Witch Beam's Path to Sustainable Success After Unpacking's Massive Hit

Unpacking, one of 2021's standout indie titles, brought Witch Beam immense success, but according to co-founder Sanatana Mishra, it changed everything and nothing at the same time. The success allowed the studio to improve the lifestyles of its members without altering its core structure or work process. Mishra highlights the importance of operating from a place of stability, enabling the studio to confidently hire creatives and offer them ownership in projects, rather than pursuing traditional scaling. This approach is reflected in Witch Beam's decision to remain small, with no full-time employees, focusing instead on empowering partners and contractors. For their projects, including Unpacking and the upcoming Tempopo, Witch Beam adopts a model of hiring part-time workers and contractors, ensuring that success is shared among team members. This approach, though challenging, particularly when working on multiple games simultaneously, has taught the studio valuable lessons about its capabilities and limitations. Witch Beam's collaboration with publisher Cult Games for Tempopo was not driven by financial necessity but by the recognition that certain tasks, such as marketing campaigns and launch planning, are more effectively handled by a partner. This partnership allows the studio to focus on its strengths while benefiting from the publisher's expertise. Mishra expresses pride in Tempopo's development, describing it as a pleasant and well-playing game, though its development process has been long and challenging. The studio learned to tackle projects without an initial budget, relying on support from organizations like Screen Queensland and Screen Australia to ramp up development. Success for Tempopo is multifaceted, starting with the game's release, followed by the desire for it to be good and innately proud of it, and finally, reaching a broad audience and generating enough income to improve the lives of those involved. Mishra hopes for Tempopo to be broadly enjoyed, allowing the people who worked on it to benefit financially and pursue their own game development projects. The conversation also touches on the indie scene in Brisbane, which has seen significant changes over the years, with many big studios shutting down. Despite this, there's a desire among remaining developers to vitalize the scene, with initiatives like the Big Dev meets aiming to keep the community engaged. Melbourne is noted for its community of natural support, which Brisbane lacks, making it challenging for developers to find kindred spirits and resources. However, the Australian game scene is growing, with a spread of developers across the country, creating a unique and vibrant community.