indie developer

Damien Dessagne is the CEO of Embers, developer of Strayed Lights (2023) and Maxime Philipp is the project's game Director. I discovered Strayed Lights at PAX East 2023. Strayed Lights is a 3D action game with a wordless story and very disctinct visuals. I played it on Playstation, but you can also get it on Xbox, Switch, and PC. The gameplay is difficult, demanding, and ultimately rewarding. I recommend it!

In this episode we will discuss creating a game dev company, project management, wordless storytelling, designing boss battles, playtesting, developing a tutorial, creating platform-specific features for your multi-platform game, hitting deadlines, showing your game at PAX, inflation in the games industry, and much more.

Strayed Lights on Steam

Strayed Lights on Playstation

Strayed Lights on Switch

Strayed Lights on Xbox

Strayed lights on the web: https://embers.games

Strayed Lights on Twitter: @EmbersGames

IGI on Twitter: @IndieGameINTL

Consider becoming an IGI Patron: https://www.patreon.com/indiegameINTL

IGI is a production of Su Madre Podcasts: https://sumadrepodcasts.com/

Galen Drew is a game developer and visual artist. He created Pattern (2022) and worked on Pine Tar Poker (2022). He is a member of Ice Water Games. I previously featured Pattern's development on IGI when I interviewed Michael Bell, the game's composer. Pattern is a walking/hiking simulator with deep musings on what it means to create art and make games. I had a genuinely excellent experience when I played Pattern. The visuals, music, and mystery are all thoroughly appealing and evokative. Pine Tar Poker is an ultra fun, creative, and odd poker game on mobile. Pattern is available on PC. 

In today's episode we will discuss procedural games, playtesting, the music of Pattern, programming, and much more.

Pattern on Steam

Pine Tar Poker on iOS

Pine Tar Poker on Google Play

Ice Water Games on the web: http://www.icewatergames.com

Galen Drew on Twitter: @GalenNDrew

Galen Drew on Instagram: @galens_good_art

Galen Drew on the web: https://galendrew.com

Galen Drew on Youtube

IGI on Twitter: @IndieGameINTL

Consider becoming an IGI Patron: https://www.patreon.com/indiegameINTL

IGI is a production of Su Madre Podcasts: https://sumadrepodcasts.com/

Lucas Bonatti is the Creative Director at Regular Studio, developer of Togges (2022). Togges is a fantastic game. It's a 3D non-linear platformer/collectathon set in a weird and wonderful universe. It has amazing visuals, really fun and unique gameplay mechanics and traversal, and a super energetic and awesome sense of humor. I really, really like this game. I'm really excited that I was able to talk about its development with the developer. It's available on all the major concoles and PC. 

In this episode we will discuss influences for such a weird game, creating a game with “incredible, credible” mechanics and story, cutting ideas to maintain scope, porting, performance, and optimization, scope control, UI and menu design, playtesting and player feedback, and much more.

Togges on Steam

Togges on Switch

Togges on Playstation

Togges on Xbox

Togges on the web: http://togges.com.br

Togges on Twitter: @ToggesGame

IGI on Twitter: @IndieGameINTL

Consider becoming an IGI Patron: https://www.patreon.com/indiegameINTL

IGI is a production of Su Madre Podcasts: https://sumadrepodcasts.com/

Today's guest is Gina Loughlin, game audio engineer and composer. Gina has provided music for many games, but today we will be talking primarily Mail Time, Pen Pal princess, and Towertale (2019). Towertale is available on PC and all major consoles. It's a 2D boss rush game with a good story and great music and visuals. Mail Time and Pen Pal Princess have not been released yet! I played a demo of Mail Time and really liked it. Towertale is ultra fun as well!

In today's episode we will discuss defining the “cottage-core” genre, using colors references for music composition, dynamic interactive music systems, studying music and composition in school, playtesting audio systems, composing music for an audio drama, mobile app development, the struggles of coming up with names for music tracks, and much more.

