Survivor 51 castaway Danny "Kilby" Kilby joins Frank to talk about Noodle Goose Games, the Canadian studio he co-founded with Karen to make games for autistic youth and now games for everyone. He breaks down why a good video game should be fun as a board game first, how Balatro found its audience through a Big Brother streamer, and why he thinks the current wave of industry layoffs opens a door for indie developers.
The studio started over a bowl of noodles and a three-day sprint to incorporate before a funding deadline. From there, Kilby explains how Noodle Goose funds development with profits from live events instead of loans, why social deduction games like Among Us and Mafia help teach kids to spot a scam, and what he learned at game developer conferences about getting people to care. He and Frank also swap notes on Switch 2 versus PlayStation Vita loyalty, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's long road to a publisher, and the studio's next release, a Scribblenauts-inspired word puzzle game headed to Kickstarter.
Chapters
0:00 Meet Danny "Kilby" Kilby
0:57 How Noodle Goose Games Started Over Noodles
5:36 Designing Games for Autistic Youth
10:40 Growing the Team and Funding Games Without Loans
13:47 Why Indie Devs Have to Market First
19:07 Is It Fun on Paper? Playtesting with Balatro and Breath of the Wild
26:45 Switch 2, the PlayStation Vita, and Where Indies Sell
33:00 Discoverability Tips for New Developers
43:29 Layoffs, A24, and Why Now Is a Good Time for Indies
55:55 What's Next for Noodle Goose Games
Key Takeaways
Noodle Goose Games went from a dinner conversation to a fully incorporated studio in about a week so Kilby and Karen could make a funding deadline.
Their first game was a crisis-skills escape room for autistic youth, and its life-balance point system now forms the base of a coming-of-age time travel game in development.
The studio funds games with profits from large live events, like a boat party, plus government grants, so a game that sold zero copies would not sink the company.
Kilby's playtest rule: strip out the art, sound, and animation, and if the core loop still works as a board game, the game is worth building.
Indie hits often grow from small, devoted audiences. Balatro took off after its creator kept sending it to Big Brother legend Dan Gheesling, who played it on stream.
Kilby sees layoffs and big publishers abandoning mid-size games as an opening, since players still want games and fewer studios are serving them.
Quotes
"If you don't book it, it don't happen." (Danny "Kilby" Kilby)
"We are funding a game with our profits, rather than hoping the game is the only profit." (Danny "Kilby" Kilby)
"If the game would make a good board game, it'll make a good game." (Danny "Kilby" Kilby)
"You can make the best game of all time, and if no one knows about it, no one's gonna buy it." (Danny "Kilby" Kilby)
"The minute someone stops appealing to a market, that's when you jump in on that market." (Danny "Kilby" Kilby)
Links and Resources
GeekFreaksPodcast.com is the source of all news discussed on Geek Freaks.
If this one got you thinking about your own game idea, subscribe so you catch the next interview, and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Then send this episode to the friend who has been "about to start" their indie game for three years. #GeekFreaksPodcast
Got a question for a future guest, a reaction to Kilby's "fun on paper" rule, or an indie game you think deserves a spotlight? Send it our way at Info@GFPods.com or drop it in the comments, and it might make it onto a future episode.
Podden och tillhörande omslagsbild på den här sidan tillhör
Geek Freaks. Innehållet i podden är skapat av Geek Freaks och inte av,
eller tillsammans med, Poddtoppen.
