Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 2hThank you :) A bit more EotB, but with some horror elements, turn-based, a single party member, and a trimmed-down battle system. If all goes well, I can easily expand on these in a new entry. 010
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 14/10/2026Fantastic! :D And I loved Etrian as well; I really need to try the Switch re-releases. 000
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 14/10/2026For the past eight months, I've been building an old-school, first-person dungeon crawler. Every time I add something new, I wonder if anyone will actually play it when it’s done. #IndieDev #DungeonCrawler #RPG 55113
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 05/10/2026Planning out a project and trying to decide which narrative software to use: A) The one that hasn't been updated in 5+ years B) The one that showed promise but looks abandoned C) The expensive one that is full of features I'll never use #IndieDev #GameMaker 3112
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 05/10/2026Hello @itch.io 👋 Can someone please respond to ticket 406048 from September 23? Thanks! 020
Reposted by Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie DevFrancois van Niekerk @francoisvn.bsky.social · 02/10/2026Our demo is live! 🎉 I'm incredibly proud of the demo our team has put together, and it's been really fun to see early playtesters that love it. Find some time this weekend to play and enjoy yourself 🙌🥳 1138
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Thanks! It's been over a week, so I'll follow-up with them. 000
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Question for @itch.io creators: How long did it take support to approve your request for enabling custom CSS on your profile/page? 100
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 27/09/2026How about device syncing? Are you using the official service or another method? 100
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Looks for a project & notes tracking tool. Been using Notion, but it's become so bloated and doesn't have an identity anymore that I want to move away from it. #GameDev 2113
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 23/09/2026My SimTower-inspired game, Vertical Empire, is coming along nicely! Been slowly adding new goodies. Used some of the assets to make a better start screen. Hopefully, I can release this before the project's first anniversary, which is fast approaching! #IndieDev #GameDev #PixelArt #SouthAfrica 0226
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 09/09/2026I really like the look of the Ocarina of Time remake 🤷♂️ 🤷♂️ 🤷♂️ 040
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 07/09/2026Some of the sprites in my SimTower-inspired game, Vertical Empire. Trying to make different facilities and variations, but since I'm not a pixel artist, it takes time. Really enjoying it, though! #IndieDev #PixelArt #Sim 0101
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 04/09/2026Xbox avatars had so much potential and now they're basically just dead :/ 120
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 02/09/2026Trying to figure out a 'needs system' in my SimTower-like game. Everyone in the tower 'needs' something, but they all currently refuse to have those needs met. 😂😭😫 #IndieDev #PixelArt #SimTower 051
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 01/09/2026If I sleep on my left hip the wrong way, I'm down for a few days. Growing old is... fun? 010
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 29/08/2026It really suck how expensive the Mac Mini series is becoming; the M4 model was such a good deal. 020
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 29/08/2026It was hugely influential on me as a kid (more so than SimCity) and I've wanted to make my own version for decades now. 000
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 28/08/2026Taking a break from my dungeon game to work on my SimTower-inspired game. Heres a little vid showing off the current build - it still has a long way to go & I need to draw lots of new sprites www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3VT... There's also a LI post detailing changes :D www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...youtube.com 110
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 24/08/2026Hey, got any grapes? 🦆 010
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 23/08/2026Thank you! Eye of the Beholder is a big inspiration for the project :D 010
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 21/08/2026New LinkedIn post up about the progress on my dungeon crawler game. #IndieDev #GameDev www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...linkedin.com#indiedev #narrativewriter #videogames #southafrica #gamedev | Graham van der MadeI'm not going to Gamescom (can't you tell by the lack of 🔜 in my name?), but I have been working on my dungeon game. Since my last update, I've… - Revamped the UI with new buttons, spacing, and som... 2193
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 20/08/2026"Forza Horizon 2 Presents Fast & Furious" was delisted years ago, but I finally got around to playing it yesterday, and it's a fun game with an easy 1000 Achievement score. I wish we got more promo stand-alone games like this. #XboxOne #Forza #ForzaHorizon 020
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 19/08/2026static.klipy.comThe Office - Michael Scott's 'No! God! Please! No!'ALT: The Office - Michael Scott's 'No! God! Please! No!' 020
