After overhauling his unique city-building game into Bulwark Evolution: Falconeer Chronicles to tremendous acclaim from players, solo developer Tomas Sala says indie developers have a key advantage over AAA studios because they can build a direct relationship with fans online.
Sala tells 12DOVE that when he interacts with players online, "I get this comment, 'Oh, the developer is responding, oh my God!' The next day, there's a patch in the beta branch. 'Oh, go to the beta branch, try out this fix I made for you.' And they're amazed. I think that's actually a pathway for survival - all the struggles and all the turmoil the industry's in - to have an authentic relationship."
The current landscape is tough for indie developers - during our interview, Sala noted that "your first game always fails" - but that relationship with fans can be a lifeline. "It's the same way where you see these developers who are also content creators, like Pirate Software, so they have a relationship with their audience," Sala says, referencing the indie studio founded by Jason Thor Hall, who has built quite a following on Twitch separate from his game development. "They're not just coming for the game, they're coming for you."
This is one of indie development's "non-reproducible benefits," Sala argues. "The new reality of this industry is gonna make that much more common, and it's actually the one thing indies have that giant corporations can't deliver. You can't put every Star Wars Outlaws developer on Discord and have them talk about it. You can do that once a week - you get the lead guy coming in, or the lead woman, but that's heavily managed by PR. But if you're an indie you get to go 'It's just me!'"
Sala admits that community management is "a skill you've got to learn. I've gotten frustrated and upset. I'm better at it now. You get a thick skin, and then you learn how to do it, and how to take everything as a suggestion and as a compliment. Even if someone is angry, they're frustrated with the game because they wanted it to be better. So in a sense that's a solvable situation."
One look at the Steam page for Bulwark Evolution will tell you that Sala's trying to build that relationship with prospective players early, as you'll almost immediately see a trailer where Sala himself runs down what to expect from the game. The top user review might just prove the point, too: "Amazing developer = Awesome game."
Check out all the best city-building games.
