The Indie Diarist

Influencers and creators can make a huge difference to bring your game to success. In this episode, I spent some time with Drope.me's CEO, Dima Okhrimchuk, to discuss the challenges of indie game influencer marketing, chat through the rise of micro-influencers, and share some practical tips to level up your creator marketing campaigns. Hope you enjoy! ------- Use the promo code INDIEDIARIST0 o...

Jan Mysior is developing co-op games so he can play them with his wife and kids – and I think that's beautiful. In this episode, I spent some time with the co-owner of Yellow Dot Games, tuning in all the way from Poland to tell me about his story – and why he loves co-op games so much. Hope you enjoy! ------- Find Jan and his studio online: - Website: https://www.yellowdotgames.com/ - Studio Disco...

Sound design can be an incredibly powerful storytelling tool. In this episode, I sat down with Tony Wijs, owner of production studio Immersed Productions, to discuss the power of detail in sound design – and why great sound matters to create unforgettable game experiences. This episode is packed with sound design tips, so give it a good listen! Hope you enjoy! --------- Find Tony online: - Website...

Being an indie dev can get lonely. In this episode, I spent some time with Kailoulou, Founder and Lead Creative Director of Far Owl Studios – an indie team working on turn-based RPG Ethereal Metropolis – to discuss the many faces of creativity as an indie game developer. Kai is a fellow writer and we had so much to discuss together! Enjoy! ------ Find Kai online: - Ethereal Metropolis Kickstarter:...

In this episode, I spent some time with one of the show's closest supporters, Peleg Harel – a solo developer from Israel who's making a beautiful little puzzle game called Exodus. Peleg is such an amazing member of The Indie Diarist community, looking to create meaningful games and experiences for his players – with a wonderful puzzle game to match. Enjoy! ------------- Support Peleg: - Twitter: h...

If you've listened to the episode with Kelsey Beachum (Footnote #1), you'll know that the positive value of failure is one of the themes I hold dearest – but often, it's easier said than done. In this episode, I spent some time with Dodi and George from Balcony Softworks, who are currently working on a deckbuilder RPG called Deepest Chamber: Resurrection. And the story behind the development of th...

How do you even start with marketing your indie game? What is the best approach to game marketing, and how do you find your audience? In this special episode extracted from a Discord-only event, I connected with three amazing professionals in the indie game marketing scene to help answer burning questions from the community! I hope you guys find it useful 🎒💛 --------- Connect with my guests! 👇...

As someone who left his home country at 21, I can really empathise with stories of siblings living apart. That's why in this episode I spent some time with two brothers from the Bromantic Games bunch, Daniel and Simen, who are developing an amazing settlement builder called Folklands  – and who are keeping close to each other thanks to their work as game devs. 🎒💛 Enjoy! ------ Find Bromantic Gam...

What do you remember of the Flash era? In this episode, I spent some time with UK-based solo dev Chaz, an incredibly passionate developer who learned to code all the way back in the age of Newground and Miniclip. We also had the chance to discuss our shared love for Final Fantasy VII. Enjoy! ----- Find Chaz online: - Website: https://madebychaz.com - Try out Soulvester VS Lil' Beezey: https://stor...

Who would have thought architecture and game design had so much in common? In this episode I spent some time with Eric Manahan, game designer and founder of The Matte Black Studio, who's currently working on his dearly beloved "Celest-oidvania" LUCID. A former architect with a burning love for games, Eric made the jump to game dev just a few years ago – but he's been harbouring this passion for wa...

Who knew chainmail jewellery and game development could go so well together? In this episode, I spent some time with Adrian Spencer, founder of Lakea Games and developer of Wormhole Adventurer (among other things), to discuss anything from getting into games to showcasing your project at conventions. Adrian used to stream online while making chainmail jewellery, and at some point, this passion tur...

In this episode, I spent some time with Joe Sullivan, a former freelance contractor who made the move to independent game development with his upcoming game – FloraMancer: Seeds & Spells . From the role of imagination in game dev to his vision for his game, Joe and I had such a lovely chat together! Enjoy! ------ Find Joe online: - Wishlist FloraMancer: https://store.steampowered.com/app/22593...

