How the World of Goo became one of the indie video game hits of 2008

In this climate of uncertainty and bad news all over the industry, it’s nice to hear a cindarella story. Venturebeat has a great article up on one such story – a behind the scenes look at making The World of Goo, a cheapie indie game (made by two guys) that sold beautifully, even claiming the Number 1 spot (for PC games) on Amazon (sure, that was short lived, but quite a feat nonetheless).

The two guys in question, of course, were in possession of incredible talent (as ex-EA programmers/designers), work ethic, and imagination. Kyle Gabler and Ron Carmel literally did everything – including composing original music for the quirky puzzle/action title.

From the article:

“The story behind the making of the World of Goo is compelling. It’s the product of two guys, no money, and lots of hard work. The ex-Electronic Arts designer-developer duo, Kyle Gabler and Ron Carmel, don’t even have a garage. Their game studio, called 2DBoy, is based out of any Wi-Fi enabled coffee shop in San Francisco they can squat in for the day. According to Carmel, World of Goo has been built with a budget of just $10,000 dollars, all of which comes from personal savings.”

Much of their success is attributed to their web presence, savvy guerilla marketing, and, oh yeah – making an awesome, word-of-mouth-worthy game. Check out the full article for all the details, and check out the game on WiiWare, Steam, or Amazon.

Read [Venturebeat] Read [2D Boy]