“Wthat we love.”making games and thrive e can survive by just NEWSWEEK.COM 43
:HŠYHJRWDORWRISHRSOHDSSURDFKLQJSXVEHFDXVHRIRXULQYROYHPHQWZLWKWKHSURɿOHRIRXUSXEOLVKLQJDORWFIELD TO Mtardew ValleyARKET,” VD\V.DWNXV^ “Stardew raised
lot of publishers don’t have a hands-Valley development,” he says. “It’s unusual. A has published with indie developers—has been to stay out of the way.would be or involve ourselves in the get in there and say what the gamValley“The best thing we did for —was not take the wheel. Not and with the 11 other titles it Stardew e
off approach with the devs that they work with. It requires a lot of trust.”which allows it to build more genuine Chucklefish is a small company,
wayrelationships with its developers. Simon Bachmann, whose game year, says the strength of the publisher was published by Chucklefish this Path-
money on the line. Chucklefish devel-mlies in how it nurtures these partner-of too many executives—dollars, you want to mopers can take bigger chances and ships without the external influence down in big companies.“If you need to invest make games that would get voted inimor too much illions of ize the
nerWe can survive and thrive by just mak-risk as much as possible and instead go with concepts that are proven to this year, agrees. “We’re able to create games that have a smaller audience. work,” Bachmann says.ing games that we love,” he says.Bodie Lee, whose game was also published by Chucklefish Timespin-
fish as it navigates the thousands of releases and hundreds of submissions nostalgia that is associated with classic it sees each year is a gut instinct that the games the team likes are the games its audience will like. All the games fea-ture a retro art style meant to evoke consoles like the Super Nintendo and The principle guiding Chuckle-
numas a coincidence, according to Katkus.put Chucklefish on a path to being cific aesthetic requirements, but we do gravitate a lot toward pixel art games,” he says.Sega Genesis. It’s not a plan so much “We don’t have a certain set of spe-Thinking about developers—bers or audience whims—not has
grooveto the company’s record of successful gamcomes down to one fact: “We play a lot of games,” he says. “So many games.” lisher in the world. Katkus says the key the premiere independent games pub-es, from to Pathway^ Stardew Valley and Timespinner to War-,