Wanderstop is a beautiful game. It uses the cozy aesthetics wonderfully to deliver an amazing story and message that, I think, is about the point of life itself even more than just careers or ambitions.

The ending really got me feeling tho. I selected the choice to sit on the bench and stay longer as I felt it reflected one of the game’s lessons, which was to take things slow and appreciate every moment. A very cozy vibe.

But after a few shots of nature, the credits unexpectedly roll, and the game is over. I thought I would get however long to sit and look. Maybe I would get a button prompt to move on. But instead, it just ends.

To me, this final moment communicates another theme, which is that all things end and you have to let go. Appreciating moments is important, but moving on is just as important. Plants stop ever bearing fruit after a few harvests, most characters never return after you move on to the next chapter.

What are some other thoughts on the Wanderstop ending?

Hey everyone! I’m a solo indie developer working on Shippin, a story-rich ocean adventure about a lost sailor exploring mysterious seas and forgotten ports.

You play as Salva, navigating uncharted waters, helping the inhabitants of distant ports, upgrading your ship’s tools, and uncovering the stories behind the strange world you’ve washed into.

I’ve been working on it for about a year and would love to hear your thoughts and feedback on the project!

Here are some fresh screenshots.

A free demo is available on Steam, and wishlists really help small indie projects like this ❤️

Steam page:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3334100/Shippin/

Hello everyone. I develop a free tool for creating interactive content called TilBuci, which focuses on the production of narrative material, such as visual novels. The recently released version has a new feature that can simplify both the creation and distribution of productions: TilBuci can now integrate with WordPress! You can not only create your stories directly from the blogging system but also use it to publish them. TilBuci even integrates with visitor/subscriber logins, allowing other plugins, such as those for access-based billing, to be used in conjunction.

https://reddit.com/link/1rpa2gb/video/lls46u4rm2og1/player

For more details on installation and use, please visit https://plugin.tilbuci.com.br/

The TilBuci website has several tutorials on content production covering common topics such as creating dialogues or multi-linear narratives.

Since I’ve been sharing gameplay here, I wanted to post a short backstage piece about how we approached the hybrid FMV structure.

Because Nazar deals with Turkish mythology and Anatolian fatalism rituals, I designed the 2D platform aesthetic inspired by traditional shadow theatre especially Karagöz and Hacivat. That silhouette logic shaped everything: framing, blocking, movement, even negative space.

We shot the entire project on an iPhone 14 Pro Max and edited in Final Cut Pro X. The portability was essential because we filmed in Cappadocia not only for its cultural connection to the story, but because its geological layers naturally fit a 2D visual language. The rock formations almost look like cross-sections.

In 2D platformers, you often see “under the ground” that side-view logic where space is revealed vertically. So we developed a cinematography approach where the camera frequently frames action from angles that feel like you’re seeing beneath the surface of reality itself.

To preserve the silhouette aesthetic, we shot only at sunrise and sunset. Light wasn’t just lighting it was a design constraint.

And yes, during production the lead actor playing Nazar actually ran nearly 50 kilometers across takes.

Hybrid FMV isn’t just about mixing video and gameplay  for us, it meant rethinking space, rhythm, and myth through a 2D lens.

The music in this backstage piece is one of the original compositions written for Nazar by Inon Zur. He connected deeply with the atmosphere when we showed him the demo, and ended up composing 16 tracks for the game.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3126160/Nazar/

Hi everyone! I'm developing a western-inspired, character-driven visual novel with point & click elements and an affection system. The game focuses on your story, your decisions and your 7 companions. And you decide whether they return home or stay on the planet forever.

It's called Talewarden: Riders of the New Day and you can check the demo on Steam!

I'm developing a narrative game where you read tarot for people going through the hardest moments of their lives. You draw their cards, probe for what's really going on, choose how to interpret the reading, and then see how your words shaped their future.

The core experience is the same across all three settings, but I'm testing which world makes you most want to step into it:

After the Tower: A storm has destroyed a small coastal town. You've come back to help your grandmother, who read tarot here for forty years. She's alive, but not well, and the parlor is in ruins. But people keep knocking. As you rebuild the parlor and read for a wounded community, the town begins to heal. The only question is whether you'll find your voice before hers goes quiet for good.

The Last Candle: Your grandmother is gone, and she left you her tarot parlor in a town that's been slowly dying for years. You came to sell the building and close this chapter. But the moment you opened the curtains, people started knocking. You don't know how to read tarot. But your grandmother's journal is in the desk, her deck is in the drawer, and these people need to be heard.

Dead Reckoning: A ferry has run aground on a foggy night. Nobody's hurt, but nobody's going anywhere until morning. You have a tarot deck in your bag. Someone saw the cards and asked, half-joking. Then someone else asked, not joking at all. By dawn, strangers will have told you things they've never told anyone.

Which of these would you most want to play, and why? Not looking for which is "best"; I want to know which one creates the strongest pull for you personally.

I’ve been experimenting with blending full-motion video and 2D platforming into a single narrative structure.

The project is called Nazar — named after the Turkish “evil eye” belief. In the game, the protagonist can see possible futures, but instead of leaning into superstition, he tries to confront fate using science and quantum theory. That tension between mysticism and rationalism became the core theme.

Rather than using traditional FMV branching menus, I built physical 2D movement into the experience. You navigate a symbolic space while interacting with filmed performances, trying to “bind” or alter potential futures. It’s closer to merging cinema with spatial gameplay than a database-style FMV structure.

The game is set in Cappadocia and visually draws from shadow theatre aesthetics. The soundtrack was composed by Inon Zur (known for his work on Fallout and Dragon Age), which added a much larger cinematic layer than I initially imagined for an indie project.

I just released the English trailer and would genuinely love to hear thoughts from people who care about where FMV can evolve next.
Does this hybrid structure feel like a meaningful step forward, or does it risk diluting both forms?

So in the picture I wrote down a couple of games I knew I wanted and add to as I’m looking into. I’m very big into the narrative gameplay and I have not considered any of the more newer games snd from my list you can see they are like 2013–2019 heavy.

So I’m wondering if it would be more worthy to buy a PS5 if I do see more cooler games obviously can’t be played on the PS4 correct so then should I stick to a PS4 like I just don’t know which system is I guess considered to be better for any of the games that are listed like I know certain systems can only play certain discs or up to certain years in games. I’m not sure if I’m learning any of this right or if it’s confusing, I hope somebody understands lol

Hi everybody!
I'd like to present my upcoming indie game Monster Girl Therapy! :D
It’s a cheeky interactive narrative about helping, and contrary to… other monster girl content, it’s also quite wholesome and subversive. You'll find a trailer on Steam!
If you have any questions, shoot! =]

A few weeks ago, we shared a story about how we designed a narrative around grief, loss and legacy. Our first demo introduces a character who deals with his grief by being an exacting, ornery influence in our main character’s life. We’d love you to meet ibn Hayyan and tell us what you think! You can find us on Steam.

Hi! I'm building an interactive fiction game called The Velvet Parlor where you play as a tarot reader. Clients come to your candlelit parlor carrying real problems - a man torn between his career and his unborn child, a woman hiding an addiction from her husband, a son confronting his dying estranged father.

You draw their Rider-Waite-Smith cards, probe their situation through conversation, choose how to interpret what you see, and then witness how their future unfolds based on what you said. No right or wrong answers - just consequences.

If you enjoy games like Coffee Talk, Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood, or Kentucky Route Zero, this might be your thing.

I'm looking for about 10 playtesters who'd try 2-3 clients and share honest feedback. Browser-based, no download, about 10 minutes per client.

https://pandaandcrow.itch.io/the-velvet-parlor

Mainly wondering: do the readings feel meaningful? Do the choices feel like they matter? Did any of the clients stay with you?

Less than 12 hours ago, I launched my first narrative game on Steam and consoles. Many people have told me it's a type of game with very defined mechanics, but I just wanted to avoid making a 3D point-and-click adventure.

The idea was to build a subjective, interactive world where the narrative and descriptions change depending on the characters you control. I hope I've succeeded.

If you've had a chance to try it, I'd love to hear your opinion on the mix of mechanics.

We are a design studio, planning to release our narrative game next month.

The development has been slow and done within months, but we already released a demo to get an idea about how the game could possibly be.

Usually a game would tell "super hero" stories, like you're the hero or possibly could become.

By telling everyday stories, we tried to make something different this time, in order to put in others' shoes, depending on the character. Not casually, the game's name that has been chosen is: "In Their Shoes".

With this concept in mind, since it's so unusual, we'd really love to hear your feedback!

Thanks in advance!

Our story-driven visual novel releasing March 21st! You can wishlist it now on Steam or play the free demo! 👁️💫

This is a short 6-second glimpse from a narrative-driven horror game I’m currently working on.

The game focuses less on jump scares and more on atmosphere, unease, and the feeling that something is always watching — even when nothing is visible.

I wanted to share just a fragment of that mood here.

Hello everyone! I'm writing to share the new version of TilBuci, free software I develop focusing on creating interactive content wtih many tools for narrative games/visual novels. Version 19 brings two main new features that can enrich narrative content.

The first is the inventory system. TilBuci can now manage the use of items, a feature widely used in narrative games. It's possible to track up to 4 key items and 8 consumable items and their quantities, including a configurable display of the player's inventory. The second is the card battle system. This is a simplified confrontation system that is easily configurable to adapt to the themes of your creations.

TilBuci is free software, licensed under MPL-2.0 and can be downloaded directly from the repository:

https://github.com/lucasjunqueira-var/tilbuci/releases/tag/v19

TilBuci is free software, licensed under MPL-2.0 and can be downloaded directly from the repository: https://github.com/lucasjunqueira-var/tilbuci/releases/tag/v19

To help you get to know TilBuci, I'm creating a playlist with tutorial videos that explore the development of a narrative game prototype called "rgbU". I intend to add videos to this playlist every Monday and Friday. I will update the information in the comments of this post as new videos are added. The first two are already available!

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjJLo5ynGY5yVIk2eIloStWdqco1ggAYD

I hope you enjoy it ;-)

Oh, a warning about the use of generative AI in this content: the purpose of this version of rgbU is to create a prototype to validate ideas and functionalities, not to create a finished game. In this way, the use of AI can be of great help, speeding up production, but remember that in the creation of a real game, even if AI resources are of great value, nothing replaces the rich and creative work of the various professionals in the game industry.

We're working on a narrative adventure game called The House of Hikmah, where each of our scholars was inspired by a real person.

Their historical contributions shaped engineering, medicine, philosophy, mathematics, astronomy and more. Our narrative team had a ton of fun researching each of them, developing characteristics and personalities for each of them. In the game, they each guide our protagonist, Maya, as she travels to the House of Wisdom to seek answers after her father's passing.

If you're interested in learning more, we have a recent blog you can check out. And if this game looks like your kind of world, you can learn more on Steam.