Daniel Tait is a prolific indie game developer who has created several popular puzzle games, including Mathler, CrossWordle, and Sumplete. Despite not considering himself a professional programmer, Daniel has a knack for quickly building and launching games that capture players' attention.

In this episode, we explore Daniel's journey from tinkering with games as a kid to becoming a successful indie developer.

He shares insights on:

How he created Mathler, his breakout hit inspired by Wordle, using an open-source clone and basic math equations
His approach to rapidly prototyping and launching games, often spending just a weekend to get an MVP out
Leveraging AI tools like ChatGPT to overcome technical challenges and generate unique puzzles
The pros and cons of selling some of his most popular games
His latest project, WordNerd.co, which aims to be a hub for word game enthusiasts

You'll learn:

Why Daniel prefers to launch games quickly and imperfectly rather than polishing them extensively
How he uses domain name availability to influence game ideas (23 Words came from 23words.com being available!)
His simple but effective launch strategy using Hacker News and Reddit
The importance of building games you enjoy playing yourself
Check out Daniel's Resources:
https://wordnerd.co/
23words.com
https://killercrossword.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-tait/
Contact:
heynerd@wordnerd.co
--
- (00:00) - Introduction to Game Development
- (00:41) - Welcome to the Hey Good Game Podcast
- (02:21) - Interview with Daniel Tait
- (03:24) - Daniel's Gaming Background
- (06:57) - The Creation of Mathler
- (08:52) - Launching and Promoting Mathler
- (10:16) - Daniel's Game Development Philosophy
- (19:46) - Monetization Strategies
- (21:48) - Acquisition by Hey Good Game
- (23:15) - Exploring AI-Assisted Game Development
- (23:25) - Creating a Puzzle Game with ChatGPT
- (24:07) - Developing and Testing the Game
- (25:44) - Using AI for Game Development
- (26:35) - The Joy of Building Games
- (30:57) - Balancing Game Development and Personal Life
- (37:19) - Launching and Promoting New Games
- (41:00) - Final Thoughts and Advice for Aspiring Developers
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Check out our brainy games:
Sumplete - https://sumplete.com
Squeezy - https://imsqueezy.com/
Kakuro Conquest - https://kakuroconquest.com
Mathler - https://mathler.com
Crosswordle - https://crosswordle.com
Sudoku Conquest - https://sudokuconquest.com
Hitori Conquest - https://hitoriconquest.com
Wordga - https://wordga.com

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