gamedev and things

Hi, I'm Samarth Hattangady. I’m a game developer based in Bangalore, India.
I like making games that create joy by exploring simple systems and realizing emergent interactions.


Konkan Coast Pirate Solutions is a cozy puzzle game about helping pirate ships do pirate things.

Set up the simulations. Watch how the ships behave. Explore how the systems interact.

Available on Steam

This Mouse Will Swim is a cozy puzzle game about helping a mouse who just wants to swim.

Push around ice cubes in the desert to make yourself a nice little pond to cool off in.

Available on Itch.io


essays and stuff
Holistic Game Design
Holistic Solutions to Game Design Problems
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The Art and Craft of Puzzle Design
A presentation from ThinkyCon 2024
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Custom Engine? Custom Everything
Some things I learnt while making my own game engine.
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Evolution of an Idea
Started from an idea, now we here.
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Two Months of Prototypes
Using small prototypes to explore different thinky mechanics
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KCPS: A Retrospective Analysis
Analysing various aspects of the game a few months after release
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The UX of Puzzle Games
How subtle aspects of the game can have a huge impact on the players experience
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From Idea to Steam
How the ideas and the game evolved over the course of development
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Developing an Artstyle
The things that went into developing the artsyle that I ended up with.
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A Game in a Custom Engine
Why I chose to use a Custom Engine to make my game
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Puzzle Games and Difficulty
How developing a game changed my understanding of the role of difficulty in puzzle games.
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