indie game garden

Jonny Malks
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breaking down internet apathy by rooting joy in games – interviews with devs and more ❤︎⁠ available on your podcatcher of choice and here: indiegamegarden.transistor.fm

  1. 16 - Dave Lloyd of Powerhoof, the makers of The Drifter

    6d ago

    16 - Dave Lloyd of Powerhoof, the makers of The Drifter

    Dave Lloyd’s video games inspire me more than any other pieces of media I’ve consumed in recent memory. Dave is a champion of the adventure game genre, having explored everything from pulpy thrillers to high fantasy adventures through the art form that has become a bit of a dying breed in games. Since the heyday of LucasArts adventure games that spanned from the late 1980s to the early 2000s, the genre has decreased in popularity thanks to what some players perceive to be outdated mechanics and the rise of other, similar genres – like the visual novel. Dave’s work is not only dedicated to telling outstanding stories. It’s also very much about keeping the adventure game alive, while simultaneously pushing the genre to new heights. His magnum opus to date is The Drifter, a gritty, time-jumping thriller that also manages to portray an intimate story of love and loss in the modern day. He released the tool he used to make The Drifter on public forums for free. PowerQuest is a Unity framework that helps devs make engaging adventure games while not getting overwhelmed by the breadth of the engine at large. Dave’s commitment to making adventure games communal is as inspiring to me as his masterful artwork, coding, and storytelling. It is such a genuine honor to have him on the show. Go do yourself a favor and play The Drifter: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1170570/The_Drifter/ Powerhoof's itch.io page is a trove of hidden treasures: https://powerhoof.itch.io/Make your own adventure game with PowerQuest! https://powerhoof.itch.io/powerquest And...check out Dave & Barney's website: https://www.powerhoof.com/

    1h 10m
  2. 15 - Nic Tringali of Amberspire

    May 25

    15 - Nic Tringali of Amberspire

    Nic Tringali is a game designer and director at Bithell Games, an independent game studio that specializes in sci-fi stories. Nic works at Bithell’s Lunar Division label. They are most known for The Banished Vault, John Wick Hex, and Sun Dogs, and have a particular interest in science fiction, tabletop and analog designs, and rich interactions between players and game systems. Nic’s most recent game, Amberspire, came out on Steam on May 6th. It’s a science fantasy dice city builder in which players are tasked with constructing buildings, managing resources, and building in harmony with an alien ecology atop the ruins of an abandoned moon. It’s an honor to have Nic on the show today to talk more about Amberspire and their perspective on making indie games. Pick up Amberspire!! https://store.steampowered.com/app/3350750/Amberspire/Keep up with Nic on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:a7fta5rcdchq42rjf7op3p6j Couldn't find the blog :(

    47 min
  3. 14 - Allen Goode of FloWHOA, the makers of Scallywags

    May 18

    14 - Allen Goode of FloWHOA, the makers of Scallywags

    Allen Goode is a co-founder of the startup FloWHOA, the game studio currently making Scallywags, a tactical crew management roguelike inspired by FTL and One Piece, where players quest to become Pirate Legends. Allen helped found FloWHOA in 2023, alongside Mike Schmalz. Although he wears a lot of different hats at FloWHOA, Allen’s main expertise is housed in his position as Creative Director – with over 20 years of experience working on mass-market, AAA, franchises such as Wayfinder, Warframe, Halo, Bioshock, SOCOM, and Company of Heroes. SCALLYWAGS IS MAKING ITS DEBUT AT STEAM OCEAN FEST RIGHT NOW! Go play the demo and give it a wishlist :) https://store.steampowered.com/app/3770820/Scallywags/ Check out FloWHOA on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flowhoa.inc/

    1h 5m
  4. 13 - Val Hawes of Little Kitty, Big City

    May 11

    13 - Val Hawes of Little Kitty, Big City

    Val Hawes is a 3D character artist, game-maker, and community organizer who embodies the exact kind of grassroots joy in games that Indie Game Garden strives to celebrate. Val specializes in stylized animals and creatures for the games that she works on. She’s been working in the games industry since 2016 and is passionate about game jams. So much so that she’s the chair for RVA Game Jams – Richmond, Virginia’s homegrown game dev community. She hosts a number of free games on her itch.io page and for her day job she works at Double Dagger Studio, the makers of Little Kitty, Big City. Little Kitty, Big City: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1177980/Little_Kitty_Big_City/ Val's game jam games: valociraptor.itch.io

