This series features interviews with the developers of intriguing new indie games. In this installment, we bring you a mini-interview with the developer of *Meeple Incremental*, a board-game-style incremental game developed by Simply Artizan and released on September 15 for PC, Mac, and Linux.
In this incremental game, you roll dice to move your meeples (board game pieces) and collect money, skill points, and capsule tickets. You can purchase auto-clickers to automate dice rolls, use skill points to progress through the skill tree, and use capsule tickets to unlock collectibles, all while acquiring powerful upgrades and bonuses.Japanese language support is included.
“Meeple Incremental” is available for 790 yen.
――First, please introduce yourself. What’s your favorite game?
Ed: I’m Ed Gilmour, the sole developer of *Meeple Incremental* and founder of Simply Artizan. I started game development in 2022 and have been releasing games on Itch.io and Steam ever since.
My all-time favorite game is *Hollow Knight*, which was also my biggest source of inspiration when I first started learning game development. I play a wide variety of games on a regular basis, and I hope to continue developing and releasing games across a broad range of genres in the future.
――Could you tell us about the game’s key features? Also, how did you come up with the idea?
Ed: *Meeple Incremental* is, as the name suggests, an incremental game, but its system for earning money and other resources is extremely distinctive. Players roll dice to move meeples around the board, earning money, resources, and various bonuses based on the spaces they land on.
This system for earning money and resources is the game’s most distinctive feature. I’m a huge fan of board games myself, and this idea was born from my desire to “combine the incremental genre with classic board game mechanics.”
――Were there any games that influenced the development of this title?
Ed: There isn’t a specific title that served as inspiration; “Meeple Incremental” was largely born from completely original ideas. To understand what elements of incremental games players find appealing, I extensively researched other titles in the genre on Steam and used that insight to refine the game’s pacing and core balance.
Overall, while this game draws partial inspiration from a variety of titles in the genre, it is centered around our own unique ideas.
――Please share one of the most memorable moments from the game’s development.
Ed: The most memorable moment during development was when we finalized the art direction for the game.The game’s visuals in the early stages of development felt somewhat bland and uninspiring, so I decided, “I want to establish a distinctive and sophisticated art style.” After much trial and error, I introduced real-time 3D pixel art, and we were able to achieve stunning visuals that truly satisfied us.
We used an asset from the Unity Asset Store for this game’s real-time 3D pixel art shader. I’d like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to Elliot Bentine for providing the excellent asset “ProPixelizer.”
――What kind of user feedback have you received since the release? Please share any particularly memorable comments.
Since the game’s release, we’ve received a tremendous amount of wonderful feedback from players. One of the earliest pieces of feedback we received was that “opening collectibles takes too long.” In response, we quickly released a patch shortly after launch to implement a feature allowing players to open 25 collectibles at once.
What stood out to me in particular was the extremely detailed feedback we received regarding the in-game Prestige System. While the Prestige System is primarily designed for dedicated players who want to enjoy incremental gameplay over a longer period of time, we’ve received very specific ideas and suggestions from players on how to further expand this system.
――Taking user feedback into account, could you tell us about your plans for future updates?
Ed: First, we released a major quality-of-life (and some new content) update on November 9. This update addresses much of the feedback we’ve received from players since launch.It includes numerous improvements to enhance the gameplay experience, such as the “Buy 5 at Once” feature for upgrades, the addition of an arrow to indicate the ball’s trajectory in “Ball Toss,” and a toggle to improve the visibility of the skill tree.
We don’t have any plans for future content additions at this time, but if there is strong demand from players, we may return to development on this title and further expand the Prestige system.
――Could you tell us about the Japanese language support for this game? What was implemented, what were the challenges, and what has the reaction been like from Japan?
Ed: *Meeple Incremental* is fully localized into Japanese both within the game and on the Steam store page. We partnered with a talented freelance translator for the localization, so the translation process itself went very smoothly.
The biggest challenge during implementation was finding a “pixel art font” that correctly supported Japanese characters while maintaining good performance within the game. The Japanese localization has been very well-received by Japanese players, but if there are any areas for improvement, we always welcome your feedback.
――Is it okay to distribute and monetize this game?
Ed: Absolutely! I’m delighted that you’re streaming the game I created, posting videos, and even monetizing them. It’s a wonderful opportunity to introduce *Meeple Incremental* to a wider audience, and I’d like to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has posted videos or streamed the game so far!
――Finally, please share a message for our Japanese readers.
Ed: Thank you so much for your interest in *Meeple Incremental*! I’m constantly amazed by the warm support this game has received from everyone in Japan, and I always look forward to reading your feedback and reviews.
I hope you’ll keep an eye out not only for the *Meeple Incremental* update released on November 9, but also for future announcements of new games from Simply Artizan.
――Thank you very much.
◆ About “Spotlight on Indie Mini-Q&A”
This series features email interviews with indie developers about their games shortly after release. To ensure regular publication, we’ve standardized the questions, with the goal of sharing the perspectives of as many developers as possible. Please also enjoy our other interview articles, which now number over 1,000.
