indie game garden

18 - Matt Fister (AKA Freezebeam) of Realmfold & Towerbound

Jonny Malks — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 03:00:00 -0700

Matt Fister is an indie game developer based in Boston, Massachusetts. He goes by the tag Freezebeam and is known for creating surreal bitscapes across genres and modes of play in his games. I’m a particular fan of his shmups: Unseelie Chorus and Escape Wizard. His game Towerbound is perhaps the most clever take on tower defense I’ve seen to date, featuring small tweaks to the tried-and-true formula that change the entire flow of the genre in a way that feels fresh. And his newest game is a peaceful city builder called Realmfold. Go play it now!

Play Realmfold and all of Matt's games on his itch page HERE: https://freezebeam.itch.io/

Check out Domino Grove: https://ezra-szanton.itch.io/domino-grove
AND our interview with Domino Grove creator Ezra Szanton here: https://indiegamegarden.transistor.fm/6

Subset Games (creators of Into the Breach and FTL): https://subsetgames.com/
Dorfromantik (video game version): https://store.steampowered.com/app/1455840/Dorfromantik/
Dorfromantik (board game version): https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/370591/dorfromantik-the-board-game
Sol Cesto: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2738490/Sol_Cesto/
Rift Wizard: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1271280/Rift_Wizard/
Path of Achra: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2128270/Path_of_Achra/
Animal Well: https://store.steampowered.com/app/813230/ANIMAL_WELL/
DEMON'S TILT: https://store.steampowered.com/app/422510/DEMONS_TILT/
XENOTILT: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2008980/XENOTILT_HOSTILE_PINBALL_ACTION/

Obsidian (notetaking app): https://obsidian.md/
My silly little game, Harley & Bleak: https://darthmalks.itch.io/harley-bleak

17 - Pete of Chaystar Unlimited, the makers of Asbury Pines

Jonny Malks — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 03:00:00 -0700

Pete is part of a two-person development team called Chaystar Unlimited. They are the developers of Asbury Pines, an expansive, narrative-driven idle game about a small town through the ages. In Asbury Pines, Pete's unique perspective on game design and storytelling comes through in a way that you have to experience to believe. Join us for a conversation about games writing, making independent projects, and the joy that can stem from treating characters with care.

Go buy Asbury Pines! It's AMAZING: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2212790/Asbury_Pines/
Check out Chaystar's other game, Lilith Odyssey: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1450800/Lilith_Odyssey/

Join the Asbury Pines Discord and follow along with Pete's development journey: https://discord.com/invite/thyYmrT
Flink Pamingo on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/flinkpamingo
Chaystar's early webcomic, SEa DoPe! https://www.moddb.com/games/sea-dope

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

Jonny Malks — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 03:00:00 -0700

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/

15 - Nic Tringali of Amberspire

Jonny Malks — Mon, 25 May 2026 03:00:00 -0700

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 :(

14 - Allen Goode of FloWHOA, the makers of Scallywags

Jonny Malks — Mon, 18 May 2026 03:00:00 -0700

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/

13 - Val Hawes of Little Kitty, Big City

Jonny Malks — Mon, 11 May 2026 03:00:00 -0700

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

12 - Char Putney of Sparrow Warfare

Jonny Malks — Mon, 04 May 2026 03:00:00 -0700

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.com
Watch 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_QH1T
Check out Oaken Tower: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3692220/Oaken_Tower_Demo/

11 - Dustin Andrews of HorrorVale

Jonny Malks — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 03:00:00 -0700

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

10 - Dylan Smith of Fair Play Collective

Jonny Malks — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 03:00:00 -0700

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/2yNQVxDxtu
Read 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

9 - John Lansing of Fantasy Football Tactics

Jonny Malks — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 03:00:00 -0700

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

8 - Jeremy Jackson of Star Spark

Jonny Malks — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 15:00:00 -0700

Jeremy Jackson’s game development process is all about joy and flow. His solo dev studio is aptly named JoyFlow Games, and he’s currently all in on making STAR SPARK, an anime tournament roguelite in which powerful characters unleash devastating combos and collect skills to topple their opponents in a series of turn-based battles. In STAR SPARK, Jeremy combines the mechanics of fighting games, roguelites, and JRPGs to create a product that is as engaging as it is unique. Beyond this commercial release, one glance at Jeremy’s itch.io page (jeremyjackson89.itch.io) shows how much whimsy and joy he brings to game development and collaboration with his peers. It’s such an honor to have Jeremy on the show today.

GO WISHLIST STAR SPARK! https://store.steampowered.com/app/3639950/Star_Spark/

dbz legendary super warriors longplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cs48C67I81g
the game developer community Jeremy mentions: www.devpods.gg

7 - Ryan Marr of FloWHOA, the makers of Scallywags

Jonny Malks — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 03:00:00 -0700

Ryan Marr is a founding member 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. Ryan helped found FloWHOA in 2023, alongside Allen Goode and Mike Schmalz. Before that, Ryan spent over 15 years at Digital Extremes, working his way through QA, QA management, System Design, and consulting. During that stint, he worked on games like Bioshock 2 and Warframe. In his spare time, Ryan is a hobbyist developer who has created hundreds of prototypes over the years. He’s also released some solo mobile games about goats. Ryan is a self-taught engineer and passionate creative. He embodies the values we love to celebrate here on Indie Game Garden by letting his joy and creativity blossom from his professional work all the way through to his family life. He even wrote a kid’s book and makes tabletop RPGs to play with his kids.