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 19/08/2026The death (by lack of official support) of the Unreal series has to be studied. 030
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 10/08/2026It's platform to platform, avoiding obstacles 000
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 10/08/2026Let me know what you think about it :) 000
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 10/08/2026Play it and let me know :) 100
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 10/08/2026While looking for narrative work, I've been making a vertical platformer about a very sweary character trying to escape a planet. The only way out is up. I've released an alpha for feedback while I decide whether to continue development. thegrahamza.itch.io/oh-shit #GameDev #IndieDev #GameMakerthegrahamza.itch.ioOh, Shit! [Alpha] by Graham van der Made (TheGrahamZA)Reach your ship before the planet explodes! 286
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 28/07/2026I've worked on so many rad titles, with so many great people, and made amazing connections along the way, but I just don't know if I can send that 778th cold email or apply to that 123rd job posting. I love being a narrative writer and designer; this really sucks. 2/2 150
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 28/07/2026I'm at a crossroads in my video game career, and I'm not sure how to proceed. After my current batch of projects, do I continue working in narrative? The industry is so tough now, and I just don't know if I should (or can financially) soldier on or look at a different industry altogether. 1/2 140
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 10/07/2026Finally able to announce this! Super excited to be working with @orangepixel.net once again! This time, I'm writing the narrative for Ashworld 2, a post-apocalyptic open-world game. Can't wait to share more in due time. 😎 #IndieDev #IndieGame #NarrativeWriter #PixelArt 0111
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 10/06/2026Thank you very much! I also made a Dragon Quest-esque JRPG when I started learning GB Studio. Might need to make another one after this game is done. 000
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 09/06/2026In my downtime, I've been working on a small first-person dungeon crawler inspired by the likes of Eye of the Beholder. It still needs work, but I'm happy with what I have so far (and there's some placeholder text at the end of the video). #IndieDev #PixelArt #DungeonCrawler 2253
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 04/06/2026A huge thank you to everyone who liked and shared this! Nothing has come of it yet, but these things can take time. :) 041
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 01/06/2026I'm back on the job hunt for narrative writing work in video games - freelance, part-time, or full-time, remote from anywhere. If you could give my LinkedIn post a reshare, I'd be incredibly grateful. #IndieDev #GameDev #NarrativeWriter www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...linkedin.com#gamewriting #narrativedesign #gamedev #indiedev #gamejobs | Graham van der MadeHear ye, hear ye! Fair people of LinkedIn, I am in the market for a new narrative writing gig. Let's make something awesome together! I'm in search of freelance, part-time, or full-time remote writin... 0159
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 15/05/2026Any South Africans have an electric standing desk? Please give me some recommendations! 000
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 13/05/2026Is Slipknot now considered Dad Rock? 030
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 07/05/2026May the 7th be with you 030
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 06/05/2026Finally figuring out that most of my problems were caused by "randomise();" not really working in my GameMaker HTML5 build and replacing it with "random_set_seed(int64(current_time));" solved almost every issue 🙃 Also re-learning to use a pre-load room + object for important global variables. 🤦♂️ 030
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 05/05/2026HTML5, you fickle bitch. 040
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 04/05/2026Just reached over 1000 profile views on itch and this is how I feel! 😁 #IndieDev #GameDev #NarrativeWriter 1195
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 26/04/2026The awesome South African indie dev @nicolaasdebruyn.bsky.social is bringing his arena shooter Rapid Escalation to Steam! Wishlist it and keep an eye out for the planned demo. store.steampowered.com/app/4411170/... #IndieDev #GameDevstore.steampowered.comRapid Escalation on SteamA fast-paced incremental space shooter where short battles fuel permanent upgrades and exponential growth. 0134
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 14/04/2026GitHub Issues is a really good idea! I started getting so overwhelmed checking out software I haven't used - and revisiting older stuff like Asana - but Github makes the most sense for now. Thanks! 020
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 13/04/2026Hey #IndieDev peeps, what project management system are you using for personal projects? Looking for something new, and I don't want to use anything from Atlassian (no Trello!) or Notion. Just need to segment projects, create tasks, assign people, and divide into departments with notes. 450
Graham | Narrative Designer | Indie Dev @thegrahamza.bsky.social · 07/04/2026Notion really tries to be both everything and unusable at the same time 030