Gina's website: https://www.ginaloughlin.com

Mail Time on Steam

Pen Pal Princess on Steam

Towertale on Steam

Gina on Twitter: @GinaLoughlin

IGI on Twitter: @IndieGameINTL

Consider becoming an IGI Patron: https://www.patreon.com/indiegameINTL

IGI is a production of Su Madre Podcasts: https://sumadrepodcasts.com/

Rafael Bordoni is a game developer. He has developed many games, including Charge Kid (2020), and today's featured game, Nothing Matters. Nothing Matters is a game jam game focused on doing something with "nothing." It's a 2D, pixel-art puzzle game with great visuals, extremely innovative mechanics, and a funny story. 

In today's episode we will discuss game jam games, ultra unique mechanics, level design, puzzle design, challenging games, the Godot engine, and much more.

Rafael on itch.io: https://eldskald.itch.io

Nothing Matters can be played here: https://uspgamedev.itch.io/nothing-matters

Charge Kid on Steam

Charge Kid on Switch

Rafael on Twitter: @eldskald

IGI on Twitter: @IndieGameINTL

Consider becoming an IGI Patron: https://www.patreon.com/indiegameINTL

IGI is a production of Su Madre Podcasts: https://sumadrepodcasts.com/

Don Boose is the Founder of Shademare Studio, developer of Miracle Mia (2019). Miracle Mia is a story-rich, 2D platformer with a very unique central combat mechanic. Shademare Studio was called out by my past guest Dan Seamans of Sliced Kiwi Studios, developers of the upcoming Check x Mate. I played Miracle Mia on Steam and I really enjoyed the visuals, story, music, and the unique combat. You can also fin it on the Shademare itch.io page. 

In this episode we will discuss game jam games, making games in high school, thoughts on redoing your old games, game development school, scope control, board game design vs. video game design, story-heavy indie games, solo development, and much more.

Miracle Mia on Steam

Shademare on itch.io

Shademare on Twitter: @ShademareStudio

Shademare on the web: https://shademare.com

IGI on Twitter: @IndieGameINTL

Consider becoming an IGI Patron: https://www.patreon.com/indiegameINTL

IGI is a production of Su Madre Podcasts: https://sumadrepodcasts.com/

Adrian Moscalue, aka DYATHON, is the composer for Moonscars (2022). Moonscars is a brutal, 2D metroidvania with haunting pixelart and gorgeous, atmospheric music. You can get the game on Switch, PC, Playstation, and Xbox. I played it on Playststion and although it is very difficult, the combat is fun and the art and music are worth the challenge. The game was developed by Black Mermaid.

In this episode we will discuss piano composition, creating haunting, atmospheric music, embracing challenge, creating boss battle music, emotional expression in music, and much more.

DYATHON on the web: https://dyathon.com

Adrian on Twitter: @DYATHON

DYATHON on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3XcDXXT

Moonscars on Switch

Moonscars on Playstation

Moonscars on Xbox

Moonscars on Steam

IGI on Twitter: @IndieGameINTL

Consider becoming an IGI Patron: https://www.patreon.com/indiegameINTL

IGI is a production of Su Madre Podcasts: https://sumadrepodcasts.com/

Clemens Ruh is Bleakmill Games' sound designer, having done audio direction and sound design for the team's 2021 game INDUSTRIA. INDUSTRIA is an atmospheric, story-driven, sci-fi FPS game and I have featured two other Bleakmill members on IGI. I played INDUSTRIA on Steam but you can also get it on PS5 and Xbox. 

In this episode we will discuss the differences between film and game sound design, gunfire sound design, science fiction sound design, enemy sound design, foley, working with and recording voice actors, mental health in game developement, and much more.

