Marketing Indie Games as a Developer vs. Publisher

This is a Game Dev Podcast with my guest Phiomena Schwab, co-founder/CEO of Stray Fawn Studio, the creators of The Wandering Village, Dungeon Clawler, Nimbatus and Niche. She's the head of Stray Fawn's new publishing branch and she co-founded the Swiss Game Hub, a co-working space for game developers. We talk about what it takes to make successful games, community building, early access, publishing and women in game dev. Links to my Guest ➤ Bootcamp games: Check out the games and leave a comment https://swissgamehub.itch.io/ ➤ More learnings from Stray Fawn: https://strayfawnstudio.com/insights/ ➤ Website: https://strayfawnstudio.com/ ➤ X: https://x.com/PhilomenaSchwab ➤ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/philomenaschwab.bsky.social Listen to the podcast on the go (Spotify, Apple Podcasts, etc.): ➤ https://tyrollerjonas.podbean.com/ 0:00 - Intro 1:17 - Game vs. Marketing 3:06 - Early Hits and Studio Formation 5:14 - From Hobby Team to Studio 6:43 - Community Building & Kickstarter 9:31 - EA to 1.0 With Community Push 11:16 - Finding First Fans & Adjacent Communities 15:55 - The Wandering Village: Fantasy-First 19:15 - Rapid Prototyping: Art vs. Gameplay 23:32 - Team Alignment & Genre Conventions 26:19 - Meaningful “Evil” Choices In Games 31:25 - Why Build in Public 32:23 - Kickstarter: When to Run or Skip 32:29 - 1.0 Bet: Localization, Delays & Beta Iteration 35:27 - Shifting to Small Bets 36:37 - Small-Project Playbook & Premium Mobile Sim-Ship 40:10 - Publishing Arm: Why & What Failed 42:18 - Publishing Is Mostly the Game 45:00 - Publishers, Funding & Deals 46:17 - Selecting Games & Avoiding Pitch Limbo 53:05 - What Publishers Evaluate: Demo, Proof & Better vs. Different 57:35 - Choosing Genres With Demand 59:50 - Bootcamp Validation & Itch Metrics 01:02:20 - Swiss Game Hub: 140-Dev Community 01:05:17 - Dungeon Clawler: “Claw Machine” Origin & Breakout 01:11:04 - Clones, Stolen Assets & Mobile Pitfalls 01:13:29 - What’s Next: Small Games, Story & Studio Votes 01:15:55 - Small Teams Fit; Brand Risk 01:18:49 - YouTube: Niche Passion vs. Mass Appeal 01:21:57 - Talking to Players & Moderation 01:24:06 - Own Your Audience: Newsletters, Discord & Events 01:28:33 - Swiss Game Dev Association & Many Hats 01:29:34 - Many Hats & Mental Load 01:33:19 - Wandering Village 1.0: Wishlist Conversion & Discounts 01:34:20 - Early Access vs. 1.0: Outcomes & Timing 01:35:38 - Why 1.0 Underperformed: Consoles, Genre & EA Length 01:39:27 - Post-Launch Priorities: Updates, Stretch Goals & Roadmaps 01:41:07 - Gender Balance, Role Models & Hiring 01:45:06 - Message to Future Women Game Devs 01:45:43 - Outro My game "Thronefall": ➤ Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2239150/Thronefall/ ➤ Discord: https://discord.gg/gVYctptyg8 ➤ Nintendo Switch: https://www.nintendo.com/en-gb/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/Thronefall-2669627.html#Overview My game "Will You Snail": ➤ Play Will You Snail on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1115050/Will_You_Snail/ ➤ Join the Will You Snail Discord: https://discord.gg/G3mRDrK For the game developers among you: ➤ Join our creative game dev community on Discord: https://discord.gg/Ye6zzfQ

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