How digital showcases helped make A Little To The Left an indie hit
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A Little To The Left did have a small following before its appearance during a Wholesome Direct.
The cozy puzzle game about organising household items was created by Max Inferno, a development team consisting of Anne Macmillan (art and animation) and Lukas Steinman (design and programming). It started as a game jam concept that was expanded upon and added to Itch.io, where it frequently found itself at the top of the charts. Back then it was more a vertical slice, with ten puzzles that were playable in the browser. You can read more about the vision for the game in our interview last year.
It was then that the team decided to apply for Wholesome Direct, an indie game showcase event that highlights 'uplifting, compassionate, cozy games'.
"And we got in," explains Steinman. "That was the start of the pandemic, so everything had shut down, and Wholesome Direct, and other events, were picked up into the main E3 media stream.
"After that, a number of publishers reached out to us. That first Wholesome Direct got us a good amount of visibility."
The showcase brought A Little To The Left to the attention of publishers, and the first one to reach out was James Schall of Secret Mode, the indie games publishing division of Sumo Group. The reaction inspired Steinman and Macmillan to take the leap into full-time game development.
"That's when we knew that we could quit our jobs and try this," Macmillain says.
Steinman adds: "Seeing the response to that and seeing publisher interest… as Annie said, the event happened on a Saturday and I think it was the Monday that I put in my notice."
Macmillain again: "Which I wouldn't recommend or anything… we just
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