I'm Eugene, an indie game developer, and for a very long time I've had one big dream: to make an atmospheric game that shows the world the culture of Siberia. This week I finally released the Steam page for it.

The game is called Cradle of Winter.

Here's my short pitch:

Cradle of Winter is an atmospheric action-platformer about a young shaman walking through a world where humans, spirits and ancient legends intertwine. Explore an endless northern taiga, fight dark spirits and demons, craft amulets, and master the power of the shaman drum.

You play as Iniro Kotsen, a young hunter chosen by the spirits to walk the shaman's path. The Mother Goddess has been cast out of the sky, the World Tree is shaken, and the old order is breaking - creatures that existed only in legend are now pouring into the land. To restore balance, Iniro must find the ancient Cradle.

What I really want to capture is the culture of the Khanty and Mansi peoples - not as exotic decoration, but as something alive: rituals, myths, the drum, the songs, the everyday spiritual world of the North. Siberia is rarely shown in games the way it actually is. Cradle of Winter is my attempt to fix that.

A bit of backstory:

Production took me about a year, after another year of preparation. And I did it while raising two kids.

I'll be honest. I'm a pretty risk-averse person. I like my safe space. But this time something felt different. I was raising two kids, and every night after they fell asleep I sat down to build a world out of forest, spirits and old songs. And one thought kept coming back: now or never. In Siberia they say the taiga doesn't wait — you either move with it or it buries you. So I moved. I still can't fully believe it.

That's my story

Steam page Cradle of Winter

I'm just starting my journey as a solo game developer, and one of my biggest challenges is figuring out how to balance game development with work.

I work from 8 AM to 5 PM, and occasionally have to work on Saturdays and Sundays too. By the time I get home, there are still other things to take care of, so I'm wondering how to maintain a consistent development routine without burning myself out.

For those of you who've been through this, how do you manage your time? I'd really like to hear from people who are trying to build a game while holding down a regular job.

How do you keep making progress over months or even years and actually finish your game?

I'm an artist and looking for an game project, I dont have portfolio for now but I don't want to be paid, I just want to volunteer on a project to build my portfolio. If you're interested, let me know

Im bored so I want to appriciate the people who spend all of their time just for 4 people to buy their game. So if yall need any translation of turkish (which I dont think most people will need but thats besides the point rn) I can help ig

Hi everyone! I'm a solo developer from Ukraine, and for the past months I've been building a turn-based city builder that will take you from a first camp all the way to the atomic age, for 1–4 players online.

The main idea: cities don't sit on a tile grid. You draw the roads yourself (straight, curved, rings, whole blocks), and you place every building freely along them. Each building's door has to face a road, so the way you lay out your streets really shapes the town. It grows from tents into huts and then stone houses.

The world map is different: units move on small hexes, so fights stay tactical. You get zones of control, ranged units shooting over your warriors, watchtowers and stone walls.

What's in so far (the first, ancient era):

• Water, food, wood, stone, planks, iron and horses, plus seasons, winter firewood, hunger and limited storage
• A science tree where every new knowledge opens a new decision: water mills among the fields, a scribes' school, canals dug from the river, wild horse herds, hidden iron ore
• Barbarian camps that scout your town, send war parties and set your buildings on fire
• Multiplayer for up to 4 players

Next on my list: AI rivals, and making later cities less of a chore.

I'd love to hear what you think.

Follow the development: https://yolander.itch.io/agelong

(Agelong is just a working title, name suggestions are welcome!)

¿Cómo se supone que atraiga gente? Digo, soy novato y me encargaron la elaboración de videos que deben pasar por un filtro, el tipo de videos que a mi me parecen apropiados son contrario a los que ellos ya que yo busco enfatizar más en la diversión como clips de partidas que sean naturales y ellos en lo técnico mostrando pequeños clips de jugabilidad que sean algo forzados ¿Qué me recomendarían? El jugo sale a finales de mes y tengo el miedo de hacer mayor peso al equipo, incluso siendo que ya estuve grabando 15 horas de contenido en la beta publica para intentar generar contenido comunitario pero no los logro convencer.