WISHLIST SCALLYWAGS!! https://store.steampowered.com/app/3770820/Scallywags/
Check out FloWHOA's Instagram for updates: https://www.instagram.com/flowhoa.inc/ (@flowhoa.inc)

Read Jason Schreier's book... https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/press-reset-jason-schreier/1137602697
Derek Yu and Klik & Play: http://gamemaker.io/en/blog/derek-yu-gm25
play domino grove... https://ezra-szanton.itch.io/domino-grove

6 - Ezra Szanton of Mr. Magpie's Harmless Card Game

Jonny Malks — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 03:00:00 -0700

Ezra Szanton is a joy to speak to. A game developer with a clear vision for elegant systems and the joy within them, Ezra is currently making Mr. Magpie's Harmless Card Game. It's a Minesweeper-esque horror rogue-like where you sit across the table from an office mascot that will kill you if you don’t fulfill your quota in the allotted time. I saw Ezra himself pitch the game on Bluesky as “Severance meets Inscryption.”

Please support Ezra and his games. He's one of the most insightful folks I've spoken with for the show to date and a true gem of a human.

Wishlist Mr. Magpie on Steam! https://store.steampowered.com/app/3616280/Mr_Magpies_Harmless_Card_Game/
Ezra's itch.io page! https://ezra-szanton.itch.io/

The Frank Lantz talk Ezra references: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioSqEyZPkfs
Retromine: https://cicidigital.itch.io/retromine
Royals: https://ashervo.itch.io/royals
Holder of Place: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3464970/Holder_of_Place/
UFO 50: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1147860/UFO_50/

5 - Rory Kelly of FoxHaunt

Jonny Malks — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 03:00:00 -0700

Rory Kelly joins the show to talk about his recent Steam release, FoxHaunt! Rory is an independent game developer based in Tokyo. A self-described “Irish transplant,” Rory has been living in Japan for almost 9 years. FoxHaunt endeavors to distill the JRPG formula down to its core elements while combining concise turn-based combat with knowledge checks.

In addition to video games, Rory and Jonny discuss taking strolls through the city, vocaloid music, and the importance of community when making a thing. Don't miss this conversation! AND pick up FoxHaunt on Steam today: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4088140/FoxHaunt

4 - Cyryl Szmit of Monasterium

Jonny Malks — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 03:00:00 -0700

Cyryl Szmit is a generous and creative game developer based in Poland. He’s in the process of developing Monasterium, a game which he describes as a cozy building/life sim where you craft a monastery and manage its inhabitants. He also works for Monster Couch, the company behind the digitization of the hit board game Wingspan.

To follow along with Monasterium's development, join the Discord! https://discord.gg/tZnYCQRnbV
To check out Cyryl's solo dev studio, head on over to his website: https://4fs.dev

3 - Pierce Papke of Darkway: Murder of King Mere

Jonny Malks — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 03:00:00 -0800

Pierce Papke is an abundantly creative individual. He’s a visual artist first and foremost whose game making and storytelling chops show through in all he touches. I was first introduced to his work via an Instagram reel describing how his partner, Greta, supported him in 2025 while he was making his atmospheric detective game Murder of King Mere. There's a distinct vision and deep worldbuilding threaded throughout the game that I felt a distinct kinship with.

Pierce updates Murder of King Mere regularly while working on other projects in the Darkway world, including a graphic novel and a full-length piece of written fiction. He is also working on a trail running game called ULTRA. You can keep up with these wonderful projects and more by visiting his website at ekpap.com – find him on Instagram @ekpap :)

2 - Etienne Pouvreau of Smolware

Jonny Malks — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 11:31:57 -0800

Etienne Pouvreau is an independent game developer in France. He is the force behind the solo studio known as SMOLWARE and the engine he built from scratch which he calls SMOL. An aficionado for building elegant twists into the classics, some of Etienne’s standout games are SNOPE, an itch.io release in which he combines Snake with rope mechanics controlled by a mouse, and Sweepminer. Sweepminer is Etienne’s first Steam release. It’s a collection of 7 bite-sized Minesweeper-inspired games.

The world needs more devs like Etienne who are confident enough to iterate on the classics while expressing the joy of games with small strokes. You can check out his work at smolware.itch.io and smolware.dev – be sure that you do. He's a gem, and so are his games.

1 - Jakob Wahlberg of Steam World Heist and Go Mecha Ball

Jonny Malks — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 11:28:42 -0800

Our first interview is with Jakob Wahlberg, art lead on Steam World Heist and developer of Go Mecha Ball. We discuss the Swedish game scene, the downfall of Image & Form (the studio behind the Steam World series), and the importance of developing games from the heart.

If you're enjoying the show, let us know! We're @indiegamegarden on Instagram and Youtube, and our email is indiegamegarden@gmail.com. We'd love to hear from you :)