indie game garden

breaking down internet apathy by rooting joy in games – interviews with devs and more ❤︎⁠available on your podcatcher of choice and here: indiegamegarden.transistor.fm

indie game garden is a leisure podcast hosted by Jonny Malks, with 32 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Jonny Malks hosts indie game garden, a leisure show with 32 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

• 

  Episode #33

  33 - Henning Ludvigsen & Ricki Sickenger of Badger Punch Games

  Sep 28, 20261h 15m

  Badger Punch Games was founded by Ricki Sickenger and Henning Ludvigsen back in 2011. Both Ricki and Henning are Norwegian game developer veterans and have worked and had fun together since they met in the Amiga Demo scene way back in 1993. Now they are creating games they love for the retro platforms they grew up with, like the Commodore 64 and Amiga line of computers. They also make modern games, but always with a retro foundation and their own passion and love for the interactive experiences that have been with them throughout their lives. It’s such an honor to have Ricki and Henning on the show today to discuss their newest game, Roguecraft – a turn-based roguelike dungeon crawler with elements of Lovecraftian horror that they first made to run natively on the Amiga and is now getting a Steam release. We’ll also hear more about their origins in games and their longtime collaboration that has become Badger Punch. Check out the Roguecraft DX Steam page! https://store.steampowered.com/app/3674680/Roguecraft_DX/ Find the rest of Ricki and Henning's collaborative work on the Badger Punch website: https://www.badgerpunch.com/ And follow them on socials :) https://x.com/badgerpunch https://bsky.app/profile/badgerpunch.com https://www.facebook.com/badgerpunch/ https://www.threads.com/@badgerpunchgames https://www.instagram.com/badgerpunchgames/

  Listen
• 

  Episode #32

  32 - Scott Christian of Curse of Resthaven & Lil' Guardsman

  Sep 21, 20261h 5m

  Before Scott Christian was making games, he helped bring musical theater productions to life. A composer, pianist, conductor and musical director, Scott built a career across the Canadian performing-arts scene, with credits ranging from Once, Shrek and The Addams Family to original musical theater and work in composition for stage, film and other media. He also trained in piano and composition at the University of Toronto and York University. When the pandemic brought live performance to a standstill, Scott took the opportunity to help found Hilltop Studios. Hilltop’s first game, Lil’ Guardsman, is an award-winning, character-driven comedy built around Scott’s writing and music. Now, with Curse of Resthaven, Scott has taken Hilltop in almost the opposite direction: from bright fantasy comedy into gothic horror, while taking on the roles of studio director, narrative designer, and composer. It’s such an honor to have Scott join me for a conversation today! Wishlist Curse of Resthaven right freaking now!! https://store.steampowered.com/app/3796150/Curse_of_Resthaven/ And play the demo for free: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4661280/Curse_of_Resthaven_Demo/ Find all the other cool stuff Scott and team are up to at their website: https://www.hilltop.so/

  Listen
• 

  Episode #31

  31 - Yann Margan of Goloso Games – Inspector Waffles & Chance's Lucky Escape

  Sep 14, 20261h 7m

  Yann Margan, who is also known by his solo development studio name–Goloso Games– is an independent game developer from France who focuses on making narrative adventure games. His most recognizable character in this genre is Inspector Waffles, a hardboiled cat detective whose games feature creative puzzles, accessible clue-finding missions, and plenty of feline puns. Yann has also expanded the Inspector Waffles universe and genre style over the years, creating Inspector Waffles Early Days (an original GameBoy Color game which tells a prequel story featuring the intrepid detective), Spike II (on Panic’s handheld Playdate console), Chance’s Lucky Escape (another Playdate game), and Waffles’ Cranked Stories (coming soon to Steam). It’s an honor to welcome such an innovative artist onto the show today. WISHLIST Antenna Dilemma: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3853730/Antenna_Dilemma/ WISHLIST Waffles' Cranked Stories: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4018520/Waffles_Cranked_Stories/ Inspector Waffles! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1055850/Inspector_Waffles/ Inspector Waffles: Early Days https://store.steampowered.com/app/2614580/Inspector_Waffles_Early_Days/ Yann's Playdate Games! https://play.date/games/studios/com.golosogames/ Visit the Goloso Games website to keep up with Yann's great work :) https://www.golosogames.com/ Follow Yann on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/golosogames/ & Bluesky! https://bsky.app/profile/golosogames.bsky.social

  Listen
• 

  Episode #30

  30 - Mike Bithell of Bithell Games, maker of the upcoming Vampirium: 1997

  Sep 7, 20261h 9m

  Mike Bithell is an independent gamemaking titan who I am absolutely honored to get to talk to today. In 2010, he created the prototype for his breakout game, Thomas Was Alone, which saw a commercial release in 2012. Thomas is my favorite PS Vita game that I still play to this day, a graphically simple and philosophically layered platformer that shows what indie video games can be. When Thomas took off, Mike founded his own studio, Bithell Games, and has been making stellar games ever since. Some of his more recent games that strike a particular chord with me are The Solitaire Conspiracy–a supercharged take on classic Solitaire featuring a narrative of near-future espionage–and John Wick Hex–an outrageously stylish, action-oriented strategy game that was created in close collaboration with the creative teams behind the films. Mike is on today to discuss the announcement of his newest project Vampirium: 1997 and chat with me about his life and work. WISHLIST VAMPIRIUM: 1997 – https://store.steampowered.com/app/4035190/Vampirium_1997/ Find all of Mike's important links: https://linktr.ee/bithellgames Sign up for the mailing list to read the novela! https://mailchi.mp/bithellgames/thenextgame Read the back issues of Mike's novella set in the Vampirium universe: https://www.bithellgames.com/thelastportrait North Star Rising, Mike's radio play: https://www.northstarcrew.com/ For all your other Bithell games needs, visit their site! https://www.bithellgames.com/

  Listen
• 

  Episode #33

  29 - Doot of Froggy’s Battle, Minami Lane, Kabuto Park, and Milki Delivery

  Aug 31, 202653 min

  Doot is an indie game dev working on small cute games. He and his partner Blibloop are the developers behind Froggy’s Battle, Minami Lane, Kabuto Park, and the upcoming Milki Delivery, in addition to many more freeware games. In Milki Delivery, the player is tasked with rebuilding a community alongside their pet cow Milki. To do so, players will gather resources and upgrade their barn, then bike along dirt paths, breezy meadows, and seaside cliffs to bring fresh milk back to the sleepy countryside. This kind of lyrical, cozy description only begins to describe Doot’s delightful style, a mixture of message-driven cuteness and mechanical delight that filters throughout all the interactive experiences that he makes. It’s such a joy to have him on the show today! WISHLIST Milki Delivery on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4259360/Milki_Delivery/ Check out the rest of Doot's commercial catalogue: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44914288 And links to everything else you can imagine: https://linktr.ee/dodoot

  Listen

Recent guests on indie game garden. Study who booked and why before you pitch.

Based on semantic analysis of episode topics and host coverage, this show is a strong guest fit for executives in:

Industry fit is computed by PitchCentric using vector embeddings of the show's episode catalog.