The Indie Diarist

Itching to make a cool game late this year? Seasoned developer or complete newbie, this might be a good chance to do something special for it! To celebrate episode 100, I'm hosting the Meaningful Games Jam 2026. It's a jam to make a game that means something to you!
Listen to this episode to learn about all the rules and details, or skip to the good stuff with the links below. 🎒💛
Check out the Meaningful Games Jam 2026: https://itch.io/jam/meaningful-games-jam-2026
Join the Discord server to vote the theme with us: https://discord.com/invite/J84aPfSSvj
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Support the show 🎒💛
Become a Patron: https://patreon.com/theindiediaristYouTube: https://youtube.com/@TheIndieDiaristTwitch: https://twitch.tv/theindiediarist⁠TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@theindiediaristThreads: https://threads.net/@theindiediaristTwitter: https://twitter.com/theindiediarist⁠

Game development is a journey of passion, persistence, and often a little bit of sweat and tears. In this episode, I spent some time with Pippo and Alex from Cobalt Lane, a small development studio currently working on narrative gem Imprinted. If you're into David Lynch and obscure vintage references, this episode is for you!
We're going to have a dev commentary livestream with these two lovely peeps on Discord soon, so make sure to join the community from the links below!
Enjoy! 🎒💛
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Support Alex & Pippo 🎒💛
- Wishlist Imprinted: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3980340/Imprinted/
- Social links: https://linktr.ee/cobaltlanegames
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Support the show 🎒💛
Join the community: https://discord.com/invite/J84aPfSSvjBecome a Patron: https://patreon.com/theindiediaristYouTube: https://youtube.com/@TheIndieDiaristTwitch: https://twitch.tv/theindiediarist⁠TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@theindiediaristThreads: https://threads.net/@theindiediaristTwitter: https://twitter.com/theindiediarist⁠

Can a childhood visit to a dentist’s office game plant the seed for a lifelong journey into game design? Well, you're about to find out!
Most game developers have a secret weapon for turning mundane ideas into deeply compelling experiences. AP Thompson (the Brooklyn-based solo dev behind Titanium Court) discusses that hidden magic in this episode, revealing how a tiny spark of curiosity transformed into a narrative-driven masterpiece. Enjoy! 🎒💛
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Join the Meaningful Games Jam to celebrate Episode 100! 🎒💛
-> https://itch.io/jam/meaningful-games-jam-2026
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Support AP 🎒💛
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/apthomson.bsky.social

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2364580/Titanium_Court/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2359120/Consume_Me/
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Support the show 🎒💛
Join the community: https://discord.com/invite/J84aPfSSvjBecome a Patron: https://patreon.com/theindiediaristYouTube: https://youtube.com/@TheIndieDiaristTwitch: https://twitch.tv/theindiediarist⁠TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@theindiediaristThreads: https://threads.net/@theindiediaristTwitter: https://twitter.com/theindiediarist⁠

In this episode I spent some time with Fred Hoffman, art director and co-founder of Newfangled Games – the studio behind an award-winning little puzzle game gem called Paper Trail!
This was my first time exclusively hosting an art director on an episode and all it told me is that I should definitely do it more! You will notice the questions are a little different which should help keep things fresh. Enjoy! 🎒💛
Support Fred and his team 🎒💛
Buy Paper Trail: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1889740/Paper_Trail/

Fred's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fredthegremlin/

Newfangled Twitter: https://x.com/NewfangledGames

Newfangled Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/newfangledgames/?hl=en

Newfangled website: https://www.papertrailgame.com/

Support the show 🎒💛
Join the community: https://discord.com/invite/J84aPfSSvj

Become a Patron: https://patreon.com/theindiediarist

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@TheIndieDiarist

Twitch: https://twitch.tv/theindiediarist⁠

TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@theindiediarist

Threads: https://threads.net/@theindiediarist

Twitter: https://twitter.com/theindiediarist⁠

DISCLAIMER + APOLOGY: Audio issues on my track :( but Liza and Igor sound great!
In this episode, I spent some time with the SHARQ IT Labs team, the developers behind action-roguelike Ritualist, to talk about their unconventional paths into game development and how their backgrounds merged to found their incredibly passion-led studio. Enjoy! 🎒💛
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Support Liza & Igor 🎒💛
- Ritualist on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3179460/Ritualist/#app_reviews_hash
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Support the show 🎒💛
Join the community: https://discord.com/invite/J84aPfSSvjBecome a Patron: https://patreon.com/theindiediaristYouTube: https://youtube.com/@TheIndieDiaristTwitch: https://twitch.tv/theindiediarist⁠TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@theindiediaristThreads: https://threads.net/@theindiediaristTwitter: https://twitter.com/theindiediarist⁠