eXplore Studio: The Value of Humanity in Game Dev, Self-Confidence, Conservation - Indie Diary #57

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/Scholomatch/ - Threads: https://www.threads.net/@direkittengames - Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/direkittengames.bsky.social - Website: https://www.scholomatch.com/ --------- Support the show 🎒💛 Join the community: https://discord.com/invite/J84aPfSSvj Subscribe on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@TheIndieDiarist Become a Patron: ⁠https://patreon.com/theindiediarist⁠ Follow on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/theindiediarist.bsky.social Follow on Threads: https://threads.net/@theindiediarist Follow on Twitter: ⁠https://twitter.com/theindiediarist⁠

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.inkblackinteractive.artstiles&pli=1 - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arts.tiles/?hl=en - Website: https://inkblackinteractive.com ------- Support the show 🎒💛 - Join the community: https://discord.com/invite/J84aPfSSvj - Subscribe on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@TheIndieDiarist - Become a Patron: ⁠https://patreon.com/theindiediarist⁠ - Follow on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/theindiediarist.bsky.social - Follow on Threads: https://threads.net/@theindiediarist - Follow on Twitter: ⁠https://twitter.com/theindiediarist⁠

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/Beyond_the_Wall⁠ App Store:⁠ https://apps.apple.com/app/beyond-the-wall/id1642146415 ⁠Google Play:⁠ https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.beyondthewall.game⁠ YouTube:⁠ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRmuuHWLpZ1ihjHqbOa1uug⁠ Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RockingToyGames⁠ Instagram:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/rocking_toy/⁠ Twitter/X:⁠ https://twitter.com/Rocking_Toy⁠ Threads: ⁠https://www.threads.net/@rocking_toy⁠ Webpage:⁠ www.rocking-toy.com⁠ ------- Support the show 🎒💛 Join the community: https://discord.com/invite/J84aPfSSvj Subscribe on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@TheIndieDiarist Become a Patron: ⁠https://patreon.com/theindiediarist⁠ Follow on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/theindiediarist.bsky.social Follow on Threads: https://threads.net/@theindiediarist Follow on Twitter: ⁠https://twitter.com/theindiediarist⁠

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 their game. Enjoy! 🎒💛 ------- Support Robby / Pirate PR 🎒💛 - Website: https://piratepr.com - Treasure Trove: https://piratepr.com/treasure-trove/ - Twitter: https://x.com/pr_pirate ------ Support the show 🎒💛 - Join the community: https://discord.com/invite/J84aPfSSvj - Subscribe on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@TheIndieDiarist - Become a Patron: ⁠https://patreon.com/theindiediarist⁠ - Follow on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/theindiediarist.bsky.social - Follow on Threads: https://threads.net/@theindiediarist - Follow on Twitter: ⁠https://twitter.com/theindiediarist⁠

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://store.steampowered.com/app/3050000/The_InBetween_Demo⁠ - Threads: https://threads.net/vcdgamer12345 - Twitter: https://twitter.com/theinbetweendev - Donations: https://buymeacoffee.com/vcdgamer/the-inbetween-support ------ Support the show 🎒💛 Join the community: https://discord.com/invite/J84aPfSSvj Subscribe on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@TheIndieDiarist Become a Patron: ⁠https://patreon.com/theindiediarist⁠ Follow on Twitter: ⁠https://twitter.com/theindiediarist⁠ Follow on Threads: https://threads.net/@theindiediarist

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://store.steampowered.com/developer/AwesomeTrinket https://store.steampowered.com/app/3106780/Veins_Like_Tapeworms/ https://bsky.app/profile/awesometrinket.bsky.social https://trinket-games.tumblr.com/ https://x.com/Trinket_Games https://awesometrinket.itch.io/

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 this episode shows that. Enjoy! 🎒💛 ----- Support eXplore Studio: - Wishlist The Kaiyo Mission: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2248280/The_Kaiyo_Mission/ - Website: https://explorestudiogames.com/ - Twitter: https://x.com/thekaiyomission - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekaiyomission/ - TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thekaiyomission

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://store.steampowered.com/app/2249060/Edenfall_Legacy_of_the_First_Wardens/ - Website: https://www.everfluxgames.com/ - Twitter: https://x.com/everfluxgames - Discord: https://discord.gg/tHWWuucahp ------ Support the show 🎒💛 Join the community: https://discord.com/invite/J84aPfSSvj Subscribe on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@TheIndieDiarist Become a Patron: ⁠https://patreon.com/theindiediarist⁠ Follow on Twitter: ⁠https://twitter.com/theindiediarist⁠ Follow on Threads: https://threads.net/@theindiediarist

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. Enjoy! 🎒💛 ------ Support Manu: Twitter/x : https://twitter.com/GoblinCleanup Wishlist & Follow on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2748340/Goblin_Cleanup/ Back on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gentleland/goblin-cleanup ----- Support the show 🎒💛 Join the community: https://discord.com/invite/J84aPfSSvj Subscribe on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@TheIndieDiarist Become a Patron: ⁠https://patreon.com/theindiediarist⁠ Follow on Twitter: ⁠https://twitter.com/theindiediarist⁠ Follow on Threads: https://threads.net/@theindiediarist

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! Enjoy! 🎒💛 ------ - Wishlist Dead Meat: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2628740/Dead_Meat/ - Say hi to Meaning Machine: [email protected] ------ Support the show 🎒💛 - Join the community: https://discord.com/invite/J84aPfSSvj - Subscribe on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@TheIndieDiarist - Become a Patron: ⁠https://patreon.com/theindiediarist⁠ - Follow on Twitter: ⁠https://twitter.com/theindiediarist⁠ - Follow on Threads: https://threads.net/@theindiediarist