#[Ep577] Indie Devs React to Steam's New Personal Calendar
Game Dev Podcast | Coffee with ButterscotchShow Notes
In episode 577 of 'Coffee with Butterscotch,' the brothers dig into Steam's new personalized calendar feature and what it means for how indie games get discovered, wishlisted, and surfaced to players. They break down the difference between following and wishlisting, why launch timing still matters so much, and how Steam keeps finding new ways to put indie games in front of the right people. Then they shift into How Many Dudes beta testing, where player feedback is reshaping difficulty tuning and revealing just how differently people approach the same fight. Support How Many Dudes! Official Website: https://www.bscotch.net/games/how-many-dudes Trailer Teaser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgQM1SceEpI Steam Wishlist: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3934270/How_Many_Dudes 00:00 Cold Open 00:36 Introduction and Welcome 01:35 Steam Changes and Their Impact 04:36 The New Calendar Feature on Steam 07:28 Wishlist Dynamics and User Engagement 10:38 Developer Experience on Steam 13:28 Comparative Analysis of Game Platforms 16:28 Thoughts on Steam's Effectiveness 21:16 The Influence of Game Launch Timing 23:34 Understanding Game Following vs. Wishlisting 26:36 The Unique Position of Steam in Gaming 29:11 The Evolution of PC Gaming 33:52 Beta Testing Insights and Goals 44:37 The Beta Testing Experience 47:34 Feedback Dynamics in Game Development 50:30 Game Mechanics and Player Engagement 54:38 Balancing Game Elements and Player Perception 59:31 The Evolution of Game Characters To stay up to date with all of our buttery goodness subscribe to the podcast on Apple podcasts (apple.co/1LxNEnk) or wherever you get your audio goodness. If you want to get more involved in the Butterscotch community, hop into our DISCORD server at discord.gg/bscotch and say hello! Submit questions at https://www.bscotch.net/podcast, disclose all of your secrets to [email protected], and send letters, gifts, and tasty treats to https://bit.ly/bscotchmailbox. We also built Ludokit, a tool for managing store pages, promo art, localization, achievements, credits, fonts, change logs, and more. Check it out at https://ludokit.com! Finally, if you’d like to support the show and buy some coffee FOR Butterscotch, head over to https://moneygrab.bscotch.net.
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In episode 595 of 'Coffee with Butterscotch,' the brothers explore the impact of big game releases on indie game launches, examining whether launching alongside major titles affects visibility, sales, and marketing strategies. They analyze platform-specific dynamics, content creator attention, and the impact of such releases on indie developers, the attention economy, and strategic timing for game launches. "How Many Dudes?": https://howmanydudes.com 00:00 The Indie Developer's Dilemma: Launch Timing 02:38 Marketing Attention: Competing with AAA Titles 05:38 Visibility and Sales: The Steam Ecosystem 08:45 The Impact of Genre Overlap on Launch Success 11:39 Content Creation and Audience Fragmentation 14:41 Navigating the Chaos of Major Game Releases 17:37 Launching in a Crowded Market 26:18 Understanding the Steam Audience Dynamics 29:43 The Impact of Competition on Game Launches 33:34 Navigating Market Overlap and Consumer Choices 38:36 The Influence of Major Releases on Indie Games 43:35 Competing for Consumer Attention in the Gaming Landscape 51:40 The Cost of Launching a Game 01:01:21 The Nuances of Game Development and Market Dynamics Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@coffeewithbutterscotch Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/1LxNEnk Chat with us on Discord: https://discord.gg/bscotch Support the podcast: https://moneygrab.bscotch.net Looking for help making and publishing your own games? Check out LudoKit, the web service we're building to help us with our own games: https://ludokit.com
In episode 594 of 'Coffee with Butterscotch,' the brothers dig into the Needle in a Haystack Simulator phenomenon and what it reveals about how game ideas spread, get cloned, and go viral. They explore why a strong, simple premise can trigger a wave of fast followers almost overnight, what AI tools mean for how quickly someone can spin up a clone, and what any of this means for indie developers trying to build something original in a market that rewards familiarity "How Many Dudes?": https://howmanydudes.com 00:00 Introduction to the Needle in a Haystack Phenomenon 02:00 The Viral Tweet and Its Market Impact 05:52 Convergence of Game Ideas and Cloning Culture 08:05 The Role of Premise Simplicity in Marketability 09:58 AI's Role in Fast Follow Game Development 12:00 Ethical and Moral Considerations in Cloning Games 16:01 Implications for Indie Developers and Future Trends 19:58 The impact of rapid game cloning on indie developers 24:55 Case study: How the Needle in a Haystack idea spread 30:01 The importance of execution and design complexity 35:07 Balancing innovation with execution difficulty 39:58 Market testing and early feedback strategies 44:48 The role of timing and speed in game market entry 55:06 Idea protection and market strategy Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@coffeewithbutterscotch Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/1LxNEnk Chat with us on Discord: https://discord.gg/bscotch Support the podcast: https://moneygrab.bscotch.net Looking for help making and publishing your own games? Check out LudoKit, the web service we're building to help us with our own games: https://ludokit.com
