8 months after launching Star Spark's Steam page, the game now has 633 wishlists, +25 from last month. Marketing was limited to posting on Bluesky and Mastodon using the #WishlistWednesday and #ScreenshotSaturday tags, and then sharing those posts on Discord. #GameDev #GameMarketing #Steam 1/4

This week on Indie Game Garden, I speak with the outstanding Nigerian developer @theferfactor.bsky.social about his action delivery rogue-like TOSSDOWN (published by @playacclaim.bsky.social). YouTube: youtu.be/c86P2gAJHQM?... Audio: indiegamegarden.transistor.fm/19 Be there or be square!

And if you don’t wanna take it from me, here’s Freezy in his own words. Thank you so much, Matt!!

This week on Indie Game Garden, I interview @freezebeam.bsky.social! We have a lovely chat about feedback, the craft, and making games for yourself and the community. It’s not to be missed! YouTube: youtu.be/fxcF2WsY7TQ?... Audio: indiegamegarden.transistor.fm

Drew this lil person today. Feeling proud and inspired by all my game folks on here!

This week I got all of the new events in game. So far they're working as expected, but I'll have a Steam playtest soon 😉 There's one last event battle that's still a WIP, but won't get done today b/c of some family stuff, so here's a preview of it. #GameDev #ScreenshotSaturday #Godot #StarSpark

What a day to kick off the world cup and the Steam #FootballFiesta event! 🧙🏻‍♂️ Fantasy Football Tactics is participating alongside loads of other amazing soccer games, demos and discounts! ⚽️ Check it out here: store.steampowered.com/sale/footbal...

I always have kind of mixed feelings about framings of the indie scene as like, a sort of artistic paradise or a thing that is free of the constraints of capitalism. I feel like it's a framing that feels more based in the illusions of indie game the movie et al than it's ever felt based in reality

This week on Indie Game Garden, I interview Pete of @chaystarunlimited.bsky.social, the makers of Asbury Pines. It’s a super insightful chat about video game writing. You won’t want to miss it! YouTube: youtu.be/aDmq9fZVlvQ?... Audio: indiegamegarden.transistor.fm/13

New video out on YouTube! Talking about my latest small game release, and what I learned from it. youtu.be/o9WUVnj02QM

Wishlist Jeremy’s game what a legend

John is dopeeeee check out this cool game

I made a splash screen, so here's a clip of the game booting up followed by Serj kicking a bot 💥 In Star Spark you battle your way through a tournament using timed combos and a deck of attack, defense, and support actions. Steam page: s.team/a/3639950 #GameDev #IndieGame #WishlistWednesday #Godot

@rap2h.bsky.social hey Raph! I love heroes of the seven islands and would love to have you on my podcast, indie game garden, to talk about it and your game dev process. Any interest?

Lage is a great human. Play his game! It’s a joy.

I had the absolute pleasure of interviewing one of my favorite devs in the indie space this week for my podcast. @dave.powerhoof.com is a stellar game maker, and the art he brings into the world is top-knotch. Thanks, Dave! audio: indiegamegarden.transistor.fm/16 yt: youtu.be/E4TIg1L6FoE?...

Hi my lovely game folks! Do you make video games? Do you know cool people who make video games? I’m currently looking for another round of guests to interview on my podcast Indie Game Garden. Hit me up if you have leads!

I’ve been looking for more indie dev interview podcasts, and I found Indie Game Garden by @darthmalks.bsky.social! I’m really enjoying it! Very insightful questions and interesting guests. Big recommend if you need something to listen to! indiegamegarden.transistor.fm

We interviewed Nic Tringali, the creator of Amberspire, a dice-based indie city builder 🐦‍🔥 #indiedev yt: youtu.be/FPI4JOZA8qw?... audio: indiegamegarden.transistor.fm/15

I interviewed Allen Goode, the lead behind Scallywags. The Scallywags demo is out on Steam as of TODAY. Great op to play and listen along. Audio: indiegamegarden.transistor.fm YouTube: youtu.be/BBZr6sFTKsc?... Demo: store.steampowered.com/app/4553790/...

This week on Indie Game Garden, I interview the indomitable @valociraptor-art.bsky.social about 3D Art, game jams, and the importance of community in game development. Don’t miss it!! audio: indiegamegarden.transistor.fm yt: youtu.be/yUmhR0YChk4?...

The best folks!! Have a listen :)

New interview this morning! I chat with @alphachar.bsky.social over at NEON AURELIUS, the two-person team behind your new favorite deckbuilder, Sparrow Warfare. check it out as a part of the Steam Deckbuilders fest that starts TODAY! audio: indiegamegarden.transistor.fm yt: youtu.be/2bJlJdr78lM?...

