I chat with the legendary Thomas Mahler about one of the crazier weeks of his game dev career... ► Play No Rest For The Wicked: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1371980/No_Rest_for_the_Wicked/ ► Learn how to make a game studio from your bedroom, free: https://www.fulltimegamedev.com/opt-in-how-to-make-six-figures ► Enroll in my 3D workshop, free!: https://www.fulltimegamedev.com/opt-in-15-minute-3D-game ► What I believe: https://youtu.be/jQK3LniPMq4 Chapters 00:00:00 The Nightmare of the Viral Indie Dream 00:02:45 What Makes You a Successful Game Dev? 00:04:11 AAA's Decline: Blizzard Goes Corporate 00:08:50 Edgy Art & AI's Generic Trap 00:10:48 Tweet: Ignore Playtesters to Innovate 00:12:28 Miyamoto's Guts: Betting Nintendo on Mario 64 00:14:24 ARPG Stagnation Since Diablo II 00:15:47 Ori: Pushing Metroidvanias Forward 00:19:50 No Rest for the Wicked's Crazy Journey 00:20:51 Thick Skin: "Toughen Up" on Funding Cuts 00:24:11 Solo Dev Speed vs AAA Bloat 00:26:52 Scrappy Indies Beat Corporate Slop 00:29:01 74K Copies/Day: Epic Comeback Story 00:37:21 Tipping Point: Free Weekend Magic 00:38:02 Art Style Breakdown: Caravaggio's Influence 00:43:04 Custom Unity: Editor & World Preview Tour 00:50:36 Optimization: Thousands of Objects, Real-Time Lights 00:52:29 Item Manager: Telemetry, Rule Breakers & More 00:57:23 Balance Master & NPC Managers 01:02:22 AI for Tooling: Saves Hundreds of Hours 01:07:04 AI Limits: Generic Art/Stories Suck 01:08:14 Congrats on the Success!