From Side Project to Steam Launch: What a Two-Man Indie Team Learned the Hard Way

What does it really take for a two-person indie team to turn an after-hours idea into a real shipped game?

In this episode of Player Driven, Greg sits down with Max Mraz of Moth Atlas to talk about the long road behind Tombwater, a handcrafted horror western action game built over four years while balancing full-time jobs. What started as a small experiment quickly became something much bigger, forcing the team to figure out scope, structure, production, and eventually, what kind of help they actually needed to get the game across the finish line.

The conversation digs into the reality behind indie development when you are not a full studio with departments, producers, and extra hands. Max shares how the team stayed organized, how they thought about what belonged in version one, and why building the game was only part of the challenge. The other half was everything around launch: QA, community, support, and the operational work that most people do not think about until it is staring them in the face.

They also get into one of the more honest questions indie developers wrestle with: when does self-publishing stop making sense? Max breaks down why working with a publisher mattered for a team like his, what support actually made a difference, and which parts of the process he was most grateful not to have to own himself.

If you are an indie developer, a publisher, or just someone who loves hearing how games actually get made, this episode is a great look at the gap between having a cool idea and getting a game into players’ hands.

In this episode, we cover:

How Tombwater went from a small side project to a full commercial releaseWhat it looks like to build a game after work while holding a full-time jobHow a two-person team managed scope, production, and version one decisionsWhat most indie teams underestimate about launching a gameWhy professional QA is very different from casual playtestingHow publishing support helped remove major operational burdensThe value of community support without forcing the developer to run everythingWhat Max would tell other tiny teams trying to build something real

About Tombwater
Tombwater is a handcrafted action game that blends Soulslike, Zelda-like, and Metroidvania elements inside an Eldritch Horror Wild West setting. Players explore a cursed town, uncover hidden mysteries, and battle through dangerous enemies, bosses, spells, weapons, and secrets.

Links

Wishlist / play Tombwater on SteamLearn more about Midwest GamesMore episodes at Player Driven

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