Creating ANIMAL WELL, Game Engines, Dunkey, BIGMODE, Finding Challenges, and Patience - Billy Basso

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  • Опубликовано: 9 янв 2025

Комментарии •

  • @gamedevadvice
    @gamedevadvice  7 месяцев назад +65

    UPDATED with timestamp chapters...thanks everyone and keep the suggestions coming!

    • @i-am-the-slime
      @i-am-the-slime 6 месяцев назад +2

      Very nice of you to write these comments.

  • @mattdacat234
    @mattdacat234 7 месяцев назад +37

    Found this through recommended. Felt like you did a good job highlighting Billy. Really like your interview style!

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  7 месяцев назад +1

      Wow, thank you for the kind words about the episode and my interviewing! I started the podcast 5.5 yrs ago, so my interviewing style has evolved :) I also interview a lot of people for my job in recruiting & talent acquisition at Level Ex (video games for doctors). If interested, there are a lot more audio-only podcasts on Game Dev Advice you can check out too.

  • @sunla
    @sunla 6 месяцев назад +13

    I resonate strongly with Billy's values he has outlined in this and others' interviews. What an awesome and creatively inspiring individual!

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  6 месяцев назад +3

      So true! I always knew he was working on something special, but didn't realize how amazing it was along with his ideas and values.

  • @gamedevadvice
    @gamedevadvice  7 месяцев назад +19

    Heads up - working on adding time stamps/chapters, hopefully by Wed. or Thu. this week

  • @trev3d
    @trev3d 7 месяцев назад +12

    Been looking for a long-form interview with Billy since I always love hearing the thoughts of the artists behind the things I love. Animal Well is a super inspiring project and a lot of what Billy says is both relatable and reassuring.
    I especially relate to the challenge of competing for time in people's lives with a game. I never feel I had any 'killer idea' that could be engaging enough to win time from people, so, despite being very passionate about software, I rarely start my own things outside of work. Seeing how Animal Well started as something that didn't necessarily have a grand ambition is reassuring though. Maybe the secret really is to just trust the process and let ideas bubble up over time.

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  6 месяцев назад +2

      Glad you found the interview. Yeah, I think the fact he was honest about organically developing the game and seeing where it went is inspirational. I think game dev folks sometimes get too wrapped up in the narrative they need to have a killer idea before they can commit. Billy provides you don't, just focus on the gameplay and let it evolve. Hoping this inspires you to start something out of work and see where it goes :)

  • @LionUnchained
    @LionUnchained 6 месяцев назад +13

    28:54 I just started game development last year at 32, no college degree, but hustled all my life, a lot of which was done with a computer. From side hustles/gigs to a career in silicon valley i've done IT support, audio engineering, web design, social media marketing, system admin, twitch streaming, youtube content, i mean really i've explored every direction I thought I may be interested in perusing a livelihood through, and eventually landed on game dev. While it would have been nice to have started earlier, I played more hours of games than most people could even fathom in that time, from casual survivals to top ranked ladder starcraft 2, and all of those skills i developed I use now as a developer.
    Just getting over the learning to code hump has been a challenge. Speaking to what John had brought up earlier, my lack of math skills and industry/academic terminology has been something I have to actively work on constantly to be able to interact with higher end developers. Around the 1 year mark my excuse of "i have no formal education" just got tired and i've taken as much accountability for it as I can studying and looking up what I don't know when i come across it.
    Speaking of which I'm here currently avoiding the last bug in my project (I have been stuck trying to get this reflect vector to correctly apply to the projectile but it keeps going to world origin) so.... I better fix it or cut the feature.
    Cool podcast going to check more of these out, I have been struggling to find good game dev podcasts, so thank you for putting these together.

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  6 месяцев назад +2

      That's an inspiring story LionUnchained and huge congrats on your hustle and grit through all the adversity (most folks don't have the fortitude). Hoping you can fix that last bug, I know how frustrating it can get at the end of a project.
      I think the previous episode with Roxanne Splitt around Design might be interesting, plus in podcast form I have a back catalogue of 5.5 yrs and 64 other episodes you can dig into. The Justin Fischer one might be interesting to you (June 2021), here's the Spotify link to the show: open.spotify.com/show/5NChfUVhFxV9NCoUVp4uD0?si=e4e0774f970e4033
      Glad you found the show, hope you enjoy future ones too. Another one with checking out is my friend Alex Seropian's (founder of Bungie, Wideload Games, Industry Toys, and now Look North World) - The Forth Curtain.

