Game development
The practice of making and shipping games: Steam, production, and the business around it.
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Gaming and Mental Health: What the Research Actually Says
A console lottery in Japan gave researchers a rare causal test of gaming and wellbeing. What it found, and why an Oxford study found nothing.
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Who Actually Plays Cozy Games? What the Data Says
A 277-player personality study, a five-country survey and the ESA's global numbers, against the stereotype of who cozy games are for.
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How Steam's Discovery Algorithm Actually Works
Valve's own docs rule out wishlists, page traffic and review score as visibility factors. What Steam actually measures, and why half of it stays invisible.
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Why Most Indie Games Fail on Steam: What the Data Shows
Three quarters of Steam games released in the last three years earned under $5,000. The real distribution, and what the data says actually moves the odds.
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Can Indie Games Compete With AAA? An Open Letter From a Studio Betting On It
A small indie studio's open letter on indie games vs AAA: verified numbers from Balatro, Stardew Valley, Hades and Minecraft, and the honest odds.
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How Do Tiny Teams Make Huge Games? The Micro-Studio Era
One person made Stardew Valley. One made Balatro. The sourced numbers behind the micro-studio era, what enables tiny teams, and what the data leaves out.
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How to Build a Steam Wishlist That Gets You Games You Love
A practical system for the Steam wishlist: three triage tiers, launch and sale notifications, pruning, and why wishlists matter for unreleased indie games.
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Steam Early Access in 2026: When It Works and When It Backfires
When Early Access works, when it backfires, and what changed by 2026: verified timelines from Hades to KSP2, Steam's stale-game warning, and the 21% rule.
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How to Write a Steam Review That Actually Helps Developers
What makes a Steam review useful: playtime context, specifics over scores, fair comparisons, and how Steam's review score bands and visibility really work.
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Is This Indie Game Worth Your Time? A Steam Demo Guide
A practical 30-minute framework for judging an indie game from its Steam demo: what a demo can and cannot tell you, and when to wishlist.
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Steam Next Fest Survival Guide: How to Find the Best Demos
A player's guide to Steam Next Fest: filter thousands of free demos by tag, triage with your wishlist, time-box every demo, and spot the real gems.
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How to Get Good at Management Simulation Games: 8 Strategies
Eight transferable strategies for city builders, colony sims, and tycoons, with examples from Cities: Skylines, RimWorld, Two Point Hospital, and Frostpunk.
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How Long Does It Take to Make an Indie Game?
Most indie games take one to five years. Stardew took about four and a half solo, Cuphead around seven. Here is what really drives an indie timeline.
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Apartment Management Game Strategy: 6 Principles That Work
A strategy guide to apartment and building management games: keep tenants happy, match them to rooms and neighbors, build reputation, and reinvest rent well.