Clemens Ruh on SounsCloud: https://soundcloud.com/clemensruh

Clemens Ruh on Twitter: @clemensruh

INDUSTRIA on Steam

INDUSTRIA on Playstation

INDUSTRIA on Xbox

Bleakmill Games on the web: http://www.bleakmill.com

IGI on Twitter: @IndieGameINTL

Consider becoming an IGI Patron: https://www.patreon.com/indiegameINTL

IGI is a production of Su Madre Podcasts: https://sumadrepodcasts.com/

Jenny Windom is a Producer at Soft Not Weak, an Advisor at Kowloon Knights, and the Senior Influencer Manager at Kepler Interactive. She is also a YouTube content creator and a Twitch Streamer! We will be discussing her roles with Sifu and Scorn mostly. Scorn is my favorite game of 2022 so I was very excited to speak to someone who worked on it in any capacity. Jenny was called out by my past guest Victoria Tran.

In this episode we will discuss what is an influencer manager?, streaming games, content creation, Kepler Interactive's unique company structure, marketing a horror game, setting expectations with your audience and your colleagues, and much more.

Jenny on the web: https://jennywindom.com

Jenny on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kimchica25

Jenny on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/kimchica

Jenny on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/kimchica

IGI on Twitter: @IndieGameINTL

Consider becoming an IGI Patron: https://www.patreon.com/indiegameINTL

IGI is a production of Su Madre Podcasts: https://sumadrepodcasts.com/

Philipp Stellenmayer is a game designer and developer who releases games under the name kamibox. He has released many mobile games but today's conversation focus on o k a y ?, CMPLT, Bacon, and Song of Bloom. I really enjoyed all four games, but Bacon is probably my favorite. Philipp was called out by my past guest Thomas Waterzooi.

In today's episode we will discuss mobile game development, developing and shipping games 10 years ago, programming in Lua, user feedback, developing learning games, prototypes, collaboration vs solodev, and mich more.

kamibox on the web: https://www.kamibox.de

Philipp on Twitter: @kamibox_ph

IGI on Twitter: @IndieGameINTL

Consider becoming an IGI Patron: https://www.patreon.com/indiegameINTL

IGI is a production of Su Madre Podcasts: https://sumadrepodcasts.com/

Daniel Peterson is the founder of Baka Bros. Entertainment, developers of Chaos Kart. Chaos Kart is a kart races with hero shooter elements. The game is in development currently, and I was able to play an early build that Dan kindly sent to me. Dan also worked on a game called Abyss of Neptune, which free on Steam, that we will also discuss. The small amount of Chaos Kart that I was able to play was actually quite fun, and Abyss of Neptune is a fun, short first person horror game. 

In this episode we will discuss making a hybrid of genres in one game, QA testing at Nintendo of America, game design school, VR game development, steaming your game development, switching to Unreal Engine 5 mid-development, and much more.

Abyss of Neptune on Steam

Chaos Kart on Steam

Baka Bros. on YouTube: Baka Bros Entertainment

Baka Bros. on Twitter: @BakaBrosEnt

Baka Bros. on the web: https://www.bakabrosentertainment.com

IGI on Twitter: @IndieGameINTL

Consider becoming an IGI Patron: https://www.patreon.com/indiegameINTL

IGI is a production of Su Madre Podcasts: https://sumadrepodcasts.com/

John Saba is the developer of Mushroom Mountain, a brand new PICO-8 game. PICO-8 is a fantasy concolse for sharing and playing tiny games and computer programs. Mushroom Mountain is a very clever and deep puzzle game with cute pixel art graphics. You can find Mushroom Mountain within the PICO-8 console, as well as on John's itch.io page. This is John's second time on IGI. 

In this episode we will discuss the PICO-8 virtual console, cutting features, developing with intentional constraints, puzzle design, themes applied to puzzle mechanics, attention economies, and more.

