Hi everyone, Amy here, excited to be showing off an amazing game made using Synty assets – Soulstone Survivors! Developed and published by Game Smithing, an indie studio based in the UK, and released into Early Access on Steam in November 2022.
The game is an action roguelite where you’ll slay hordes of foes and face titanic bosses, while learning powerful skills to enhance your character. You play as a Void Hunter, who with the spoils of every match is able to craft weapons, unlock new characters, upgrade their skill tree and equip new runes – all in the name of the quest for godlike powers. Deep RPG mechanics are intertwined with roguelite elements to offer a condensed, yet deep Action RPG experience.
Game Smithing established themselves in 2022 and are a small team of experienced devs who have chosen to stay independent while carefully developing their vision for their game. This, coupled with their relentless focus on fun, appears to be a decision which is paying off for them so far, seeing them build a dedicated and passionate community leading to thousands of very positive Steam reviews in Early Access!
Using Assets to Fast Track Development
Game Smithing was born while the founders were still working full time in mobile game development roles. They had a lot of exciting ideas and chose to use Synty assets to allow them to rapidly prototype, says founder Allan. “We wanted to prototype ideas and make playable games as fast as possible to be able to test concepts out with players. Using Synty assets was literally the first thing we did when we hit ‘create new project’!”
First week of development, looking great.
Very early prototypes of their game – which was originally called ‘Rogue Soulstone’ – were produced using the POLYGON - Dungeon Pack, and this pack has ultimately ended up a big part of the game today. During this rapid prototyping phase, the team were quickly able to get characters and enemies moving around, casting spells, and the beginnings of the architecture shaping up within a week or two. Within about a month they had the Steam page up and running, all while still working full time.
Second week of development and starting to feel like a proper game!
So what advice does the Game Smithing team have for aspiring indie developers?
Don’t Build in the Dark
“If there is one piece of advice I can give it is to NOT commit too early to a project,” says Allan. “Don't spend months and years working in the dark, hoping your game will be an instant hit, which frankly is what we had done in the past. Test your game VERY early and often, be brutally honest with yourself about the feedback you get, and don't be afraid to pivot or experiment with new ideas.”
Keep it Simple, and Test and Learn
Secondly, it may be an often given piece of advice, but Allan really recommends keeping your first game as small as possible. “The takeaway shouldn't be ‘make Pong as your first game’ but rather make a game that you can prototype and test with REAL players in no more than 1-2 months, and then adjust accordingly.” He suggests finding early play testers by putting yourself out there as much as you can. “Post your game on Itch, Steam, forums, tell your friends, your WoW guild! Just make sure you have an easy way to collect feedback, it can be as simple as a Google Form with a link inside your game's main menu... and go from there.”
If you enjoyed this look at Soulstone Survivors and hearing some of the Game Smithing team’s story and tips, you’d enjoy being part of our community of experienced and aspiring developers on Discord, Instagram, X or Facebook! Stay tuned for more ‘Made with Synty’ features on the blog in future.