    • @LionUnchained
      @LionUnchained 6 месяцев назад

      @@gamedevadvice 🙏🙌awesome ty for the suggestions i'll be checking them out

  • @rayecast
    @rayecast 6 месяцев назад +4

    Creative work is so hard! I have so much respect for this person because any kind of work where you are trying to create and no one is telling you to do it, is so hard! So when you do it, it's the purest kind of work. I really appreciate it!

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  6 месяцев назад

      It definitely is, and you can tell in the game and his interview it's coming from a great place of intention.

  • @danielgrezda3339
    @danielgrezda3339 6 месяцев назад +12

    I think Billy basso's take on ai is one of the best I've seen. All it's doing is what a human can do better, it won't beat human drawings or assets until it can do things humans can't do.

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  6 месяцев назад +3

      He had some good insights, especially around AI Art

  • @IcyGhost_
    @IcyGhost_ 6 месяцев назад +5

    Seems like the algorithm finally hit me with a channel with deep insight on game dev, +1 subscriber

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  6 месяцев назад

      That's so great to hear! You might be interested in some of my previous episodes too, I'm going back and adding time stamps. Plus if you look up "Game Dev Advice" in your favor pod player I have 5.5 yrs and 65 episodes for you to pick from :)

  • @Intrella
    @Intrella 5 месяцев назад +2

    this is one of the best talks i've ever watched. much love to billy and hope this channel takes off! :)

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  5 месяцев назад

      WOW, thank you so much for the kind words! I'm a bit behind with getting the next one (just back from a road trip), but targeting to get one out in the next 2 weeks. Please feel free to subscribe and share. Thank you again for the generous thoughts :)

  • @StevenKane1983
    @StevenKane1983 7 месяцев назад +7

    This was a nice conversation and pretty nostalgic in all the obvious ways. Congrats on the release Billy and the podcast JP.

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  7 месяцев назад

      Thanks so much for the feedback and the congrats, much appreciated Steve.

  • @crylicakress8380
    @crylicakress8380 6 месяцев назад +6

    Billy's a great speaker, and you're a great interviewer! Thanks for making this type of content, I love to know more about the process and thoughts behind my favourite creators and this hits the nail perfectly. You're both so down to earth guys, and I resonated with the points about GaaS and the youtube content creation treadmill. Just appreciate you're keeping it real with the format :)

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  6 месяцев назад +1

      WOW, thank you so much for the feedback! 6 yrs ago my art director told me, "you have all these stories and know a lot of people, you should do a podcast" so I took them up on it :) Been working to improve it over the years and added the YT channel in 2024. Came up with the format and have basically stuck with it so listeners can hear different perspectives on the same questions. GaaS and YT; yeah there's definitely fatigue going on. I'll keep on keepin' on as they say, plus there's a much bigger library of back episodes in the audio-only podcast format under "Game Dev Advice" if interested. Thanks again for the comment, you just made my day.

    • @crylicakress8380
      @crylicakress8380 6 месяцев назад +1

      @@gamedevadvice Wow thank you! Just looked at the spotify list and looks like there's a lot of gems there, can't wait to listen to them too. I'm particularly keen on the artist interviews as a concept artist myself. Keep up with the quality work, you really deserve more views :)

  • @zb3485
    @zb3485 6 месяцев назад +8

    25:13 - so true...some of the popular channels, eg. game maker toolkit preach about game design, but cant make a game themselves, or they are working on something very simplistic...very strange...also - its cool to see someone making their own engine...its hard to find people like that, and i feel like nobody talks about the benefits of it nowadays / everyone preaches unity or godot

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  6 месяцев назад +3

      I'm skeptical of anyone who preaches to be an "expert" but hasn't shipped games and worked in the industry. That compounds things too when people follow them, do what they've been shown, and then can't finish a game or get a job. Be wary of them, they're just playing the RUclips algorithm game around highly searched topics in a field millions aspire to work in. For game engines I've had to rethink my perspective too. There's something to be said for the idea, especially building it in the order Billy did. That's worth digging into more and feel free to reach out to suggest any future guests that could be interesting to speak with who are doing this too.

