Stardew Valley
stardewvalley.net
Open-ended farming and life simulation RPG set in a small countryside town.
diff ~/p/eric-barone ~/p/jonathan-blow
Eric Barone vs Jonathan Blow
Products, revenue & stack compared side by side.
Designer of Braid and The Witness, creator of the Jai language, head of Thekla
@Jonathan_Blow United States
Eric Barone vs Jonathan Blow at a glance
Both Eric Barone and Jonathan Blow are bootstrapped. They overlap in Indie Game Makers. Eric is based in Seattle, United States, Jonathan in Boulder, United States. Eric started in 2011 and Jonathan in 2004. Eric Barone has 2 products listed on IndieMakerList vs Jonathan Blow's 5. They share 1 tool in their stacks: C#. On X, Eric has about 1.4M followers and Jonathan about 160K.
Side-by-side comparison
- Based in
- Eric Barone: Seattle, United States
- Jonathan Blow: Boulder, United States
- Started
- Eric Barone: 2011 (15 yrs indie)
- Jonathan Blow: 2004 (22 yrs indie)
- Revenue (self-reported)
- Eric Barone: Not public
- Jonathan Blow: Not public
- Products listed
- Eric Barone: 2
- Jonathan Blow: 5
- Product status
- Eric Barone: 2 active
- Jonathan Blow: 5 active
- X followers
- Eric Barone: 1.4M
- Jonathan Blow: 160K
- Style
- Eric Barone: solobootstrapped
- Jonathan Blow: bootstrapped
- Courses & resources
- Eric Barone: —
- Jonathan Blow: 2
Revenue figures are self-reported by each maker and not audited; dates and scope differ. Highlighted categories are shared by both.
Top products
Haunted Chocolatier
hauntedchocolatier.net
Upcoming game about running a chocolate shop in a haunted castle, with more focus on combat than Stardew Valley.
B
Braid
braid-game.com
Time-manipulation puzzle platformer; an Anniversary Edition with commentary was released in 2024.
$4M+ lifetime by 2014
T
The Witness
the-witness.net
Open-world first-person puzzle game on an island of line-drawing panels.
$5M+ gross in first week
Order of the Sinking Star
orderofthesinkingstar.com
Narrative puzzle adventure with over 1,000 interconnected block-pushing puzzles, built in Jai by Thekla.
Jai
youtube.com
Systems programming language for game development, designed by Blow since 2014 and in closed beta.
Tech stack
1 shared tool, marked with ★: C#. See the indie maker tech stack.
C# (shared)XNAMonoGame
Jai C++ (shared)custom engine
How they build
- Make the game you personally want to play, and do every part of it yourself if needed.
- Keep supporting players with free updates long after launch.
- Avoid paid DLC and microtransactions; treat the game as a complete product.
- Take the time a game needs rather than rushing a release.
- Games can explore deep ideas, and design should respect the player's intelligence.
- Self-fund your work so you keep full creative control.
- Software has become needlessly complex; programmers should understand and simplify their tools.
- Spend as long as it takes to make the game right rather than shipping something compromised.
Learn from Eric and Jonathan
No courses, books or communities listed.
- [youtube] Jonathan Blow on YouTube
- [youtube] j_blow on Twitch
Eric Barone vs Jonathan Blow FAQ
Who makes more money, Eric Barone or Jonathan Blow?
Neither Eric Barone nor Jonathan Blow has publicly reported a revenue figure that IndieMakerList tracks, so it's not public.
Who has built more products, Eric Barone or Jonathan Blow?
Eric Barone has 2 products listed (Stardew Valley and Haunted Chocolatier); Jonathan Blow has 5 products listed (including Braid, The Witness and Order of the Sinking Star).
What tech stack do Eric Barone and Jonathan Blow use?
Eric Barone uses C#, XNA and MonoGame. Jonathan Blow uses Jai, C++ and custom engine. Tools they have in common: C#.
Where are Eric Barone and Jonathan Blow based?
Eric Barone: Seattle, United States. Jonathan Blow: Boulder, United States.
Who has been an indie maker longer, Eric Barone or Jonathan Blow?
Eric Barone started in 2011 (15 years indie); Jonathan Blow started in 2004 (22 years indie).
Are Eric Barone and Jonathan Blow bootstrapped?
Yes, both are listed as bootstrapped founders on IndieMakerList.
Full profiles
Read the full story, timeline and links on Eric Barone's profile and Jonathan Blow's profile.
Eric Barone vs Toby Fox
Jonathan Blow vs Derek Yu
Jonathan Blow vs Lucas Pope