How This Game Dev Sold 1,000,000 Copies of His Game (In A WEEK)
TLDRIndie game developer Jay Armstrong chats with Thomas Brush about the creation of his hit game Cult of the Lamb. They discuss ideating compelling game hooks to attract players, building a shared creative vision when working in a team, overcoming financial pressures, and having the game find success. Jay emphasizes brutal iteration, testing ideas through implementation rather than argument, and simplifying the creative vision to key pillars that align the team. He shares his emotional journey, nearly giving up after past games flopped but finally feeling Cult of the Lamb click. Jay expresses immense gratitude for the game's reception and desire to keep improving it for players who made development worthwhile.
Takeaways
- 😊 They started with a strong vision and pivoted when needed based on testing and feedback
- 👥 Having a small, aligned team multiplied their strengths
- 🤝 Devolver's marketing was critical to the game's success
- 👾 Focusing on core gameplay loops took priority over extensive GDDs
- 🎮 Quick iteration of new mechanics and systems was key, not long arguments
- 😈 Shocking/risqué marketing hooks grabbed attention, fulfilled later by strong systems
- 🏆 Awards and success haven't changed their ethos or appreciation
- 💡 Clarifying the vision into 3 pillars/hooks unified development efforts
- 🛠 Unity's development tools felt intuitive given their 2D art focus
- 🙏 Past struggles make them grateful for success but they aim to help other devs
Q & A
What was the original idea for Cult of the Lamb before settling on the cult theme?
-The original idea was that you play as a lost god on the back of a flying whale. They kept changing the idea because when they would pitch it at conferences, people's eyes would glaze over as they didn't understand it. The cult theme was much simpler to communicate and understand.
How did the team ensure the vision for the game was cohesive without having a clear director?
-The 3 co-founders act as a sort of "3-headed dog", with equal but clearly defined responsibilities. They are aligned on the vision and use the 3 design pillars to guide decisions - if a feature doesn't reinforce one of those pillars, they cut it.
What were some key learnings from the 'Sins of the Flesh' update?
-A key learning was that sex sells. The controversial marketing created a lot of buzz. Also the importance of tying new features into a coherent theme or package rather than just releasing random new features.
How does the team balance iteration and changing things with not wasting developers' time?
-They don't do formal GDDs because things change too fast. They have high-level vision, but implement through brutal iteration, even A/B testing features before arguing. As long as the vision is clear, developers understand why things are scrapped.
What were the 3 design pillars that guided decisions for Cult of the Lamb?
-The 3 pillars were: cult (player fantasy of running a cult), combat, and player experience of becoming increasingly self-interested/evil.
How did the team handle conflicts or lack of alignment?
-The 3 co-founders have a great balance of strengths and are remarkably aligned on vision. Being on different continents helps give personal space. Disagreements are settled by just trying both approaches to let the game reveal what works.
Why does Jay recommend starting with a team over solo development?
-Having talented partners multiplies what you can achieve rather than just adding. They inspire you and push you to do better work. Starting solo and gradually finding the right partners to align with worked well for Jay.
What game engine will they use after Unity's pricing issues?
-They will stick with Unity for now because of team familiarity and strength at 2D. But for the future, they will explore options because the trust in Unity is gone.
Did Jay ever consider giving up game development before Cult of the Lamb succeeded?
-Yes, the constant financial struggle and risk with a family did make him question if he was just living in fantasy and needed to get a real job. But there was no exit route at that point other than pushing through.
Now that the game has succeeded hugely, how has Jay stayed grounded?
-Having a new baby around the game's launch kept his lifestyle from changing much! Remembering the immense pressure and fear of those times also helps him not take success for granted.
Outlines
🤝 Introductions and discussing the new Cult of the Lamb update
Thomas and Jay greet each other warmly and express excitement to chat again. They reference their shared history of having games published around the same time. Thomas provides some background on the new Cult of the Lamb DLC called 'Sins of the Flesh' which explores horny themes and caused controversy on social media.
🤔 Balancing creative vision and business success as an indie developer
Jay and Thomas discuss the balance between staying true to your creative vision as a developer while also ensuring your game succeeds commercially. Thomas emphasizes the importance of smart communication and hooks to get people interested rather than compromising your vision.