  • @Almonolis
    @Almonolis 6 месяцев назад +4

    They say: you've become old, you're wearing rose tinted glasses, you're high on nostalgia.
    When I grew up, I've felt in love with some games that introduced me to amazing worlds: World of Warcraft, Runescape, Assassin's Creed, GTA, to name a few.
    I've never been fond of indie-games, because of the aesthetics, simplistic design, etc. However, because it's been a long time since I enjoyed gaming, and play them barely anymore, I decided to give Animal Well a try, after seeing dunkey's video about it.
    I loved it, it's been a long time since I felt passion and love through my screen, thank you, I hope to see more from you and I'm excited about what's next.

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  6 месяцев назад

      So cool to hear your story and that you loved Animal Well so much. I'll keep doing the show on RUclips & pod players for the foreseeable future...feel free to subscribe for future alerts.

  • @kyjmo
    @kyjmo 6 месяцев назад +2

    What an insightful video! Glad I found your channel! Always love hearing other indie devs stories, just starting playing Animal Well recently so this was nice to watch!

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  6 месяцев назад +1

      Glad you found it and congrats on starting Animal Well. Check out Billy's Discord for questions around the game, plus feel free to subscribe for future episodes (plus I have a few existing ones you might like). Welcome!

  • @tdombui
    @tdombui 6 месяцев назад +3

    Cool channel big dog. Thank you for bringing these indies into the spotlight

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  6 месяцев назад +1

      Thanks, glad you like it. I try and mix it up with a variety of guests. Have a bunch of podcast only episodes too with other indies if interested.

  • @YuGiOhDuelChannel
    @YuGiOhDuelChannel 3 месяца назад +1

    Thanks for sharing your game Billy, it is a masterpiece in every sense.

  • @anthonypate8657
    @anthonypate8657 Месяц назад +1

    Just downloaded Animal Well on my switch yesterday and its a masterpiece

  • @extremepayne
    @extremepayne 6 месяцев назад +2

    Wow, Processing mentioned. Haven’t heard that one outside of my time with ProcessingJS on Khan Academy

  • @kingbaba1309
    @kingbaba1309 7 месяцев назад +7

    I still havent gotten to play Animal Well (despite craving it) but I am already a huge fan of Billy, I like his chill attitude, very humble !
    (also he is very freaking based for his take on IA)

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  6 месяцев назад +1

      You need to check out the game! Interested to hear your thoughts in the future after you play it too.

  • @mynameisfury7320
    @mynameisfury7320 6 месяцев назад +3

    oooooh good interview, will subscribe

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  6 месяцев назад

      Fantastic, glad you liked it and will subscribe. Check out some earlier interviews too.

  • @colinaustin7218
    @colinaustin7218 6 месяцев назад +2

    Great interview!

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  6 месяцев назад

      Thanks for the feedback, appreciate it!

  • @kefalos7134
    @kefalos7134 6 месяцев назад +3

    Awesome interview, I only wish you had asked how he made the game with such a small file size and if it was a priority for him or just a happenstance.

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  6 месяцев назад

      Thanks for the feedback. Good question, maybe he or someone's answered it in the Animal Well Discord group (you should check it out, over 10k folks on it)?

  • @CirkusBolgen
    @CirkusBolgen 6 месяцев назад +4

    Handmade Hero - Casey Muratori
    That's the in-depth series he mentions

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  6 месяцев назад

      Yep, I dug up this link and shared in the show notes: handmadehero.org

  • @FlatThumb
    @FlatThumb 7 месяцев назад +3

    I think I am subscriber #100 :D - Great interview!

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  7 месяцев назад

      Welcome, glad to have you here!

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  6 месяцев назад +1

      Plus you're OG now that we're closing in on 300 ;)

  • @Jerryslaw77
    @Jerryslaw77 7 месяцев назад +5

    Great podcast! I think in terms of editing there’s no need to cut out the longer pauses mid sentence, some parts do feel a little disjointed because of it, it would feel more natural to let the pauses for thought stay.
    Other than that you’re an excellent interviewer and I’ll be tuning in!

