Indie Game International

Tom Mead is Co-Founder and Art Director at Spiral Circus , developers of Silt (2022). Silt is a dark, atmospheric, underwater, 2D puzzle game. The art in this game is phenominal, and Tom is almost soley responsible for that.  In today's episode we will discuss video game art, creating interesting game mechanics, puzzle design, foley and sound design, developing a black and white game, acquiring a...

Nick Masercola and Bennett Tyler are the writer and artist, respectively, for Depths of Sanity , developed by Bomb Shleter Games . Depths of Sanity is an underwater sci-fi/horror metroidvania. I met the team and played the demo originally at PAX East 2022. The game is currrently available in Early Access on Steam. I love this game and I highly recommend checking it out! In today's episode we will...

Aleksandria Migova is a musician, sound designer, DJ, CEO, and video game score composer. She is featured here today for her excellent scoring work for the game Source of Madness, a 2D roguelite where you fight Lovecraftian monsters in a dark and unforgiving world.  In this episode we will discuss breaking into the industry, what you learn from DJing, facing criticism and doubters, attending event...

Chel Wong is a game score composer, developer, and sound designer. We are discussing today, mostly, Kine (2019), developed by Chump Squad. Chel is also a speaker and coach. You can find these services on her website: https://www.chelwongaudio.com/ In today's episode we will discuss modular soundtracks, seeking out physical instruments for a soundtrack, creating SFX, when a project gets cancelled a...

Nick Vaccaro is the co-founder and programmer at Synersteel Studio. Synersteel is currently developing Valley of Shadow, an autobiographical first-person puzzle game targeting a 2023 release date. The demo is available on Steam. I met the Synersteel team at PAX East 2022 where I first played the demo. In this episode we will discuss making an autobiographical game, the first-person puzzle game gen...

Galdric Borrat is the Business Developer at Goblinz Studio, based in France. Goblinz has been a developer since 2016 and a publisher since 2018. I met Galdric at PAX East 2022 and invited him on the show to discuss indie game publishing. The purpose of this episode is to educate listeners about what an indie game publisher can do for you as the developer.  Goblinz Studio on the web: https://goblin...

Carry Castle's Per Fornander and Robin Lindh are the developers behind Source of Madness . Per is Carry Castle's CEO and creative lead. Robin is the programmer and sound designer. Source of Madness is a side-scrolling roguelike in a dark and oppressive Lovecraftian world. The game is fantastic, and it is my current pick for 2022 GOTY. You can get it on PC, Switch, Playstation, and Xbox. In this ep...

Prescott Lawani is the CEO at Padlockes Technologies , developers of Lockes The Thief , a 3rd person stealth/action game. There is currently no demo but you can wishlist the game on Steam . I played an early build of Lockes The Thief and I thought the visuals and story were great, and the gameplay is quite fun.  In this episode we will disucss game design school, world building, obtaining an inter...

Sean Andrew Murray is an illustrator and concept artist. He provided the key art for Source of Madness , my 2022 choice for GOTY (so far). He is currently working on concept art for Diablo IV. Source of Madness , developed by Carry Castle , is a roguelike sidescroller wherein you fight grotesque Lovecraftian monsters and cast spells. It is an insanely good game. Sean is currently kickstarting a bo...

Eric Kesterson is the lead programmer and generalist at Type 3 Studios , developers of Super Marxist Twins , a 2D platformer which imagines what a game would look like if developed by a Soviet-sponsored development team in the 1980's. The game is very fun and clever. It is currently in Early Access on Steam. I met Type 3 Studios at PAX East 2022 where I first played and became aware of the game. I...

Three members of the Type 3 Studios team are joining us today: Nick Zaleski (game idea, level designer), Saun Conlin (audio, PAX East merch), and Jim Bochanski (character art and animations). I met the Type 3 Studios team at PAX East 2022 when I played the demo of their game. Super Marxist Twins imagines what a game would look like if developed by a Soviet-sponsored development team. It is a retro...

Kate Rabel is the owner of Sugarpunch Games , developer of the upcoming point-and-click-adventure game Behind The Beyond . There is currently a demo of the game available on Steam. Behind The Beyond is based on Hungarian folklore and I really enjoyed the story, atmosphere, and unique PAC UI used in the game's demo. I highly recommend it! Kate was called out by past guest Tom Hardwidge, developer o...

