Playtesting on the Train

On the podcast I talk with Taiwo about building games that are meant to be deleted, finding success by leaning into low retention instead of fighting it, and how a single unconventional idea led to Apple featuring his work and changing his career.

Top Takeaways

🎨 Creativity Can Beat the Odds 

The games industry is so well-established that at first glance it may seem almost useless to try to enter the market as an indie developer, but all it can take is a truly original idea to pry open the gates and gain a foothold. 

📣 Lean Into Building In Public

There’s little as scary as putting yourself and your work out there for feedback but building publicly and sharing updates on platforms like Twitter provides both an accountability boost and can be a treasure trove of free insights from your future audience. 

💪 The Power Of Persistence

Making a living from building apps can take time, patience, and a dash of luck. When that persistence does pay off though, it can translate into a much stronger app creation pipeline once going full-time becomes an option. 

💭 Defy Imposter Syndrome

Nowadays, more than ever, a technical background in coding is no longer a hard prerequisite to building great apps. Thanks to new tools, app creators can come from all spheres, and what unites them is one (or more) great idea(s). 

📚 Educate And Inspire 

Everyone needs to make a living, but often the most rewarding part of the app creation journey is the opportunity to educate and inspire people. These non-profit activities help lower the barrier for budding app creators and enrich the industry as a whole. 

About Taiwo Omisore: 

🎮 Indie iOS Game Developer.

📱 Taiwo has built 15 mobile apps mixing creativity and simplicity. His viral hit One Chance sparked a full-time indie career shaped by small experiments, real-world playtesting, and a deep focus on joy, community, and meaningful interaction.

👋 LinkedIn

Follow us on X: 

• Charlie Chapman - @_chuckyc
• RevenueCat - @RevenueCat

Resources:

• Tai’s Website - https://www.taiomi.com/ 
• Taiwo feature on the App Store - https://apps.apple.com/gb/story/id1586633273 
• Tai’s inspirations
  • Shaun Donnelly - https://codakuma.com/ 
  • Lena Stöxen - https://fancygoose.dev/about/ 
  • Josh Newton - https://www.joshua.design/about

Follow us on X: 

• Charlie Chapman - @_chuckyc
• RevenueCat - @RevenueCat
• Launched - @LaunchedFM 

Episode Highlights: 

[0:00] A game meant to be deleted after one play

[2:19] From art school to coding apps on a 3-hour commute

[4:12] Why Taiwo tested his first game on train passengers

[7:09] The moment he got hooked on shipping apps

[12:36] Designing a digital art exhibit from a simple app idea

[18:16] The unexpected breakout of One Chance and what triggered it

[23:06] Going from a side hustle to being featured on the App Store front page

[29:35] Making revenue without chasing retention or daily active users

[35:08] Why Taiwo shifted to subscriptions with MultiWords and 10 Games

[42:11] Building and promoting apps in public, from TikTok to sidewalks
[51:44] Why Taiwo shares his indie journey online and in real life