In episode 593 of 'Coffee with Butterscotch,' the brothers debunk common myths about Steam wishlists and how they influence game success. They explore how external marketing, timing, and understanding Steam's algorithms are crucial for indie developers aiming for success. "How Many Dudes?": https://howmanydudes.com 00:00 Understanding Steam Wishlists 10:08 The Myth of Accumulating Wishlists 17:32 Public Awareness and Marketing Impact 19:23 Understanding Wishlists and Their Impact 20:15 The Role of Nextfest in Wishlist Generation 23:07 Mechanisms of Steam and Wishlist Notifications 25:51 The Bucket Analogy: Wishlists as a Metric 27:41 Nextfest: An Event for Players, Not Developers 30:53 Debunking the Myth of Wishlist Decay 38:51 The Importance of Accumulating Wishlists 39:32 The Myth of Magic Numbers in Game Development 42:05 Understanding Wishlists and Steam's Discovery Queue 43:58 The Impact of Wishlists on Launch Sales 46:59 The Role of Marketing in Game Success 51:02 Launch Strategies and Community Building Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@coffeewithbutterscotch Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/1LxNEnk Chat with us on Discord: https://discord.gg/bscotch Support the podcast: https://moneygrab.bscotch.net Looking for help making and publishing your own games? Check out LudoKit, the web service we're building to help us with our own games: https://ludokit.com
In episode 592 of 'Coffee with Butterscotch,' the brothers welcome their first ever podcast guests Nick and Dominik, the team behind IRON NEST. Seth and Sam walk through the entire dev cycle with them, from how they chose the name and built a thriving Discord community to the marketing decisions that drove nearly a million wishlists. It's a candid conversation about pivoting on data, leaning into community feedback, and what authentic engagement actually looks like when it's working. "How Many Dudes?": https://howmanydudes.com IRON NEST: Heavy Turret Simulator: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2950790/IRON_NEST_Heavy_Turret_Simulator/ 00:00 Cold Open 00:40 Introduction and Welcome 05:53 Understanding the Importance of Marketing in Game Development 11:50 The Role of Key Art and Game Fantasy 17:44 The Impact of Social Media on Game Promotion 23:21 The Appeal of Unique Game Concepts 28:54 Building Anticipation and Community Engagement 34:55 Navigating Reddit and Community Engagement 41:02 The Dynamics of Viral Content 47:19 Leveraging YouTube Shorts for Game Trailers 52:51 Strategic Marketing Decisions: Call to Action and Trailer Length 57:28 Building in Public: The Discord Zoo Experience 01:11:36 Creating Momentum: The Nestfest Strategy 01:15:53 Learning from Playtest Failures 01:20:51 Leveraging User-Generated Content 01:24:42 Next Fest Launch and Wishlist Surge 01:33:52 Understanding Demos and Playtests 01:39:46 Funding Through Community Support 01:40:48 Navigating Launch Timing and Strategy 01:42:47 Community Involvement in Localization 01:43:51 The Importance of Personal Touch in Marketing 01:45:57 Finalizing Game Content Before Launch 01:46:49 Community Support and Feedback During Development 01:54:49 Empowering Community Engagement 01:56:52 Optimizing Store Page for Launch 02:00:49 Navigating Bundles and Discounts 02:04:50 Launch Day Experience 02:10:48 Community Impact on Success Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@coffeewithbutterscotch Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/1LxNEnk Chat with us on Discord: https://discord.gg/bscotch Support the podcast: https://moneygrab.bscotch.net Looking for help making and publishing your own games? Check out LudoKit, the web service we're building to help us with our own games: https://ludokit.com
In episode 591 of 'Coffee with Butterscotch,' the brothers dig into what actually makes a small studio function well over the long haul. Using Butterscotch Shenanigans as the through line, they walk through how their team structure has evolved, how they think about hiring, bottlenecks, and unexpected skills and what it looks like to keep a small team functioning well through years of shipping games. "How Many Dudes?": https://howmanydudes.com 00:00 Cold Open 00:28 Introduction and Welcome 03:08 Understanding Team Topologies and Their Impact 06:14 The Role of Individual Skills in Team Dynamics 09:09 Case Study: Butterscotch Shenanigans' Team Evolution 12:00 Navigating Hiring Challenges and Team Growth 14:57 The Synergy of Team Members and Their Contributions 22:22 Collaborative Dynamics in Indie Studios 25:34 Expanding Team Capabilities and Bottlenecks 27:09 Adapting Roles and Responsibilities 29:15 Unexpected Skills and Team Adaptation 34:05 Continuous Integration and Development Philosophy 38:06 Quality Assurance and Testing Strategies 46:17 Small Batch Delivery and Automated Processes 51:23 The Role of Productivity Engineering 55:26 Team Structure and Management Philosophy 01:01:04 Collaboration and Bottlenecks in Game Development 01:05:47 Shaping the Studio for Success Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@coffeewithbutterscotch Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/1LxNEnk Chat with us on Discord: https://discord.gg/bscotch Support the podcast: https://moneygrab.bscotch.net Looking for help making and publishing your own games? Check out LudoKit, the web service we're building to help us with our own games: https://ludokit.com