Podcast EP 246: How Indie Game Developers Will and James Made ‘Thank Goodness You're Here!’

The U.K.-based pair discuss quitting their jobs to jump into full-time game dev, pitching and funding their project, and the unexpected challenges encountered in developing their games.

Check out Terry Ibele’s Animation Industry Podcast, featuring a new podcast every week focusing on the stories of today’s animation professionals - how they got to where they are and what they learned along the way. Now home to 246 episodes, the podcasts cover all areas of the industry, including storyboarding, writing, animating, directing, visual development, and game design. Guests have included returning guest Aaron Augenblick; the notorious JJ Villard; Spike & Mike’s Spike Decker; Disney Director John Musker; Sony Lead Animator Humberto Rosa; Frederator’s Fred Seibert; Tumble Leaf’s Scarlet Nelson; and many others from major animation studios all over the world.

Podcast EP 246: How Indie Game Developers Will and James Made Thank Goodness You're Here!

This episode features English indie game developers James Carbutt and Will Todd, best known for their free-to-play 2019 title, The Good Time Garden. Recently, they have been working on another game, Thank Goodness You’re Here, releasing later this year. In this chat, Carbutt and Todd discuss quitting their jobs to pursue full-time development, pitching their project, getting funding, and what it takes to run a small studio with no experience.

Tune in to Ibele, Carbutt and Todd to hear:

  • What led Carbutt and Todd to quit their jobs and pursue indie game dev full-time?
  • What to include in a successful indie game pitch.
  • Two unexpected challenges when developing your own game.

Ibele has begun to publish the interviews as videos as well – you can find previous interviews here!

Social Links:

  • Wishlist on Thank Goodness You’re Here on Steam
  • Follow Coal Supper on Twitter
  • Follow Carbutt on Instagram  

Ibele, himself a stop-motion animator (see AWN’s Fresh Takes piece on his whimsical short, The Silly Duck Wizard, deftly digs into all manner of topics, encouraging interviewees to share insights and opinions on a wide range of topics like pitching shows, marketing your work online, key skills studios look for when they bring on talent in storyboarding, vizdev, character design, and animation.

In 2018, Ibele, who lives in Toronto, decided to quit his career as a marketer and pursue his love for animation. Since then, he’s become well known for his viral animation productions, which include the previously mentioned Silly Duck Wizard, which is how AWN first came to know him and his work.

Learn more about Ibele’s work and podcast by visiting terryibele.com. You can find all The Animation Podcast episodes on his Soundcloud site: https://soundcloud.com/animation-podcast.

Debbie Diamond Sarto's picture

Debbie Diamond Sarto is news editor at Animation World Network.