skaule is the Hamburg-based game developer and illustrator Steven Kaule. Since 2014, they have been creating digital games and studying illustration in Hamburg. Their game Magical Delicacy is a unique pixel art platformer Metroidvania, in which you play as Flora on her way to becoming a proper witch. You discover the city, explore new recipes in the kitchen and little shop, and meet new people and intriguing locations. Magical Delicacy is published by indie game publisher Whitethorn Games (Lake, Botany Manor, Wytchwood). We talked to skaule about their experiences developing and releasing their first commercial game as a Solo Developer from Hamburg.

1. You have developed Magical Delicacy as a solo dev. What was your biggest challenge, and what made you decide to develop this particular kind of game?

I finished my bachelor's degree in 2019, working on a sci-fi turn-based combat game, which basically had the opposite theme and genre to Magical Delicacy. However, I didn't continue with that and proceeded with prototyping in different directions. After that, I was left with style tests and concepts that led me to decide to make a cozy game about witches — the wholesome and no-combat approach really appealed to me at that time. In 2020, the Wholesome Games Community also started to get big with their first Wholesome Direct, which certainly influenced my decision.

In the production, I had a lot of luck securing a publisher early on, which allowed me to develop the game with financial security. From there on, the biggest challenge was getting the game done, which, as a solo developer, comes down to juggling many different tasks. While I enjoy having absolute creative freedom, complete authorship, and even enjoying all the various fields, from programming to art, it can also be a lot of work to switch between those, especially for the final stretch of development. In those final months, handling all the external localization and porting, the release marketing, as well as finishing and polishing the game was quite a lot, even with my publisher having my back.

2. With Whitethorn Game, you have found a publisher for Magical Delicacy that specializes in "easy-going" and "stress-free" games (Botany Manor, Lake, Wytchwood). How did the collaboration come about, and what can you recommend to aspiring indie devs when approaching/working with publishers?

I wish I could provide some clever networking tips to land with publishers, but I simply started with a wave of cold pitches to dozens of publishers. With some research, you can find many small indie publishers and their mail contacts, preferably their scouts or portfolio directors. I spent about a year creating a playable vertical slice of the game, focusing strongly on the visuals and atmosphere I wanted to achieve in the final game. With a small exclusive trailer and a PDF pitch deck detailing the game and what I needed from the publisher, I sent that vertical slice out to all the contacts I had gathered. Many publishers answered, and we proceeded to discuss the details. After lots of back and forth, I came to sign a contract with Whitethorn Games, which had been a fan of the game from the beginning. 

A playable and highly polished vertical slice is probably the best you can provide as an indie to a publisher to convince them of your game. The rest comes down to whether your requirements fit what they can and want to offer. Be aware of what you need from publishers: marketing, financing, porting, or the many other things they can provide. Still, I'm somewhat reluctant to give much advice on this as the landscape of indie publishing has apparently changed a lot since I signed with my publisher a few years ago.

3. You did your Bachelor's degree in illustration with a focus on game development at the HAW in Hamburg and then subsequently entered the games industry. How important was it for you as a (solo) developer to have a professional foundation, and what would you recommend to people who are looking to enter the games industry, too?

My time studying illustration was crucial in allowing me to experiment with things I wanted to do. It actually led me to game development and gave me the time to learn everything I now know. It allowed me to learn and experiment for 6+ years before starting with my first proper commercial project: Magical Delicacy.

Though there were some technical courses, I spent a lot of time on my own learning to code and develop with Unity. Most of the time in classes was spent on art and design, which helped me think more critically about design choices. This critical thinking and feedback-oriented approach to illustration and game design courses worked well for me.

It also helped me realize I'd prefer working alone while also providing me opportunities to try working with small teams directly on various tasks within this profession. But it was also a great opportunity to find contacts and make friends in the industry.

4. What are your plans after the launch of Magical Delicacy?

For now, I'll keep working a bit on Magical Delicacy, especially by adding some much-requested quality-of-life features. My main goal with Magical Delicacy was to have the funds to sustain myself in the future as a solo developer. The freedom of being self-employed is one of my most important goals. During the development of Magical Delicacy, I spent a significant amount of time building flexible tools and systems that I planned to keep using for my next games, with a clear purpose in mind for the type of games I wanted to make. 

And now, with my first game out, I've learned so many new things that I'm excited to jump to the next game — prototype new ideas, experiment with new styles, and build new worlds.

Check out the game on Steam, Switch and XBox:  Magical Delicacy on Steam

Watch the Trailer: