In this episode, I spent some time with Sean Menzies, founder of Golden Horde Studios, who's working on a cosy sim / resource management game called Shoni Island. Our chat covered anything from the state of industry to the legacy of legendary god game Black & White, and I enjoyed every minute of it! Hope you like it! 🎒💛

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Support Sean 🎒💛

- Website
- Steam
- Discord
- LinkedIn

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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

New format, new questions, new show! The first episode I recorded in 2025 had to be something special – so welcome to the official start of Season 3 of The Indie Diarist!

In this one, I welcomed Ahmed from Lunar Games, a good old friend of the show who's working on a puzzle adventure game called My Father Lied.

As we journeyed through a revamped intro section and a whole new set of questions for his Indie Diary, Ahmed discussed his love for storytelling and the importance of creating positive stories for audiences all around the world, chasing his dream to defy misconceptions around his culture – the cradle of civilisation: Iraq and Mesopotamia.

Hope you enjoy! 🎒💛

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Support Ahmed 🎒💛

Wishlist My Father Lied: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2488850/MY_FATHER_LIED/

Twitter: https://x.com/lunargamesUruk

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lunargames.sumeria/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lunargames.assyria

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/lunargamesuruk.bsky.social

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LunarGamesBabylon

Discord: https://discord.com/invite/83DqsNhBE7

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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 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! 🎒💛

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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/

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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!

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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

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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!

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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

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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! 🎒💛

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Support Robby / Pirate PR 🎒💛

- Website: https://piratepr.com

- Treasure Trove: https://piratepr.com/treasure-trove/

- Twitter: https://x.com/pr_pirate

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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! 🎒💛

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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

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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! 🎒💛

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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/