Building a Successful Indie Studio with No Industry Experience, Betting on Steam, Game Jams, Finishing Crashlands 2, Recording 500+ Podcasts, Stacking the Dice, and Storefront Featuring—Adam Coster, CEO of Butterscotch Shenanigans

In this episode, Adam Coster, CEO of Butterscotch Shenanigans, shares his unique journey of joining and growing the indie studio with his brothers Sam and Seth. Adam discusses their beginnings in 2012, the steep challenges they faced, and how a personal family crisis redefined their mission to bring joy through games. 

He then shares insights into their different projects, including the highly anticipated sequel Crashlands 2, set for release in April. Balancing roles at the studio, the evolving game industry, and the impact of subscription services, Adam offers a candid look at the realities of indie game development. He also provides useful, actionable advice for aspiring game developers and discusses the potential and limitations of incorporating AI into game dev. Join us as we explore the fascinating intersection of science, family, and grassroots game development to share joy.

Bio:

Adam Coster's love for science carried him through a PhD in Cellular & Molecular Biology. Turns out it wasn't science he was into, but solving hard problems in general. Building a company from scratch in the highly-competitive and rapidly-changing games industry certainly fit that bill, and so Adam joined the team immediately after defending his dissertation. Adam creates all of the web technology that powers Butterscotch Shenanigan’s games and studio, crunches numbers to figure out how the industry works, leads our business development efforts, and makes sure that the team has what it needs to make great games.

Show Links:

* Crashlands 2 - trailer

* Crashlands 2 - Steam

* Global Game Jam - website

* PopCon Indy - website

* GameMaker game engine - website

* Battle Chef Brigade Deluxe - Steam

* Butterscotch Shenanigans - podcast

* Scientists Warn Trump’s NIH Cuts Will Drop ‘Atom Bomb’ On Health Research - HuffPost

* The Creator of ‘NBA Jam’ Admits That The Pistons Are A Cheat - SBNation

* What Is ‘Balatro’ And Why Is Everyone Addicted To It? - Forbes

Connect With Links:

* Adam Coster - website

* Adam Coster - LinkedIn

* Adam Coster - Bluesky

* Butterscotch Shenanigans - website

* Butterscotch Shenanigans - games

* Butterscotch Shenanigans - YouTube

Game Dev Advice Links: 

* YouTube Podcasts - check out this episode with a guarantee of 100% more video

* Patreon - career coaching through the Gain Wisdom membership

* Game Dev Advice hotline: (224) 484-7733

* website - show notes, links, stuff

* info@gamedevadvice.com - reach out!

* Subscribe and go to the website for full show notes with links

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