Toasty: Ashes of Dusk Director Talks World, Community Building for Indie Game
Limited Run Games advertises itself as a «premium publisher» giving indie and digital titles a physical release. From playing hard copies of Witch Beam's Unpacking on PS5 to bringing back classics like WayForward's Shantae on Game Boy, this service has merit in regard to preservation. However, Limited Run Games also produces special goodies like vinyl soundtracks or plushies, giving people the chance to envelop themselves in a community. Pocket Llama's Toasty: Ashes of Dusk is taking a similar approach.
The upcoming Zelda-like action-adventure RPG is currently making its way through Kickstarter, having raised over $80,000 USD — well beyond its $25,000 goal, with nearly two weeks left as of this writing. Its main team is just six individuals, but mutual friends led to a publishing deal with Top Hat Studios that, in turn, expanded Toasty's scope beyond a PC skew to include console ports, physical releases, and merchandise. Game Rant spoke to director Justin «Dooper» East about Toasty's Kickstarter and building both a community and brand.
Unpacking is the Perfect Game for Non-Gamers
Toasty: Ashes of Dusk started as a project made by a small group with other obligations. East does «a bit of everything» on the game, but is also a full-time software engineer by day and streamer with a «low-poly Llama VTuber» model by night. He said the original build for Toasty was made using skills from YouTube tutorials and online courses, and that even if game development is «really hard,» it's worth it. «We all have a story to tell, and life is about finding what medium we will use to tell it.»
East said Toasty's story is the most exciting aspect for him, reflecting his team's personalities. Prospective fans can start to get acclimated with
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