John Saba on itch.io: https://itch.io/profile/sabajt

Mushroom Mountain on itch.io: https://sabajt.itch.io/mushroom-mountain

John on Twitter: @sabajt

Check out the PICO-8 fantasy console

IGI on Twitter: @IndieGameINTL

Consider becoming an IGI Patron: https://www.patreon.com/indiegameINTL

IGI is a production of Su Madre Podcasts: https://sumadrepodcasts.com/

Ben Ridge is a game score composer and sound designer. His work has been featured in three games that we will be discussing today: Cavity Busters (2022), Thymesia (2022), and Marauders (currently in Early Access). I have played Cavity Busters and Thymesia and they are both great games with stellar music. The developer of Cavity Busters, Space My Friend, has been featured on IGI twice.

In this episode we will discuss learning middleware, scoring a "soulsborne" game, making music and sound effects for slot machines, working with and for publisher Team 17, imposter syndrome, sound design, creating exploration vs. combat music, and a whole lot more.

Thymesia on Steam

Cavity Busters on Steam

Marauders on Steam

Ben Ridge on the web: https://www.ben-ridge.com

Ben Ridge on Twitter: @BRidgeGameAudio

IGI on Twitter: @IndieGameINTL

Consider becoming an IGI Patron: https://www.patreon.com/indiegameINTL

IGI is a production of Su Madre Podcasts: https://sumadrepodcasts.com/

Ozzie Sneddon is the Founder of Librarium Studios, developer of Existensis (2021). Existensis is a hand-drawn, story-driven, 2D platformer. The game's art, story, music, and gameplay are all fantastic. Ozzie is also a freelance illustrator. He is multi-talented!

In today's episode we will discuss freelance illustration, key art, thoughts on your very first game, collaboration vs solodev, creating game art with pen and paper, gimmicks, game music, the MagnaPlay games distribution platform and model, attending game conventions, maintaining a manageable scope, and much more.

Existensis on Steam

Existensis on MagnaPlay

Librarium Studios on the web: https://www.librariumstudios.com

Ozzie on Twitter: @OzzieSneddon

IGI on Twitter: @IndieGameINTL

Consider becoming an IGI Patron: https://www.patreon.com/indiegameINTL

IGI is a production of Su Madre Podcasts: https://sumadrepodcasts.com/

Mike Bodie is an actor for films, TV, commercials, and video games. He provides the voice of Callum in 2021's Ghost on the Shore from developer like Charlie. Ghost on the Shore is a supernatural, narrative-driven walking simulator. Mike has also provided voices for games such as Control, The Division 2, Ghost Recon: Breakpoint, Undecember, and the upcoming Giants Uprising, among others.

In today's episode we will discuss building a home recording studio, the audition process, choosing the right microphone for your voice, agents, AAA vs indie voice acting, and much more.

Ghost on the Shore on Steam

Mike Bodie's website: https://mikebodie.net

Mike Bodie on Twitter: @MikeBodieActor

IGI on Twitter: @IndieGameINTL

Consider becoming an IGI Patron: https://www.patreon.com/indiegameINTL

IGI is a production of Su Madre Podcasts: https://sumadrepodcasts.com/

Dave Gilbert is the Founder of Wadjet Eye Games, developers of many games, including The Shivah, Unavowed, and the upcoming Old Skies. Dave has been making indie games since 2006, when The Shivah was released. I have played The Shivah, Unavowed, and the demo for Old Skies and I enjoyed all of them immensly. The Old Skies demo is currently available on Steam!

In this episode we will discuss writing a time travel story, voice acting, play testing, publishing other developer’s games, and more.

Old Skies demo on Steam

The Shivah on Steam

Unavowed on Steam

Wadjet Eye Games on the web: wadjeteyegames.com

Wadjet Eye Games on Twitter: @WadjetEyeGames

IGI on Twitter: @IndieGameINTL

Consider becoming an IGI Patron: https://www.patreon.com/indiegameINTL

IGI is a production of Su Madre Podcasts: https://sumadrepodcasts.com/

Thomas Waterzooi is a solo game developer and Founder of Studio Waterzooi, developer of Please, Touch the Artwork. Please, Touch The Artwork is a humorous puzzle game with touch controls and gorgeous visuals. I played it on Switch, but you can also get it on PC and mobile.