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  6 месяцев назад +4

      Thanks for the feedback! That's interesting, since I'd switched after years of editing in GarageBand for audio-only to transitioning to Camtasia for video too. I always disliked long pauses with podcasts thinking they should be tightend up, so my editing ear gets hyper-focused around removing those. But I can see with video it's more disjointing to have tight cuts. I need to dial back the editing in the future so the discussions flow more naturally. Plus the bonus is that'll take less time to edit that way ;)

  • @penguins4583
    @penguins4583 6 месяцев назад +3

    handmade hero mentioned pog

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  6 месяцев назад +1

      Yep, I dug this link up that's in the show notes too: handmadehero.org

  • @j3t594
    @j3t594 7 месяцев назад +8

    I think the RUclips algorithm recommended your video to me because I'm starting to make my first game, I think it picked up on the term "Creating" in your title

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  7 месяцев назад +1

      That's interesting, I went back and forth on a couple words and just liked "creating" and used that. No thoughts or understanding about algorithms ;) Billy has some great advice in this episode about making games, along with some other episodes like the Alex Seropian one. Welcome, and I hope you find this channel helpful!

  • @Maplefoxx-vl2ew
    @Maplefoxx-vl2ew 6 месяцев назад +4

    Animal Well was really cool, i'm a music composer and small pixel art maker, i hope some day to make a neat game too. The layers he made to this game is too crazy lololol no spoilers. I wonder if he's a fan of Donny Darko or Twin Peaks.. i have this odd feeling he is.

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  6 месяцев назад +1

      Glad to hear you're inspired by Animal Well, and I'm especially impressed around him making his own music (as a drummer who messes around with music on the side). You should check out the Animal Well Discord channel, lots of great comments and thoughts on their. I had to google Donny Darko, but personally I'm a huge huge fan of Twin Peaks. I'm old enough to have watched it originally launched on ABC, it was soooo ahead of its time. Just finished this little book by David Lynch, worth checking out if you've not heard of it: www.amazon.com/Catching-Big-Fish-Meditation-Consciousness/dp/1585426121

  • @xybur
    @xybur 6 месяцев назад +3

    The haptic feedback certification feedback and not being approved for it is WILD

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  6 месяцев назад

      Yeah, consoles get very strict about TCRs and TRCs (technical requirement checklists...funny too since Sony uses one acronym and Microsoft the other, even though it's the same thing ;)

  • @codesymphony
    @codesymphony 7 месяцев назад +8

    man's a genius

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  6 месяцев назад +1

      Yeah, crazy smart and funny too. His deadpan delivery about how RUclips graphics tell you how you're going to feel had me cracking up.

  • @gunmadonuts
    @gunmadonuts 7 месяцев назад +3

    16:49 the point here was kind of lost, but he is saying that he needed a low pressure situation to figure out what the game actually is. People quit their job and then can't afford to change directions mid development, and the game suffers for it.

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  7 месяцев назад +2

      Yeah, his point was having a steady gig meant he didn't feel the binding pressure of burning through the bank account while trying to "find the fun" (which is very elusive). Being able to explore, play, and go down rabbit holes lol is easier and more productive in that environment.

  • @CirkusBolgen
    @CirkusBolgen 6 месяцев назад +3

    Audio quality. Dedicated mic for the person with 2 keyboards in shot and a film background, and something to deal with the plosives of the other one

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  6 месяцев назад

      That's fair, I worked in GarageBand on the levels and re-imported into Camtasia after I started the editing to get them closer (I was 2x louder initially). Think I got them pretty close, plus I wouldn't turndown an interview with a guest if they didn't have a mic. My other episodes have guests with mics. I need to work more on the plosives since I went to the headset setup. (Got frustrated with the range difference based on how close or far I was from my mic previously.) It's all a work in progress, like life.

  • @xperryment
    @xperryment 7 месяцев назад +61

    Wanna grow your channel? Add timestamped chapters.

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  7 месяцев назад +50

      1000% agree and working on it now. I've been doing the show for 5.5 yrs as an audio-only podcast, and stumbling my way through recently learning the RUclips side of things now :)

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  7 месяцев назад +76

      Done! Timestamped chapters are added, thanks for suggesting...enjoy

    • @vj6566
      @vj6566 6 месяцев назад +3

      @@gamedevadvicethank u so much!

    • @creditwhereitsdude7544
      @creditwhereitsdude7544 6 месяцев назад +1

      ​@gamedevadvice I liked, subscribed, and threw on all notification due to this response. I think you're going to grow extremely fast here with your attitude. Whether you have team engaging in comments or do it personally, but seeing how poised someone can be with constructive criticism is refreshing. Keep it up 👍

    • @clarkecreates
      @clarkecreates 6 месяцев назад +2

      Yt literally decides value based on view time if a new viewer skips to a specific time stamp youtube algorithm says "oh they didn't like it enough to watch it all the way through" and recommends it to less people. So in theory it doesn't matter whether you have stamps or not

  • @thebloodedbroadaxe
    @thebloodedbroadaxe 3 месяца назад +1

    in regards to your VR games talk, what about half life alyx? that game is amazing :3

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  3 месяца назад

      Good point - I heard great things about that game and need to check it out!

