Dev Dream Pod with Blake Gocey

Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/a2hceZhcfJAll Hail The Orb: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4262310/_All_Hail_the_Orb/

Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/a2hceZhcfJSubscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@dev.dream.podcast/subscribeTodays Guest: Cai WangwiltOvertrick: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4101290/Overtrick/

Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/a2hceZhcfJ

Play The Demo Today: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2600970/Flawed_Tactics/

Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/a2hceZhcfJ

Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/aD5tJ38XUChapters:00:00 Intro & Guest Welcome00:36 Childhood & Creativity03:17 Childhood Video Games05:13 Discovering Game Development07:56 Quarter Life Crisis09:32 Current Game Dev Dream12:36 Living the Dream?14:58 Breaking Into Industry17:14 Console Porting Strategy20:24 Why Consoles?24:50 Bridges and Docks27:03 Console vs Steam Sales28:50 Console Advice31:32 Just Keep Fishing Team33:51 Working With Friends36:08 Building Dev Network40:14 What Makes JKF Special44:00 Jank as a Feature47:21 Game Ideation Process50:52 When to Pivot Projects55:13 Expectations for JKF57:39 Is YouTube Worth It?1:02:24 YouTube's Real Value1:03:34 Being a Game Dev Dad1:05:38 How Fatherhood Changed Him1:07:49 Kids & Video Games1:10:15 Bad Game Dev Advice1:13:04 Key Lesson: Playtesting

Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/qG3EA8fuERollin Ravioli: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4287100/Rollin_Ravioli/Chapters:00:00 Intro & Welcome03:52 From Streamer to Gamedev07:46 Remote Partnership Story11:58 Squawky Origin Story15:36 Squawky Development Drama20:20 DMCA Launch Disaster26:48 Lessons From Failure32:08 Roland Ravioli Reveal36:55 Game Design Philosophy43:55 Unreal Engine Workflow49:09 Viral Trailer Story56:05 Virality & Marketing1:03:58 Wishlist Results1:06:35 Demo Feedback & Updates1:10:47 Indie Dev Reality1:16:58 Gamedev Advice Takeaways1:18:45 Odai's Big Dream

Join The Discord: https://discord.gg/qG3EA8fuEWilliam of Studio Kunic returns to the Dev Dream Pod to discuss his wild gamedev journey — building a custom raycasting engine in Godot for Lair Keeper, pivoting from Dungeon Keeper ideas to a Slay the Spire-style dungeon crawler, and his new addictive arcade-inspired game.From game jam chaos to protecting ideas in the AI era, this is packed with honest solo dev insights.⏱️ Chapters:00:00 - Welcome Back William01:27 - Lair Keeper Origins03:08 - Why He Pivoted07:35 - Lair Keeper Draw & Brawl10:16 - Custom Render Engine13:29 - Raycasting in Godot19:48 - Playdate Influence20:04 - Engine Time Investment23:03 - When to Build Engines26:04 - Lair Keeper Future34:20 - New Pop the Lock Game37:46 - Balatro Inspired Mechanics41:36 - Design Challenges44:42 - Board Game Inspiration50:24 - YouTube Strategy Struggles57:56 - Dev Dream & GoalsIf you're into Godot, roguelikes, game jams, custom engines, or solo game development, this episode is gold.---#Godot #IndieDev #GameJam #LairKeeper #SoloDev #CustomEngine #Roguelike #GameDev

Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/qG3EA8fuEJeremy from Jeremy Makes Games shares his honest indie dev journey — abandoning Merchants of the Stars, building his roguelike Get in the Hole, and key lessons on Steam marketing, design tension, and YouTube devlogs.Get In The Hole: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4174950/Get_in_the_Hole/Jeremy's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@JSMakesGames🎮 Roguelike vs Incremental, solo dev life, Steam Next Fest strategy & more.⏱️ Chapters:00:00 - Cursed Game Design01:15 - Abandoning First Game03:22 - Google to Indie Dev08:48 - Making Toggle App14:04 - Mobile Monetization Lessons19:05 - Merchants on Steam20:56 - Get in the Hole21:10 - Roguelike vs Incremental24:06 - Design Tension Explained26:59 - Steam Demo Results28:36 - Retention Improvements31:48 - Scaling with Items34:06 - Roguelike Builds36:06 - Killing Darlings38:47 - Marketing Challenges40:24 - Name Problems43:34 - Next Fest Plans44:41 - Luck vs Skill49:47 - Content Creator Outreach54:54 - YouTube DevlogsIf you're into indie game development, roguelikes, or Steam marketing, this is full of real talk and practical lessons.#IndieDev #GameDev #Roguelike #SoloDev #SteamNextFest

Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/a2hceZhcfJNolen's website: https://eieio.games/In this episode, we dive into the mind of Nolan, a developer known for creating wildly unconventional multiplayer experiences like 1 Million Checkboxes and 1 Million Chessboards. Instead of following traditional game dev paths, Nolan explores strange, experimental ideas that bring thousands of players together in unexpected ways.We talk about how he got started, why weird ideas often outperform polished ones, and what it takes to design multiplayer systems that encourage fun instead of chaos. From viral internet experiments to deep thoughts on creativity, constraints, and player behavior—this conversation is packed with insights for indie devs and curious creators alike.This podcast explores experimental game development, indie game design, and viral multiplayer experiences with developer Nolan. Learn how games like 1 Million Checkboxes and 1 Million Chessboards became internet sensations, and discover insights on creative coding, unconventional game mechanics, and building engaging online interactions. Perfect for indie developers, programmers, and anyone interested in unique game design, multiplayer systems, and creative experimentation in game development.Chapters00:00 Intro & Overview03:00 Early Experiments06:15 Creative Signals09:00 Solving Hard Problems12:02 Recurse Center Insights15:07 Solo Dev Reality18:00 Checkbox Virality00:21:01 Anti-Troll Design24:10 Stranger Video Game27:04 Learning Process30:18 Chessboards Explained33:03 Emergent Gameplay36:01 Ending Experiences39:06 Game Length Debate42:10 Future Projects45:03 Dev IdentityHashtags#gamedev #indiedev #gameprogramming #indiegames #multiplayergames #creativecoding #webdev #gamedevelopment #indiegame #programming #gamepodcast #gamedevlife #experimentalgames