B
Braid
braid-game.com
Time-manipulation puzzle platformer; an Anniversary Edition with commentary was released in 2024.
$4M+ lifetime by 2014
diff ~/p/jonathan-blow ~/p/justin-stander
Jonathan Blow vs Justin Stander
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
Jonathan Blow vs Justin Stander at a glance
Both Jonathan Blow and Justin Stander are bootstrapped. They overlap in Indie Game Makers. Jonathan is based in Boulder, United States, Justin in United States. Jonathan started in 2004 and Justin in 2009. Jonathan Blow has 5 products listed on IndieMakerList vs Justin Stander's 2. On X, Jonathan has about 161K followers and Justin about 50K.
Side-by-side comparison
- Based in
- Jonathan Blow: Boulder, United States
- Justin Stander: United States
- Started
- Jonathan Blow: 2004 (22 yrs indie)
- Justin Stander: 2009 (17 yrs indie)
- Revenue (self-reported)
- Jonathan Blow: Not public
- Justin Stander: Not public
- Products listed
- Jonathan Blow: 5
- Justin Stander: 2
- Product status
- Jonathan Blow: 5 active
- Justin Stander: 2 active
- X followers
- Jonathan Blow: 161K
- Justin Stander: 50K
- Style
- Jonathan Blow: bootstrapped
- Justin Stander: solobootstrapped
- Courses & resources
- Jonathan Blow: 2
- Justin Stander: —
Revenue figures are self-reported by each maker and not audited; dates and scope differ. Highlighted categories are shared by both.
Top products
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.
Katana Zero
store.steampowered.com
Neo-noir action platformer about a time-manipulating samurai assassin.
500K copies in under a year
T
Tower of Heaven
askiisoft.com
Freeware precision platformer whose rules grow stricter as you climb.
Tech stack
No tools in common in their publicly listed stacks. See the indie maker tech stack.
JaiC++custom engine
GameMaker
How they build
- 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.
- Difficult but fair: players should own their mistakes.
- Never make players wait through dialogue.
- Polish every mechanic until it feels flawless.
Learn from Jonathan and Justin
- [youtube] Jonathan Blow on YouTube
- [youtube] j_blow on Twitch
No courses, books or communities listed.
Jonathan Blow vs Justin Stander FAQ
Who makes more money, Jonathan Blow or Justin Stander?
Neither Jonathan Blow nor Justin Stander has publicly reported a revenue figure that IndieMakerList tracks, so it's not public.
Who has built more products, Jonathan Blow or Justin Stander?
Jonathan Blow has 5 products listed (including Braid, The Witness and Order of the Sinking Star); Justin Stander has 2 products listed (Katana Zero and Tower of Heaven).
What tech stack do Jonathan Blow and Justin Stander use?
Jonathan Blow uses Jai, C++ and custom engine. Justin Stander uses GameMaker. They don't list any tools in common.
Where are Jonathan Blow and Justin Stander based?
Jonathan Blow: Boulder, United States. Justin Stander: United States.
Who has been an indie maker longer, Jonathan Blow or Justin Stander?
Jonathan Blow started in 2004 (22 years indie); Justin Stander started in 2009 (17 years indie).
Are Jonathan Blow and Justin Stander bootstrapped?
Yes, both are listed as bootstrapped founders on IndieMakerList.
Full profiles
Read the full story, timeline and links on Jonathan Blow's profile and Justin Stander's profile.
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