    • @thebloodedbroadaxe
      @thebloodedbroadaxe 3 месяца назад

      @@gamedevadvice it is a fantastic experience for sure ˆ_ˆ though motion sickness is something that hits some people with that one too :3

  • @trentbillington1093
    @trentbillington1093 7 месяцев назад +2

    Chapters please 🙏🙏

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  7 месяцев назад +1

      I'll have to look if there's a way in the settings, thanks for the suggestion

    • @trentbillington1093
      @trentbillington1093 7 месяцев назад

      @@gamedevadvice I think most people just do timestamp in description? i dont know how the official big chapter button thingys work xD

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  7 месяцев назад

      In progress, should have in 1-2 days :)

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  7 месяцев назад

      @@trentbillington1093 Yeah I'm going to add those in the description, working on them now...great point to bring up.

    • @trentbillington1093
      @trentbillington1093 7 месяцев назад +1

      @@gamedevadvice sweet! cheers

  • @CirkusBolgen
    @CirkusBolgen 6 месяцев назад +3

    Chapter names: cut unnecessary words. "hear how he started RUclips" -> "RUclips: starting"

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  6 месяцев назад +5

      Good point, I was thinking the same thing after seeing the chapter titles cut off and just revised them

  • @meanmole3212
    @meanmole3212 7 месяцев назад +3

    RSS feed for the episodes, please?

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  7 месяцев назад +1

      Thanks for reaching out! Try this from my hosting site: feeds.megaphone.fm/gamedevadvice

    • @meanmole3212
      @meanmole3212 7 месяцев назад +1

      @@gamedevadvice Thanks, works nicely!

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  7 месяцев назад

      Whew, glad to hear (first time sharing an RSS feed)! I have a back catalogue of episodes too if interested. Thanks for reaching out.

  • @Renegen1
    @Renegen1 6 месяцев назад

    I think the host could've asked better questions. the whole interview feels very surface level.

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  6 месяцев назад

      Sorry it's not your scene. I've evolved the show's format around asking similar questions to all of my guests so listeners can hear different perspectives each time. Maybe check out Alex Seropian's 'Fourth Curtain' podcast? He's pretty awesome with some great guests.

  • @PsychoJosh
    @PsychoJosh 6 месяцев назад +3

    I wouldn't work with videogamedunkey even if it was to rescue kids from a burning orphanage.

    • @begobogo2583
      @begobogo2583 6 месяцев назад +5

      Which I guess makes him a better person than you?

    • @dado2_9293
      @dado2_9293 6 месяцев назад

      Hi Donk

  • @maciejsawtyruk5804
    @maciejsawtyruk5804 6 месяцев назад

    I like the interview. However the talk about most of the games on disc requiring download to even start is totally false. And Billy is even referencing that 50% games for PS3 and PS4 require that. No true at all.

  • @yunggolem4687
    @yunggolem4687 6 месяцев назад

    "91 metacritic, can't argue with that"
    7.9 user score, who is silly enough to care what shill "games journalists" say about anything?

    • @gamedevadvice
      @gamedevadvice  6 месяцев назад

      That's the age-old question - whose opinion should you listen to? "Uncut Gems" is a movie that I enjoyed but also found intense and uncomfortable at times. It got a 91% from Rotten Tomatoes, but the Audience gave it a mere 52%. I'd personally give it way more than 52% and closer to the Rotten Tomatoes score. www.rottentomatoes.com/m/uncut_gems

    • @yunggolem4687
      @yunggolem4687 6 месяцев назад

      @@gamedevadvice Naturally there are exceptions and Uncut Gems is intentionally an odd duck movie so audience reactions are mixed, but games journalists are far more corrupted than film critics anyway.
      Free review copies, early access, the need to maintain access, and the fact they plow through several games a week, limiting their time investment to a few hours in most cases means the critic review is inherently inferior to the actual player who bought the game him/herself, played it all the way through, & made a real effort to get their money's worth from it rather than move on to the next game in the pile.
      It's very rare for the critics to be right & the general audience wrong about a game, but vice versa is extremely common.