In today's epsidoe we will discuss solo dev, working in AAA, self-doubt in game dev, procedural generation, UI and UX, story elements in puzzle games, puzzle design, imposter syndrome, touch controls, and more.

Please, Touch The Artwork on Switch

Please, Touch the Artwork on Steam

Please, Touch The Artwork on iOS

Please, Touch The Artwork on Google Play

Thomas Waterzooi on Twitter: @ThomasWaterzooi

Studio Waterzooi on the web: studiowaterzooi.com

IGI on Twitter: @IndieGameINTL

Consider becoming an IGI Patron: https://www.patreon.com/indiegameINTL

IGI is a production of Su Madre Podcasts: https://sumadrepodcasts.com/

Patrick Merklee is a designer and programmer at In The Snow Studios and Josh Shoenfelt is a developer and programmer at In The Snow Studios. In The Snow Studios is the developer of Mason and Strings, a free game on Steam, as well as the upcoming The Newton Mystery, which has a demo currently available on Steam. This team was called out by my past guest Michael Strollart, developer of the upcoming Below The Stone. I really enjoyed Mason and Strings, which is a hand-drawn 2D platformer with narrative emphasis. I also really enjoyed The Newton Mystery's demo. The Newton Mystery is similar to Mason and Strings in terms of art style, but it is much darker in themes and story. I have very much enjoyed my time with both games.

In this episode we will discuss game design school, making a student battle royale game, scope control, sound design, best practices for releasing a demo, the importance of deadlines, the benefits of collaboration, attending a game show with your game, and much more.

In The Snow Studios on the web:  https://www.inthesnowstudios.com/home

In The Snow Studios on Twitter: @InTheSnowStudio

Mason and Strings on Steam

The Newton Mystery on Steam

IGI on Twitter: @IndieGameINTL

Consider becoming an IGI Patron: https://www.patreon.com/indiegameINTL

IGI is a production of Su Madre Podcasts: https://sumadrepodcasts.com/

Zi Li is the Founder of Ammil, developer of Relumine. Relumine is a 3D logic-based puzle game. It was released on mobile in 2021 and on PC in August, 2022. I played the Steam version and I really enjoyed this game. The puzzles, art, music, and story were all excellent. Zi also works in AAA game developement. 

In this episode we will discuss logic-based puzzle mechanics, working in AAA, game design school, art design, puzzle design, play testing and player feedback, balancing difficulty, prototyping with Legos, narrative in puzzle games, and much more.

Relumine on Steam

Relumine on iOS

Relumine on Google Play

Relumine on Twitter: @RelumineGame

Relumine on the web: playrelumine.com

IGI on Twitter: @IndieGameINTL

Consider becoming an IGI Patron: https://www.patreon.com/indiegameINTL

IGI is a production of Su Madre Podcasts: https://sumadrepodcasts.com/

George Remus is the founder of Darkania Works, developer of Grey Dawn and Last Days of Lazarus. Catalin Marcu is the founder of GrimTalin, developer of Long Ago: A Puzzle Tale and The Adventures of Elena Temple, and publisher of Last Days of Lazarus. Last Days of Lazarus (2022) is a first person narrative scifi/horror game. It is available on PC with current-gen console ports on the way. I highly recommend this game!

In today's episode we will discuss the decision to make a second game, UI and UX design, publishing, implementing load and save features, religious themes in video games, mature themes in video game storytelling, voice acting, and much more.

Last Days of Lazarus on Steam

Darkania Works on Twitter: @darkaniaworks

GrimTalin on Twitter: @GrimTalin

Here is a link to my interview with A.W. Miller, the voice behind Lazarus: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5WrqNVG8jYlXn3ppuHonzw?si=uY5sQjGCRt2c01zgqRLtug

IGI on Twitter: @IndieGameINTL

Consider becoming an IGI Patron: https://www.patreon.com/indiegameINTL

IGI is a production of Su Madre Podcasts: https://sumadrepodcasts.com/