@flatfootsandfools.bsky.social I love what y'all are doing! Would you want to do some cross-promo? Maybe like half an episode on Indie Game Garden and half an episode on Flatfoots? Could be fun :)

@bushmonkey.bsky.social hey there! i love red pearls. would you wanna join me for an interview on my podcast?

Also got a new article published in Nintendo Life today about retro game stores in Madrid! Writing about games rules. Wish it was a viable job still… www.nintendolife.com/guides/shopp...

i made a little browser-based twine game last week. if anyone wants to play the draft and help me with typos/tweaks, it would mean a lot! darthmalks.itch.io/harley-bleak

Last bit of news for today is that Indie Game Garden is going to shift to a Monday release schedule. Hoping to bring more joy to folks at the start of their week. Sending love! Thanks for reading and listening along ❤︎

Also, my partner Jamie and I talked about grief, reflection, and emotional resonance in games on the podcast we do together. It's called Gamejoy, and you can listen wherever you get pods. YouTube: youtu.be/8HFa5CAGTxs?...

This week on Indie Game Garden, I interviewed Dustin Andrews, the creator of HorrorVale – a hidden cozy horror RPG gem! Thank you so much for listening and sharing :) audio: indiegamegarden.transistor.fm YouTube: youtu.be/Uvv3y_f3zL0?...

This is really freaking cool

It was an absolute blast talking to Jonny!

This week on Indie Game Garden I spoke with @ultamaynard.bsky.social about Fair Play Collective. If you want to hear fascinating insights into how your favorite indie games might get funded in the future, you shouldn't miss it. Audio: indiegamegarden.transistor.fm YouTube: youtu.be/dZElMSOvl3k?...

someone out there has a janus films tattoo, and i have a sneaking suspicion it's @plante.bsky.social

Elle is so super talented check this shit out wow

Hopefully these monthly posts about wishlist numbers, marketing, and progress are somewhat insightful 🙇‍♂️ Star Spark on Steam: 🌟 store.steampowered.com/app/3639950/... @darthmalks.bsky.social's Indie Game Garden podcast: 🎧 www.youtube.com/@indiegamega... 🧵 4/4

The #StarSpark Steam page went live 6 months ago and the game now has 573 wishlists, +12 from last month. Marketing was limited to posts on here, Mastodon, and Discord. The podcast interview I did with @darthmalks.bsky.social also went live during this period. #GameDev #IndieGameDev #Steam 🧵 1/4

This week, Indie Game Garden features one of my favorite conversations yet. @jlansing19.bsky.social joins me to discuss his game, Fantasy Football Tactics. John is a game dev beast and all around great human. Don’t miss it! Audio: indiegamegarden.transistor.fm YT: youtu.be/YdfbAQdIDZ4?...

There should be a new episode of the Indie Game Garden podcast out in a day or two, so I'm gonna share the episode I was on one more time 🙂 You can listen here: 🎙️ www.youtube.com/watch?v=q75-... And you can wishlist Star Spark on Steam: 🌟 s.team/a/3639950 #GameDev #IndieGame #WishlistWednesday

I think nearly every ‘Japan is so great’ cliche can be boiled down to the fact that every business/service hires many more than the bare minimum number of workers possible.

I had the wonderful @jeremyjackson.bsky.social on Indie Game Garden this week for a conversation about his new anime battle rogue-lite Star Spark and the way Dragon Ball can inspire us. Give it a listen! Audio: indiegamegarden.transistor.fm YouTube: youtu.be/q75-F3P8iqs?...

This week on Indie Game Garden, I interview Ryan Marr, a founding member of FloWHOA, the small studio currently working on Scallywags, a swashbuckling (and tactical) pirate roguelite. Go support Ryan and give us a listen! Audio: indiegamegarden.transistor.fm YouTube: youtu.be/PQpcKsMLB58?...

my life story

This week on Indie Game Garden, I interviewed @ezra-szanton.itch.io, the brilliant dev behind Mr. Magpie’s Harmless Card Game and my favorite puzzle game, Domino Grove. Check out the full episode here: indiegamegarden.transistor.fm And the YouTube version here: youtu.be/cz_PftBvbu0?...

I interviewed a fascinating Irish transplant living in Tokyo. Rory Kelly is the solo dev behind FoxHaunt. It’s a compressed take on the JRPG, and it was an honor to talk to Rory about his process. Go check out the interview! Audio: indiegamegarden.transistor.fm Video: youtu.be/R9JVrZO0Eq8?...

this small piece of diegetic dialogue is but one of the many reasons why @jlansing19.bsky.social's fantasy football tactics demo absolutely slaps. thanks, john, for this gem. can't wait to play the full thing!

playing sparrow warfare with the snow outside is quite a vibe

damn this game is stylish @alphachar.bsky.social

This was on Indie Game Garden! Look out for the Star Spark episode coming early April :)

It’s 🐝 yourself Friday don’t forget to 🐝 yourself today