    52 min
  5. 12 - Char Putney of Sparrow Warfare

    May 4

    12 - Char Putney of Sparrow Warfare

    Char Putney is a writer from Dublin, Ireland who is currently based in Copenhagen, Denmark. She has quite possibly the most interesting career path I’ve read about to date, having worked for both Google and Facebook in management positions before deciding to leave those jobs to pursue a more creative lifestyle. Since then, Char has worked on Larian Studios’ Divinity series and Baldur’s Gate 3, wrote the award-winning indie game NUTS, and was Story Lead at Die Gute Fabrik, a Copenhagen-based game design studio. Char has lectured university classes on interactive fiction, RPGs and project management and spoken at a number of game conferences and game jams. When she’s not busy with all this cool stuff, she works as a creative yoga teacher and on her own creative writing projects. What’s more, Char recently cofounded the indie game studio NEON AURELIUS with her partner Martin Pichlmair. They're currently working on their first commercial release. It’s called Sparrow Warfare, a roguelite deckbuilder that features beautiful birds alongside Mahjong-adjacent strategy and lots of very weird stuff. It’s a treat. Just like it’s a treat to be talking to Char today. Go wishlist & pickup & play & review Sparrow Warfare! https://store.steampowered.com/app/3473440/Sparrow_Warfare/Check out Char's website: alphachar.comWatch the Sparrow Warfare documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4ic-Z1-ya0 Char and Mar's card game preservation efforts! https://youtu.be/A_ZmJlrzVnw?si=enhCSg__jjs_QH1TCheck out Oaken Tower: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3692220/Oaken_Tower_Demo/

    1h 11m
  6. 11 - Dustin Andrews of HorrorVale

    Apr 30

    11 - Dustin Andrews of HorrorVale

    Dustin Andrews is the Lead Designer and Artist of HorrorVale, a miraculous and spooky turn-based RPG set in the underworld. The streets are crawling with Vampires, Ghouls, Ghosts, and more, and we’re so excited to have Dustin on for a conversation about horror, JRPGs, and the way pets can inspire creativity. Go buy HorrorVale right dang now :) https://store.steampowered.com/app/1114650/HorrorVale/Check out the HorrorVale website! https://horrorvale.net/about/Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/3GDQJ9D

    1h 6m
  7. 10 - Dylan Smith of Fair Play Collective

    Apr 23

    10 - Dylan Smith of Fair Play Collective

    Dylan Smith founded the Fair Play Collective after being laid off from Epic Games...twice. This experience prompted him to ask the simple yet radical question: what if independent game developers could make a consistent living wage? What if these types of games were patronized by a community of appreciators just like other art forms? We discuss these questions and more on this week's episode.  Check out Fair Play Collective's website! https://fairplaycollective.org/Join Fair Play Collective's discord! https://discord.gg/2yNQVxDxtuRead the "Manifesto" that started it all: https://fairplaycollective.org/manifesto VICE article on FPC: https://www.vice.com/en/article/finally-a-manifesto-i-can-get-behind-the-fair-play-collective-looks-to-give-power-to-players-and-developers/Support the journalist we mentioned in the episode, Shaun Cichacki: https://linktr.ee/shauncichacki

    1h 3m
  8. 9 - John Lansing of Fantasy Football Tactics

    Apr 16

    9 - John Lansing of Fantasy Football Tactics

    John Lansing’s solo development studio is called Eggplant Apps. John stepped away from his job as a staff software engineer at Uber because he had been tinkering with a prototype for a game that he just couldn’t get out of his head. That game, which would combine the classic turn-based tactics of Final Fantasy Tactics with the sport of Football, is called Fantasy Football Tactics – and, friends, it is a banger. The Football in this game is a fusion of the earth sports we know, combined with magical powers and turn-based action that makes the loop of the game feel astounding for sports-inclined nerds like me. It’s an honor to have John on the show to discuss gamemaking, sports, and the elegance of translating feelings into mechanics. Wishlist Fantasy Football Tactics TODAY! https://store.steampowered.com/app/3035460/Fantasy_Football_Tactics/Download and play the OUTSTANDING demo! https://store.steampowered.com/app/3958090/Fantasy_Football_Tactics_Demo/ Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games: https://www.youtube.com/@sora_sakurai_en

    1h 9m
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About

breaking down internet apathy by rooting joy in games – interviews with devs and more ❤︎⁠ available on your podcatcher of choice and here: indiegamegarden.transistor.fm

Information

  • Creator
    Jonny Malks
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    16
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Jonny Malks