Willem Delventhal on The State of Indie Games: What We Take Into 2026

Video Description

Willem Delventhal on Indie Game Development in 2026: Discipline, Deadlines, and Creative Rebellion In this final episode of Season Three of The Corner of Story and Game, returning guest Willem Delventhal and I close out 2025 and look ahead to 2026 through the lens of indie development, creative momentum, and what it actually takes to keep shipping. Quick note up front: we recorded this at the turn of the year, and it’s coming out later than it should have. That’s on me. Thanks for hanging in there while I wrestled life, logistics, and the usual chaos. This conversation is part reflection, part rallying cry. We talk about sparks worth carrying forward, patterns worth leaving behind, and how structure and discipline can protect creativity instead of killing it. Topics Include: 🎯 Building momentum when motivation is unreliable 🎯 Turning sparks into finished work 🎯 Deadlines, discipline, and small-team reality 🎯 Staying current without losing your creative compass 🎯 Why making games can still be an act of creative rebellion ⏱️ Timestamps 00:00 Intro and a quick note about the late release 00:40 Willem returns and the year-end frame 04:38 Sparks from 2025 worth carrying forward 10:30 What to leave behind and why follow-through matters 14:56 Turning a cool idea into a finished thing 17:06 What Willem is bridging into 2026 19:59 Staying current while staying true to your creative compass 22:21 Getting unstuck: discipline, momentum, and small wins 28:03 Signal boost and where to find Willem 31:59 Season Three finale outro 🎧 Prefer podcast format? Listen here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7I6yNyPXDKGlzU2OypaTp9?si=yo9Inj-XRCS0SD6b3Fw_-A Willem's Links: 🔗 ⁠IGA 2.0 Reveal Event on Feb 5th (Discord): https://discord.gg/2uRUUUaT?event=1455604721095282889 🔗 ⁠⁠YouTube⁠: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbdYhWH4Sh71tqeAMNfzlVQ 🔗 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠: https://www.linkedin.com/in/batuhan-gozluklu/ 🔗 ⁠Indie Game Academy⁠: https://indiegameacademy.com/ 🔗 ⁠IGA Cohort 0⁠: https://indiegameacademy.com/foundry-cohort-0/ 🔗 ⁠Whiskers, Wizards & Wands⁠: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4040410/Whiskers_Wizards_and_Wands_Demo/?beta=0 🔗 ⁠Daughter of the Rift⁠: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3588170/Daughter_of_the_Rift/ 🔗 ⁠The Box is Alive: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3961120/The_Box_is_Alive/ Connect with the show: 💬 Join us on Discord: discord.gg/Fv2nb4Uprh 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecornerofstoryandgame/ 🧵 Threads: https://www.threads.com/@thecornerofstoryandgame 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheCornerOfStoryAndGame 🔵 Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/storyandgame.bsky.social 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-corner-of-story-and-game 📧 Email: [email protected] 📌 Like, comment, and subscribe for more deep dives into narrative, design, and storytelling in games. 🔔 Hit the bell so you never miss an episode. #IndieGameDev #GameDesign #NarrativeDesign #CreativeProcess #IndieGames #GameDevelopment #CreativeDiscipline #IndieGameAcademy #TheCornerOfStoryAndGamePodcast #WillemDelventhal