognize them until I heard you all talk about it. Thank you.
I think one of the key points was where both agreed that living a somewhat simple life with your family and private property. That is really noteworthy. After coming to that realization, we should make efforts to keep the scope of our goals, both financial and in game design, reasonable. How much money would you theoretically need to live the lifestyle you want? Find that and then keep on guard from 'lifestyle inflation.' Thanks for your insightful and honest discussion, Thomas & David. Very inspirational.
Great vid, very direct and real on what people should consider before just jumping from the cliff of following a dream, very valuable. Dreaming is great, internal peace is better I think, I also suffer from these things, those topics are hard on you, drive them carefully.
I get so many people telling me "Stop trying to make money out of games, it's art". Just because i view games as how I'd like to earn my living doesn't mean I'm evil. Something inside of me refuses to do anything else... If I'm gonna make money it will be game dev related, end of story.
Things I learned about game development. you lose a sleep. you feel like time runs so fast. When you open UE at 6 pm... few clicks. drag drop, feel like it's 8 -12 pm. But the real time 2 am.
I'm always finding places to go after devs release their games. Where I'm I supposed to go or talk to when I have not even a demo? Just videos of my game. I'm really trying to make it and bring the best quality games to my audience.
I make games for ~14 years now. Making them does not bring "happyness". It brings TOTAL sense of accomplishment. To some extent, even money are not taken as a "reward". It is enough to make it ( game ) and "pull it outside" like a released bird. A bit of cheap poetry here but I don't care ;) Some people ( as usual ) see making games as a typical job. You do it, you get payed. End of story. Process of creation ( making something nearly physical out of nothing ) cannot be translated into materialized value. Joy of creation, struggling when it is not as expected, hope for the best but you can't prepare fully yourself for the worst. And good sells is almost a byproduct of this process. Money become a tool ( as they should be used ) rather than a goal. And a goal ? Always next game, always next "something out of nothing". Great talk :)
@1:27:00 Grew up on acreage, hobby ranch. 60 acres from age 3 till 16, 200 acres after that which my parents are still on. I don't regret it at all, and if moving out to that kind of area wouldn't cost me things which are important to me, I would do it in an instant. (If the wife agreed, which I think she would.)
He already had a huge audience who will buy his game anyway. It's not a big deal listening to someone who don't need any effort in marketing or anything like that just releasing a random demo and getting 150k wishlist.
charles is the predator and you are the prey, maybe you upgrading the train and being able to confront Charles and becoming powerful fulfills a common wish? another thing could be the preparation leading to victory.
That freedom you explain it would give you to have millions - it's that freedom you get from having a day job and make games at night really. You don't have to have millions to get to that. Sure millions in the bank would be nice, but it's not realistic to 99.9% of people - having some kind of day job is very doable. By doing that you don't have to do all the other source of income you have, that time you spend on a job that provide sure money, removing the pressure on your game dev journey :)
I find it quite interesting that the target audience of Twisted Tower is Bioshock fans when, Thomas, you didn't enjoy it. It makes me ask myself, "How does Thomas plan on delivering a similar experience that will capture that demographic when he, himself, doesn't enjoy that game?" I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Easily the best game dev interview / hangout I've seen. So relaxed and so interesting and relatable discussions. You guys are both huge inspirations, and I have bought courses from you both. So great to see this collab. I'm working on my own first game and can relate to David that I just want to announce my game to see if my gut feeling is right. More content from you guys please! 🫶
what engine are you using? for how long has been the development? do you regret starting the project? im thinking on the possibility of trying to create a game myself, people like these two guys have inspired me to at least try but i'm afraid of the fact that i might not be competent enough, all the learning i would have to do, and if i could manage my time to have my life and still develop the game, i know nothing about game development but have watched some videos of thomas in the last months and he got me thinking, what if... and honestly i'm getting tired of just playing games, maybe because eventually that's what naturally happens when you get older, but it's a very interesting idea of creating your own game!
@@I24FFA I use Unity and have been developing for maybe 4 years, only 1-year full time. I was a lawyer and had no education from game dev and it is fully possible to learn much yourself, i.e. without a degree. But I recommend taking courses like Davids or Thomas and not trying to figure out everything yourself. However, what I have learned is that game development is much harder than it seems and making a real game take soo much longer than you can think. So, you will probably need to have a long runway with money, at least 3 years or more. You say that you know nothing about game development so I would not recommend you to quit your job if you have any. You will learn super much the first years and you don’t want the financial stress of trying to learn basic skills and also make money on it. Nobody buys games created by following basic tutorials. It is super fun creating your own game so I would recommend you to start if your interested. Just make sure you have income from other means while learning. Also, this means you probably don’t need to make a big life change right now and can just start learning game development. Start now and enjoy it stress free. 😊
@@I24FFA I answered your comment yesterday but now I can’t find my reply. Weird, I guess I will rewrite it. 😊 I have been doing game development for about 4 years but only 1-year full time. I use Unity right now. I think it’s great that you’re interested in game development because it is really fun and rewarding. But I have learned that making a full game is sooo much harder and more time consuming than one would think. I used to be a lawyer and have learned everything I know about game development on my own, from courses, RU-vid videos and books. You don’t need a degree in game development to make games but there is a lot to learn, and I recommend you not to try to discovery all the knowledge on your own and instead use resources such as courses, RU-vid videos and book to learn from others mistakes and victories. If you are thinking about quitting your job right now, I would strongly recommend against it since you still need to learn the basics of game development. You don’t want the financial burden of needing to make money to survive while learning basic stuff that nobody would pay money for. However, this is a good thing since it means that you don’t need to take a big life decision right now and instead can buy one of the guy’s courses and start learning game development today. 😊
Screw a publisher, just get a loan from the bank or a couple credit cards that will help you get through the year then collect that million dollars all yourself...
Would it be more like: If there is one game dev that inspired me to copy the whole course selling thing? I fail to shake off the idea that ever since you did the interview with him, only weeks later you jumped the bandwagon. No offense though, it seems that creating a profitable game isn't that easy, since you need to rely on overly expensive courses.
Idk how these indie devs actually makes games with out investors and funding, I hate that people fund games like star citizen which doesn't even have any release date, fund projects like this these devs doesn't need millions of dollars anything will be helpful. I want to make game but I just get scared having no money what if the game also fails.
Dear Thomas and Devid I watch this entire video right after 1 hour it’s released, also yesterday I saw BiteMe Games video with Devid. You three guys are inspiration and amazing ❤ right after watching this video I’ve downloaded the Demo and played. It’s AMAZING 🤩 EXCELLENT 👌🏻 🎉 also wish listed. Thank you , best luck and keep it up. ❤
Oh wow such an insufferable way to live. You guys are doing too much. I guess when you turn indie game dev into a business/ financial life line things become serious huh...I mostly am developing my game out of passion..I'd be glad if even one person plays my indie game and enjoy it. Sucks I can't run kickstarter in my country but your videos are a gas Thomas!
I am also an inspiring dev. The passion is the only things that can push us through! My game is still probably a year out before I am close to a demo. Also Followed I will play your game when you realize it!
@@jaexpii Same with mine...give or take six months. Thank u n hope to not disappoint 😭... Also checked u out n was hoping to see what u working on.. Good luck ✨