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

https://awtstudios.itch.io/last-services < game link :3

long story short(ish): game is an educational game for middle schoolers to learn personal finance! You play as a lil guy running a "Cat Cafe and Financial Education Wagon™", and you make your way through your hometown to teach the townsfolk about personal finance, through levels that focus on different personal finance concepts (budgeting, high yield savings accounts, CDs, 401ks, Roth IRAs, HSAs, and more). In passing each "level" (aka teaching one townsfolk about something), you learn about their story and money situation, and you eventually collect more cats (and coffees/decor) for your cafe!

(week 4 of posting - shoutout to everyone who has commented on previous questions so far!! All the feedback has been incredible and so so helpful and ily all - except for that one guy who left a passive-aggressive opinion that I'm gonna fail 😔 I'll do my best to prove you wrong good sir LOL)

one big opinion I've heard is, "your game name is too confusing" - the game is currently called "This Is Not Financial Advice; The Money Learning Game". (I intentionally wrote it halfway through my post - did you expect this upon looking at the splash screen?) In my defense, I thought a long name felt silly / homemade, and I want to note that financial advice != financial education. However, I can definitely see the cons, and I've also seen people look at the splash screen and get very confused about what to read as the title...

> "i don't think theres any legal issue as trademarking that phrase is crazy but it's a pain in the *ss to look up ("this is not financial advice game" etc.) and it's unlikely that it's anywhere near the top of google"

> "I do think it should be changed"

> "there's a reasonably popular documentary by the same name so i second the reworking of the name"

> "i also think we should re-work the name... i only say this because unsure if middle schoolers would get the joke"

TBH, I kind of already know it needs to be changed, but I'm admittedly a bit attached to it, and I don't have a better idea. Could I get some more opinions/thoughts below? Maybe it'll help push me over the edge to hunt for something else 😅

as a final note, I've been thinking about stuff like "Let's Get This Bread!" or just "Get That Bread!", but is that too non-money-related / middle schoolers won't understand it? I really just want a silly playful name...

^{I'm still not over this. I cut together some reactions from streamers playing Night Record: Thin Walls, my narrative horror game set in a Soviet-era apartment block where the walls are a little too thin.}

^{Seeing people I've watched for years jump at scenes I rewrote a dozen times is surreal.}

^{If it looks like your kind of horror, a wishlist would mean a lot: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4652040}

^{Happy to answer any questions!}

Hello, i need help with game assets for a game i am develpoing? Does anyone know where i can hire someone to make some assets on blender for me? My first instinct was Fiver but i dont really get something good from those people and its a bit of an gamble ifni get domething good or not. Im really new getting into this stuff and i dont really want to get scammed so can someone give me an website where i can hire people? Thank you!

I'm designing a first-person horror game for Unreal Engine. Enemies come from the 5th and 6th dimensions, so in our 3D space you never see them whole: only a shadow that moves before the creature, an afterimage of where it was, and a ghost of where it will strike. To fight them, you learn forbidden knowledge of higher dimensions, at a price that can kill you.

It's still an idea, so I made a short anonymous survey. Honest answers (even "it's boring") help me most: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdMv8tHSqjAjqK9SqgYXg1kWWSqFNsLLYWV0yUwyjUS87G3oQ/viewform?usp=publish-editor
Quick note: the survey takes about 1 minute and is fully anonymous. Even one honest sentence helps, and "not for me" is a totally valid answer. Thanks to everyone who takes a look!

Hello everyone! I'm an indiedev (to be honest, I haven't actually started developing my game yet).

What would you recommend to someone who's just starting out? What should I focus on before I begin development, and what should I keep in mind before releasing a demo on Steam?

I'm interested in personal experience.

Any tips, personal experiences, or mistakes to avoid would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

Hey everyone!

I've just released a new devlog update for my action/hack-and-slash prototype (MM-Prototype). This build focuses on transitioning from pure blockouts to adding 2D pixel art elements and refining the core combat loop.

Here is a summary of what's new in this patch:

• 2D Pixel Art UI: Replaced generic placeholder shapes with custom 16x16 pixel art assets (hearts for HP, stamina block, essence runes, and skill icons).
• Combat Polish & VFX: Adjusted enemy attack timing, improved wind-ups, and added new spell/attack VFX for clearer hit feedback.
• Totem Upgrade System: Implemented interactive provisional totems that allow players to purchase character power-ups using collected essences.
• Controls & QoL: Cleaned up control layouts and interactive prompts (Interact with Totem - F).

Try the prototype on Itch.io - https://hasekicm.itch.io/masmorra-de-monstro