The Indie Diarist

In this episode, I chatted to David García, responsible for marketing and events at Poison Pill Games - the developers of an adorable roguelike deckbuilder with criminal vegetables. You know I love talking about marketing for indie games, so this one is a must-listen! Enjoy! 🎒💛 --------- Support David and his team 🎒💛 - Check out Vegangsters: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2449390/Vegangste...

In this episode, I spent some time with the Bablabo Games trio, a sweet team of game dev friends from India, creating games with their love and passion for the medium. One of the most wholesome episodes in a while for sure. Enjoy! 🎒💛 ----------- Support Bablabo Games 🎒💛 - Steam Store Page:  https://store.steampowered.com/app/2964000/Hush_Hush_High/ - Discord Server:  https://discord.gg/BPj9BKz...

In this episode, I spent some time with one half of Clumsy Bear Studio, a two-person team based in Poland and working on a delightful little roguelike deckbuilder: Hungry Horrors. Enjoy! 🎒💛 -------- Support Jerzy 🎒💛 - Try the demo/Wishlist Hungry Horrors: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3048840/Hungry_Horrors/ - Itch: https://clumsy-bear-studio.itch.io/hungry-horrors - Bluesky: https://bsky...

In this episode, I spent some time with Lee Sargent, one third of Australia-based Raguthra Studios – a lovely indie house working on narrative adventures. Lee is a huge fan of "space" in all its possible meanings, and together we discussed how to create spaces that make sense, pouring your passion into your projects, and making something you'll be proud of. Enjoy! 🎒💛 -------- Support Lee 🎒💛 -...

In this episode, I spent some time with a friend of a friend: Undergod Games, developer of action RPG KAILA scheduled for release next year. Together we talked about the creative influences that made the game a reality, and the author's path into game dev. Enjoy! 🎒💛 ------- Support Tomas 🎒💛 - Wishlist KAILA: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1827820/Kaila/ - https://x.com/Undergod_games - htt...

Get ready for the *nicest* episode in the history of The Indie Diarist! 🎒💛 For episode 69, I invited over Evan Greenwood, founder and creative director of Devolver Digital-published studio Free Lives, to discuss a rather silly game about male genitalia and the role of playfulness in dismantling masculinity tropes. This episode was just as bonkers as you imagine it to be – but it was also packed...

Time for another Footnote! In this bonus episode, I spent some time with Kaylee López, also known as The Gaming Anthropologist, to chat about the intersection between gaming and anthropology. A super interesting hour, during which we talked about our memories, how games create community, how stories help our survival instincts, and a lot more! Enjoy! 🎒💛 --------- Support Kaylee 🎒💛 - Threads: h...

Another one that makes me proud! In this episode, I spent some time with Jim Griffiths, one of the original minds behind puzzle investigative game The Sexy Brutale – a beautiful and underrated indie gem from 2017 set in a surrealist casino, based on a 12-minute time loop. Enjoy! 🎒💛 ------------ Support Jim 🎒💛 - Buy The Sexy Brutale: https://store.steampowered.com/app/552590/The_Sexy_Brutale/ -...

Time for new perspectives! In this episode, I hosted Tim Wiseman from Why Not AI, a studio that has recently released an "oversized narrative RPG" called HPL: Nyarlathotep Rising. Tim's background comes from tabletop RPG design, and this was a great chance to explore some crossovers together. Enjoy! 🎒💛 ------ Support Tim and Why Not AI 🎒💛 - Buy HPL: Nyarlathotep Rising https://store.steampower...

In this episode, I spent some time with Oli, Rachel and Phil from Kaizen Game Works, an independent studio working on open-world adventure Promise Mascot Agency . From trusting players and audiences to developing games as friends, this is another great and packed episode! Hope you enjoy! 🎒💛 ------ Support the team 🎒💛 Website: https://kaizengameworks.com TikTok: tiktok.com/@kaizengameworks Prom...

Get ready for one of the top episodes of this year! In this one, I spent some time with Jean Canellas, programmer and lead designer of Death's Gambit – a much beloved metroidvania that came out in 2021. Together, we touched upon some crucial and important topics for the industry, such as burnout, managing your own expectations, and the power of healing through a project's redemption. Truly...

In this episode, I spent some time with Sean Menzies, founder of Golden Horde Studios, who's working on a cosy sim / resource management game called Shoni Island . Our chat covered anything from the state of industry to the legacy of legendary god game Black & White, and I enjoyed every minute of it! Hope you like it! 🎒💛 ------- Support Sean 🎒💛 - Website - Steam - Discord - LinkedIn ------...