👥 Learning from previous games to create the Cult of the Lamb hook
Thomas explains how the core Cult of the Lamb gameplay loop of managing a cult came from critiques and shortcomings they noticed in their previous titles. They also studied trends like rogue-likes and colony sims to incorporate elements that create replayable content.
🎮 Developing hooks and pillars to guide game creation decisions
Thomas details how they developed the idea of using hooks and pillars during game development to evaluate new features and stay focused on core vision. For example, they asked if features reinforced pillars like cult management or combat.
😖 The stress of constant iteration and rebuilding
Thomas emphasizes how stressful the constant rebuilding and iteration of game systems was, having to throw out months of work repeatedly. But they felt it was necessary to relentlessly simplify and hone the core experience.
🗒️ Did they use a traditional game design document?
Thomas explains they did not rigidly follow a game design document since they were innovating in new territory and needed the freedom to pivot based on feel and testing. But they did need guiding pillars to know which ideas to cut.
👫 Collaboration multiplying skills and pressure to deliver
Thomas talks about the benefits of collaborating, with skills multiplying rather than just adding for a better product. But constant pressure as peers to deliver quality work that impresses the other amplified stress.
🧑🤝🧑 Building a shared vision and navigating disagreements
Thomas details how open and brutal honesty between the 3 founders helped build alignment, along with a process for trying multiple conflicting ideas to let the game determine the best path without argument.
🔨 Technical roles and processes for the team
As creative director, Thomas mapped high-level vision which programmers and artists interpreted. Constant check-ins ensured progress stayed true to pillars. Team autonomy grew as understanding increased.
🎥 Directing a unified vision across the team
Thomas emphasizes sharing simplified vision guides (like 3 pillars) so team members understand intention and can creatively interpret. Trusted to contribute great ideas if rooted in those pillars.
😞 Managing change guilt with contractors
Thomas advises that frequent change is necessary for innovation, though painful scrapwork can happen. Trust in vision helps assuage guilt. Rapid decisions critical like a climber escaping danger.
🔨 Unity provided familiar environment for productive art
Having used Unity for their first project, Thomas explains staying there lets team leverage comfort and experience. Also critical for pixel art strengths, though they remain open based on game needs.
😡 Reacting to Unity's pricing controversy
Thomas details their angry reactions to Unity's pricing controversy on Twitter. Though resolved at surface level, trust was eroded after outreach felt hollow. But award from Unity still meaningful.
😔 Remembering the long struggle before success
As a new father, Thomas says seeing the difficult journey provides perspective on success. Supporting family was big motivation during bleak times. Still emotional given precarity two years ago.
👏 Gratitude and plans to pay it forward
Thomas expresses gratitude for players who supported their dream. They aim to help other developers succeed too. He remains committed to improving Cult of the Lamb as thanks to the fans.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Cult of the Lamb
💡roguelike
💡indie developer
💡Unity
💡game design
💡gamefeel
💡playtesting
💡player fantasy
💡themes
💡pillars
Highlights
The process was brutal iteration and being brutal with each other. We got to letting the game tell us what it wants to be.
Finding partners who share the vision with you, not just hiring a team, is amazing. People who do different things but are insanely talented inspire you to be better.
The power of the 3 design pillars is every decision must reinforce one or more of those pillars. If it doesn't, you have to remove it, even if it's a cool feature.
Your vision boils down to 3 key points that guide and unify the team. They know where you're going so everyone contributes toward that direction.
The struggle of game development got very tough for years. We were so lucky to come out the other side with success, but it could have not happened.
I was worried I just set myself on a path I had to keep walking 10 years ago. There was no exit - the only way was through.
If you find amazing people but don't have the right project or alignment, it's not a good situation even if you all like each other.
Rather than argue, we started AB testing features. Let the game tell us what it wants to be instead of arguing opinions.
The core was the base building and dungeon crawl loop. The cult thing came much later when we found the right hook.
Updates don't need to be charged for. We want to improve the game for players because we're lucky to keep working on it after launch.
The social media manager enjoys winding people up but knows how far to take it before reassuring them it's just a joke.
Short, clever communication of an idea helps people understand and get interested. This is key to success.
We knew we had to fulfill the hook's promises about cult activities. That accountability drove us to implement meaningful systems.
I was initially surprised our marketing focused on roguelike aspects since the core is about the followers. Making you care for them is key.
Our previous games lacked an effective hook. This time conscious communication and marketing were drilled into us as crucial from the start.
Transcripts
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