Their 0 Combat Game Made Them Millions

0:00 Intro 1:00 Leaving Lyndow 3:30 From AAA to indie 6:12 Eastshade in a nutshell 8:52 Designing a living world without combat 11:13 Appeal vs fun; discovering the painting loop 15:43 The “walking sim” problem 18:06 Explainer trailers 19:50 Grizzly Games team size and roles 21:20 Market research, scraping Steam 27:32 Eastshade sales and budget breakdown 28:55 Full voice acting 31:18 Environment art fundamentals 36:03 Performance strategy 43:35 Composing “hero shots” 44:40 Unique landmarks, modular tilesets 49:41 tiny open worlds; Glimmerwick’s world 51:11 What makes a good quest 54:29 Case study: the island mystery 56:03 Glimmerwick’s budget, team, and timelines 57:35 Glimmerwick’s origin and the “one captain per game” rule 59:49 Positioning in the witchy/magic-school space 1:03:00 Early reception: wishlists, betas 1:06:41 From free camera to fixed 1:13:58 Prototyping adventure games 1:20:02 Locks and keys done right (Outer Wilds) 1:26:18 Magic systems in Glimmerwick: spells, farming, potions 1:28:31 Tech art pipeline and approach to writing 1:31:38 Marketing; word of mouth 1:36:20 Time system innovation: “event pucks” 1:40:57 Why time makes worlds feel alive 1:43:21 YouTube strategy: audience, impact, and shorts 1:49:12 Turning illustrations into worlds 1:53:48 Where to start with an adventure game 2:04:07 Replacing combat: a merchant-driven adventure idea 2:11:06 Glimmerwick status: wishlists, demo, conversion 2:12:22 Show the verbs: improving the store page 2:16:37 Marketing plans and development status 2:18:10 Designing satisfying non-combat endings; Eastshade’s farewell 2:22:48 Glimmerwick’s ending approach: reunion and nostalgia 2:25:26 YouTube ROI and streamlining devlogs 2:31:10 Thumbnails, hooks, and careful advice 2:32:42 Game quality vs marketing; reading Steam’s middle class 2:34:18 Game show idea, “friend slop,” trends vs art, and co-op 2:38:38 Wrap-up