Rubén Lopez is a co-owner at Aruma Studios , developers of the Intruder In Antiquonia , a point-and-click adventure game releasing on Steam July 8, 2022. In the game, you play as a girl with memory loss who wakes up in a strange town that really dislikes the internet. It's a great mystery. I was able to play an early version of the full game on Steam and I really liked it. In today's episode we wi...

Shawn Clapper is the co-founder and co-owner of That's Nice Games, developer of Jigsaw Puzzle Dreams (2021). Jigsaw Puzzle Dreams is a free jigsaw puzzle game available on Steam.  In this episode we will discuss creating a game simply because you want to play it, unique business models, optimization, and much more. Jigsaw Puzzle Dreams on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1653970/Jigsaw_Pu...

Kyle T. Johnson is the Sales Manager at Thunderful Games, a games distribution and development company based in Sweden. I met Kyle at PAX East 2022 and he agreed to come on the podcast and discuss publisher/developer relations, and what Thunderful Games is all about. Many indie devs do not understand the benefits to acquiring a publisher, so this episode is designed to educate.  I am a huge fan of...

Rafael Silva is the creative director at Aden Interactive, developer of GladiHATERS. GladiHATERS is currently in Early Access on Steam. GladiHATERS is a pixelart management/fighting game in a dystopian cyberpunk future.  In this episode we will discuss combining multiple genres in one game, Early Access, UI and UX implementation, social commentary in games, marketing, and much more. Aden Interacti...

Dennis Gustafsson is the founder of Tuxedo Labs, and creator of the game Teardown. Teardown was released in 1.0 in 2022 after a long time spent in Early Access. He was called out by past guest Mate Magyar, developer of the game Knife To Meet You. Teardown is a physics-based destruction simulator sandbox. The game is incredible. It is objectively one of the most impressive games I have ever played....

Sam Beddoes is the lead developer at FreakZone Games, based in the UK. He developed three games that I have played: The Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures (2013), The Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures II: Assimilation (2016), and Spectacular Sparky (2021). All three games are excellent 2D side scrollers with pixelart. In this episode we will discuss 2D games, Sonic the Hedgehog, retro gaming, games d...

John Saba is the lead developer at Cat Pants Games , and creator of Oran's Table (2018). Oran's Table is a puzzle game developed for, and released on, mobile devices.  In this episode we will discuss mobile game development, creating a great tutorial, puzzle game design, advice for acquiring a publisher, solo dev vs collaboration, art informing game design and gameplay, alternative business models...

Charles Yu is the CEO and Marc Anthony Rodriguez is the COO of VoxPop Games, a brand new peer-to-peer games distribution platform with a profit-sharing business model and a focus on indie games. Marc and Charles have joined us to discuss the benefits of using a platform like VoxPop Games. VoxPop Games on the web: https://www.voxpopgames.net/ VoxPop games on Twitter: https://twitter.com/VoxPopGames...

Fabio Baumgartner is a co-owner, sound designer, and programmer at Okomotive , the developer of FAR: Lone Sails (2018) and FAR: Changing Tides (2022). Okomotive was called out by past guest Esben Kjær Ravn. The FAR series has become one of my all-time favorite video game series since playing both entries for this podcast. The games are available on all major platforms. In this episode we will disu...

Saturday bonus episode! Joel Schoch is a composer for video games. He composed the scores for both FAR: Lone Sails (2018) and FAR: Changing Tides (2022) from Okomotive . The FAR series is incredible and the music is amazing. Okomotive was called out by past guest Esben Kjær Ravn. In this episode we will discuss producing music with Logic, the benefits of mood boards for composers, dynamic music, t...

Hew Wagner is a singer and music composer for games, TV, and movies. I discovered Hew's music through the game The Companion , developed by Studio 46 . Hew specializes in cinematic, orchestra composition. In this episode we will discuss acquiring freelance composer work, dealing with criticism, orchestral composition, the definitions of art song and oratorio, opera, composing for game jam games, c...

Aljoscha Guenther, aka Remancer , is a music composer and producer for video games. I became aware of his music through the game Velocity Noodle , developed by Shotgun Anaconda . Aljoscha has scored quite a few games, but most of them are yet-to-be-released.  In this episode we will discuss the importance of getting the composer involved early, acquiring composer work as a freelancer, work/life ba...

Adrian Reidman is the developer of Cavity Busters, a bullet hell roguelike shooter that takes place inside a dirty mouth. The game is available on PC. I played it on Steam and enjoyed the chaotic gameplay a lot. The game was released in March of 2022 after spending about a year in Early Access. In this episode we will dicuss, what is a bullet hell shooter?, Early Access, the importance of creating...