Steam expert advises devs stick to the "Little League" section of idle games and friendslop before attempting anything like Binding of Isaac or Mewgenics: "Then you can make your dream"

"Friendslop" and its low-stakes companion idle games graciously form the official Steam Little Leagues, says How To Market A Game director Chris Zukowski. So, in an interview with GamesRadar+ during Game Developer Conference 2026, the Steam expert advises developers to start with a couple of practice swings before trying for a home run with something like new indie darling Mewgenics.

This is not just a baseball analogy: it's life according to Zukowski, who associates Mewgenics developers Edmund McMillen and Tyler Glaiel with the non-stop Flash games era in the early 2000s. Ex-wunderkind Glaiel made his first game with Flash by age 12, in 2002, and it was McMillen's 2008 Flash game Meat Boy that ultimately led to his more mainstream success with Super Meat Boy in 2010. "You have to have those lots of swings at bat," Zukowski says.

In the Flash game era, "Nobody was like, 'This is my artistic vision! I'm living my dream! I, as an artist!'" Zukowski says. "No, they were like, 'It's fucking Flash, let's just move it, move it, move it. Get these games out, get these games out.' And I think that's the type of training you need to go before you can make a Mewgenics, before you can make a Binding of Isaac."

It helps, then, that the Steam storefront seems to be stocking more Flash-style, short and sweet video games recently – titles that are happily slop.

"Steam, all of a sudden," comments Zukowski, "has a Little League section, and it is idle games, friendslop – where you can just churn out these games and learn that stuff, and then you can make your dream game, 'artistic vision.'" Everyone has to start somewhere.

"It's a bit unfair to have to compete with Isaac": Mewgenics co-creator felt pressure to "prove myself" working with Edmund McMillen on the follow-up to one of the biggest roguelikes ever.