How To Make Indie Games In 2026 w/ Jonathan Blow — Full Time Game Dev Podcast Ep. 061

0:00 Intro: Jonathan Blow's 10-Year Journey on Order of the Sinking Star 1:58 Ad Read: Full Time Game Dev Program (50% Off for New Year's) 3:05 Marketing Indie Games in 2026 vs. Past Eras 4:04 Pricing Games in a Changing Industry 6:44 Value, Gameplay Hours, and Sophistication in Pricing 9:56 Revenue Split: PC vs. Console Over Time 13:32 Platform Discoverability and Indie Priorities (Steam Focus) 16:59 Why Partner with a Publisher in 2026 19:18 Burn Rates, Budgets, and 10-Year Development Costs 22:24 Art Fidelity and Shaders in Order of the Sinking Star 23:52 Art Team, Costs, and Scale of Levels (~900 Screens) 25:59 Art Directives and Custom Engine/Language Origins 30:45 Why Create a Custom Programming Language (JAI) 37:03 AI, Coding Languages, and Future of Programming 45:16 Debugging with AI Tools and LLM Limitations 55:39 Game Pitch: Combining Worlds and Mechanics 57:38 Demo: Overworld, Territories, and Basic Mechanics 1:00:56 Editor Overview and Gameplay/Art Integration 1:02:41 Engine Features: Free Release, Water Effects, and Painting 1:06:18 Camera Views, Cutscenes, and Level Perspectives 1:08:38 Building Islands: Meshes, Blending, and Decals 1:12:23 Optimization: Draw Calls, Inanimates, and Rendering 1:15:46 Debug Modes, Vertex Colors, and Material Blending 1:18:47 Lighting: Maps, Probes, and Dynamic Shadows 1:23:35 Deeper Pitch: Fun Through Combining Elements 1:26:42 Gameplay Analogy: Mastering and Merging Worlds 1:29:29 Character Abilities and Combo Puzzles 1:31:59 Overworld Progress and Integrated Puzzles 1:35:07 Game Scale, Multiple Endings, and Beating the Game