In this episode I spent some time with OKJOY Studio, a developer/publisher tuning in all the way from Hong Kong, to chat about their games and what it means to both create and publish titles within the same team. Enjoy this slightly-shorter-than-usual episode and make sure to support the OKJOY team, so they can keep... bringing joy to people all over the world! :) ------ Find OKJOY Studio: - Check...

Is the Steam Next Fest worth it for an indie dev? What is it like to make a game that many people can play together? In this episode I spent some time with Sakura and Jan, co-founders of small indie studio RainLight and developers of Tricky Tracks  – a hide-and-seek game with a twist! Sakura and Jan were just "recovering" from the Steam Next Fest when we recorded this episode – give it a listen fo...

As far as wholesome games go, Lente's "Spilled" is a great example of what happens when love for nature meets game development. In this episode, I spent some time with a talented indie dev living on a boat in the Netherlands, who's channelling her passion for the environment in her upcoming water-cleansing and oil-removing game. Enjoy! ------ Find Lente online: - Wishlist Spilled: https://store.st...

Indie games and developers are the foundation of our medium: they've always been around, and they will never leave. For this very special bonus episode, I invited over Josh from Still Loading podcast to chat together about the origins and rise of indie games, trying to figure out the impact they had on video game culture – and where we're headed next. The result is an amazing episode full of histo...

Product manager by day, indie game dev by night – Kevin Wu lives a double life, and his game dev work oozes with passion and creative love. In this episode, I spent some time with Kevin, solo developer and founder of Little Bear Studios, who just launched his turn-based RPG Magic & Machines on Steam at the end of June. From his experience developing his game to secret insights into his dream g...

How is it like to work with someone else's IP? In this episode, I spent some time with Kenneth ("Kenny") Engelsen, game director at Rain Games – a passionate Norwegian studio currently working on the video game adaptation of graphic novel Girl Genius . From the story of Rain Games itself to Kenny's current work at the studio, there's much to look forward to in this episode! ------ Find Rain Games...

I spent some time with Out of the Bit, an indie studio based in Wimbledon (UK) for the very first LIVE recorded episode of the show! I was hosted by Ali Motisi, Rosalia Trupiano and Leo Halwart, for a fun hour chatting about their pixel art adventure game Full Void, vintage games, and what it means to chase your dreams and take risks for what you really love to do. By the time this episode goes li...

Are you into cats and action RPGs? In this episode, I spent some time with the co-founders and directors of Astral Clocktower Studios, a mid-sized indie studio currently developing Kristala – a game of cats and magic. Together with Allie, Tiffany and Sarah, we touched upon many important topics, such as finding your way as an indie studio and what it means to be a women-led company. Unfortunately,...

This episode was SO MUCH FUN to make! I spent some time with Steve Hollis, founder of Noisy Head Games, to learn more about his story and the development of Beyond The Long Night – a delightful roguelike published by Yogscast Games. What started off as an episode to learn more on Steve's game quickly became a chat about creativity, the beauty of roguelikes, and – like most conversations I have lat...

In this episode I spent some time with Evin Oxley , a game development student from the UK who's just released Kiki's Here – a game she developed for her university programme. Evin is a self-driven student who loves horror and making people smile – which may seem two opposites on the surface, yet come together in Evin's incredible passion for game development. Listen to us chatting about anything...

Happy 4-year anniversary Outer Wilds! In the longest episode of The Indie Diarist yet, I had the pleasure of spending an outstanding hour with Kelsey Beachum, Narrative Designer of Outer Wilds (plus DLC) and The Outer Worlds' DLCs among other things. We discussed anything from rewarding player exploration to NASA's missions in space – and of course, a lot of Outer Wilds (with way too much nerdage...

In this episode, I had an amazing chat with a fellow compatriot from my country of birth: Ramon Bocca, a studio producer from Turin, Italy! Ramon and his team are working on a beautiful series of lovecraftian, story-driven games called Omen Exitio, and they're currently finalising their work on their first sequel - 1927. As you can imagine, it will feel very much noir indeed. :) ---- Find Ramon an...

In this episode I chatted with US-based solo dev Erik Andersen, a fellow language geek who's now working on "So to Speak" – a game about the Japanese language. If you played and loved Heaven's Vault, you're going to love this one: the references were many, and Erik's passions led to a much relaxed conversation about the beauty of game development, how to learn to take risks, and more incredibly in...