We Need To Talk About My Game "Twisted Tower" (5 Years Later)

So, Twisted Tower update. By the way, my name is Thomas Brush. I'm making a game called Twisted Tower. I made a game called Pinstripe. I made a game called Neversong. And then I worked for 5 years. I'm still working on it. It's been 5 years, I think. It's been a blur, but 5 years working on a game called Twisted Tower. So, this video we're going to do a big fat update, and I got to tell you It's been the hardest It's been the hardest project I've ever worked on. I am so tired, and I'm so [music] grateful to be tired. Um I'm grateful for the There were There were nights. Mornings. 2:00 a.m. where you're laying awake, and you're looking at the ceiling, and you're thinking, "I'm not going to finish this game." Or "I'm 3 years into this project, and it sucks. What am I doing? And I'm And I I I talk about game development on YouTube.

What am I doing? I don't know what I'm doing." So, I guess I'm just really I'm really glad and happy for that. The reason I'm glad and happy for all that tension, 5 years of tension, is because I feel like um I feel like I've grown so much. Like as a as a man, if that makes sense. Like I'm just like tougher now. I'm way more resilient. Um I have a different mentality. Things don't stress me out as much. Not everything's a big deal. I don't spiral as much. And that's because that's just years and years of just feeling tension, and feeling stretched, and and wondering if what you're doing is the right move. And that's a that is a good thing as a

grown man.
[cough and clears throat]
Excuse me, that is a good thing. It's a good thing to to be to have that tension and that twisting and that it's like builds it builds your emotional muscle and your your ability to be courageous as an artist. Constant tension under pressure it builds this callus and this muscle. And I I am so grateful for it. I really am. Um
[sighs and gasps]
That said, I'm happy to announce there's this relief though. Um the plane is landing. Um meaning the game is feature complete and it is currently in beta testing. It's currently in beta testing and so far beta testing results are really good. Um I won't tell you exactly what cuz I don't want to like make predictions about my own game. But it seems like people really like the game. And by the way, the game is basically Willy Wonka meets BioShock. Um

It is an indie game,
[gasps]
but some people are saying it feels like a double A game. And I don't want to say that out loud, but um just cuz I don't want people to have bad expectations. But yeah, some people are saying that, which is really really cool. Um So that's that's kind of where my time has been spent. I mean, I'm doing YouTube videos and stuff and I'm still live streaming playing your games and stuff, but um And by the way, if you want to submit your games, follow me on ThomasBrushDev or x.com/ThomasBrushDev and the link will be in the description. And you can submit your games and I'll play them. But yeah, I'm just fixing beta testing bugs. It's like every day there's some new weird bug that completely breaks the game. I'm working on that and then I also
[sighs and gasps]
This is kind of what makes the game take so long and what makes it so expensive. I'll think that I'm done with the story of the game and I'll get I'll hire the voice actors and actresses. And I'll record the lines and I'll edit

the lines and I'll put it in the game and I'll make cut scenes. And the problem with me is I can't I can't foresee story. I have to feel story. And so it is a story game, so I have to feel it. And so it's not until you go from point A to point Z. You play the whole game, hours of gameplay, before you go, "Okay, is the story actually working?" And then you have to beta test it with with beta testers and they'll tell you this part of the story didn't work or that part I don't get that or why this made me feel angry or this made and it and it shouldn't. So I'm at this point now where I'm I have this I thought the story was completely done. But I got to go back and I got to cut and I got to clean and I got to edit
[sighs]
some of the dialogue and some of the cut scenes of the game. Um if I sound out of breath, it's because if I'm being completely honest with you, um I've I feel very spun around and very disoriented and that's the final thing I

kind of want to talk about in this video. Um there's something that happens when you've worked on a game for so long where you are completely spun around. Um there's a scene and I think it's in The Hobbit. One of the five Hobbit movies that Peter Jackson made. However many there are, there's a lot. I think it's the second one where they get spun around and turn around in Mirkwood. Mirkwood in its very nature disorients you. And that's kind of what it's like making a game and I would love to know your your thoughts in the comments. When you enter your game dev project, it's a beautiful forest. This is amazing. You see the sunlight pouring through the trees. You hear the leaves blowing in the wind. But every day goes by, you start to feel a little disoriented, a little spun around. It's like cabin fever almost. And then all of a sudden, years into the

project, you're like, "Where am I? What is this project? Is it any good? Does it even make sense? Will people like it? How much do I price the game for? Do I finish it? Is this worth my time?" And these are questions, honestly, there's no real answer to until you have Well, start to release it to the public. Um and the way that I'm doing it is I I kind of treat beta testing as kind of a soft launch. So, there's different ways to soft launch your game. You can beta test it. Meaning, what I mean by soft launch is you just get a handful of people all the way up to like 200 people. You start with a handful and move up to 200 people. Some people say like a thousand. I might do a thousand. But, um you get their feedback, but also you can do like a demo launch and get a demo the demo feedback as well. And that could kind of give you an idea of like, okay, the the project is

actually working, it's worth my time. And so, right now for me, I'm starting to see the tree line of the the the edge of the woods, the edge of Mirkwood. And I could see it slowly coming towards me. And I could see the sunrise. And I could see a beautiful field, beautiful pasture of exiting these freaking woods. I'm so tired, and I'm so grateful to be tired. And I wanted to say a huge thank you to all of you who um have supported the game and and cheered me on.
[gasps]
Um it means the world to me. Um And for those of you who have bought my courses and listened to my ad reads for the courses or listened to sponsored ad reads, thank you so much. Um I know that that can be annoying when people sell on their YouTube channels. Um basically what happened was

Twisted Towers published. It is published by 3D Realms. We had the funding, everything was good. And then 2024 happened and then 2025 happened and then 2026 happened where budget cuts just kept coming and coming and basically the the project was out of money and I I these last couple years you guys have come in clutch to support the final leg of development for the game. So, thank you so much for that. I think that's it. I think that's the final update here for um for Twisted Tower. I'm really proud of the project. Um I'm really grateful to to to to even be in a position where um to be miserable for a craft and I'll be honest with you, I was. Um I my wife will tell you I've been miserable for By miserable, I just mean really run down. To be run down for years on a creative

endeavor. What a blessing. What a blessing to be able Like guys, if you if you hate your game or you hate your project and you're tired of it and you're burnt out, what a blessing. How cool is it to be exhausted by an idea? Most people don't do that. In this world, most people don't do that. And so, I'm so grateful to be able to to be exhausted by a creative project. That is such a blessing. It's such a fun little fight to do, you know? It's a It's a fun little war to wage to finish a project, to finish a game. And to hate that project, and love that project, and have all those emotions, and grow as an artist. What a privilege. And you guys so grateful to you all. And if you're curious, yes new studio here. So, this is going to be

the the official new studio. I got to I got to finish it up. Um but it's cool. Hey Jeb, come here, buddy. Jebby, come on. Come on. Come say hi. But Jeb loves it in here. It's his little oasis. Dude, really? He just laid down. Jeb Okay. Anyway, I love you guys so much. Um yeah, I just want to give you an update. Cheers.