New format, new questions, new show! The first episode I recorded in 2025 had to be something special – so welcome to the official start of Season 3 of The Indie Diarist! In this one, I welcomed Ahmed from Lunar Games, a good old friend of the show who's working on a puzzle adventure game called My Father Lied. As we journeyed through a revamped intro section and a whole new set of questions for h...

In this episode, I spent some time with an old friend of the show and someone I've been planning to host for a long time: Stephen from Dire Kitten Games! Stephen is developing Scholomatch, a matching game / visual novel, and he has a lot of advice on how to help games stand out in their niche. Enjoy! 🎒💛 ------- Support Stephen 🎒💛 - Wishlist the game: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2113350/...

Welcome to the first Indie Diary of 2025! 🎒💛 In this episode, I spent some time with Alex and Emilee from Inkblack Interactive, a wonderful couple developing a mobile game called Art's Tiles. Enjoy! ---------- Support Inkblack Interactive 🎒💛 - Art's Tiles (iOS): https://apps.apple.com/us/app/arts-tiles/id6503178934 - Art's Tiles (Android): https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.inkb...

In this episode, I spent some amazing time with a group of three friends from the Czech Republic, developing games under the name of Rocking Toy. Martin, Tom and Ondrej have just released their Beyond The Wall point-and-click narrative adventure, and they have so much to share in this last episode of 2024. Enjoy! ------ Support Rocking Toy 🎒💛 Steam: ⁠ https://store.steampowered.com/app/2290010/B...

In this episode, I spent some time with Robby from Pirate PR, an expert in recognising PR scams and helping indie developers fight back against these terrible and harmful practices. This episode comes PACKED with great advice, including the most common types of PR, widespread challenges, best practices and common pitfalls, and it's worth a listen for anyone struggling with PR and marketing for the...

In this episode, I spent some time with an old friend of the show: VCD, tuning in all the way from Nigeria, who's been following The Indie Diarist pretty much since its very early days! From rookie mistakes to dealing with discouragement and building metroidvania worlds, this episode is packed with good times and wholesomeness. Enjoy! 🎒💛 ------ Support VCD 🎒💛 - Wishlist The InBetween: https://...

In this episode, I spent some time with Trinket, an incredibly passionate and talented horror developer who's working on visual novel Veins Like Tapeworms, scheduled for release in February 2025. Trinket and I ended up discussing stories, creativity, and the secrets to a good horror game, in an episode that's as exciting as it's delightfully short! Enjoy! 🎒💛 ------- Support Trinket 🎒💛 https://...

In this episode, I spent some time with Mario and Virginie, two lovely game developers and co-founders of eXplore Studio, tuning in from Germany. Mario and Virginie are working on The Kaiyo Mission , a space exploration game bringing together a range of cultural influences and planned for release in December this year. Mario and Virginie are pouring a lot of heart and soul into this project, and t...

In this episode in collaboration with Gentleland.net, I spent some time with Laurenz, an architecture turned solo game dev who's working on story-driven action RPG Edenfall: Legacy of the First Wardens . Laurenz ran an incredibly successful Kickstarter campaign, and here he shares some tips for other developers wishing to do the same. Enjoy! 🎒💛 ------- Support Laurenz: - Wishlist Edenfall: https...

In this episode, I spent a beautiful hour with Manu from Crisalu Games - an Argentinian team working on Viscera Cleanup-inspired game Goblin Cleanup . Despite not even being in early access, the game already looks incredibly polished – to the point it feels like in the final stages of polish already! In this episode, I chatted with Manu about the game, being a game dev in Argentina, and a lot more...

What's your stance on using AI for game development? In this episode, I connected with the amazing team behind Dead Meat, a narrative investigation name I had the chance to try out at WASD, which uses a large language model as the basis for its narrative structure - but with a human twist. If you've been wondering whether AI is good or bad for the industry... this episode might change your mind! E...

In this episode, I spent some time with Rob Pigott, a queer, non-binary game developer, writer and screenwriter from New York who's working on Bitter Silver , a love letter to Cowboy Bebop. Rob is a huge fan of narrative adventures, and their passion for stories shines through every minute of this episode. Enjoy! 🎒💛 ------- Support Rob: - Back Bitter Silver on KS: https://www.kickstarter.com/pro...

What happens when a bunch of friends come together to develop a game from shared experiences? Something like InkForge Studios, most likely! In this episode, I spent some time with Archie and Oli, two members of the team, who told me all about a delightful game I tried at WASD this year – I'll Be Brave Tomorrow. Trust me – this is going to pull at some emotional heartstrings. Enjoy! 🎒💛 ----------...