We're an indie game dev team from New Zealand. Mostly.

Games

Game Jam Projects

Misc.

Release Date: TBD

Hope flickers against impossible odds. In this narrative RPG, step into the shoes of a retired soldier, thrust into a desperate last stand to save Jeomdo Village. With supplies dwindling and time running out, your decisions will shape the fate of those who look to you for salvation.This game is still in development. Please wishlist us on Steam!

Release Date: 5th February 2022

HipWitch takes you on a heart-warming journey that invites you to explore its beautifully detailed, hand-drawn world. You'll play as Prom, a young witch who has left the bright lights of the city on a journey of self-discovery. Along the way, you'll meet a cast of quirky characters - some of whom are in need of your help, while others are just there to admire your cool hat. You’ll have to use a variety of spells, a healthy dose of exploration, and the power of 90s dial-up internet to solve the tasks ahead!

Release Date: 10th July 2023

Heaven Yeah! is a “simulation” puzzle game where the roles of God & The Devil Himself have been reversed.The game is played across three days. Each day sees you judging the fate of four characters. Your goal; corrupt heaven by erasing sinful deeds. Though don't get caught tampering!What about the other souls? Judge them however you wish.Heaven Yeah! was created by Studio Hip Sword for GMTK’s Game Jam 2023.

Release Date: 12th July 2020

Legs Outta Line is a 2D platformer that doesn't let you jump!Well, that's not entirely accurate. It doesn't let you jump on purpose. Our hero's cybernetic legs are on the fritz and will boost him automatically every 2 seconds.Legs Outta Line was created by Studio Hip Sword for the GMTK Game Jam 2020.

Release Date: N/A

Elven Mohawk was made for Tākaro Taitokerau - Northern Game Maker Jam. The theme was "Two Worlds."It was originally going to be more of a rogue-like in which players could edit attributes of the hero or game world in between levels, but we ran out of time!While we never publicly released Elven Mohawk, its sword-wielding hero Tai is unofficially playable in the indie fighter Smack Studio via the Steam Workshop.

Project Ashes (Cancelled)

Release Date: N/A

(A pitch video for our planned combat system)

Project Ashes was Studio Hip Sword's very first attempt at game development. It was planned to be a turn-based strategy game with VN story sequences ala Fire Emblem or The Banner Saga. It featured a rich fantasy world in which magic was powered by the ashes of the dead.Ultimately, this project proved too ambitious for our inexperienced team. We instead decided to tackle something more achievable as our first game, which led to the creation of HipWitch. Many of our Ashes ideas were later recycled into The Siege of Jeomdo.We learned a lot about game development and working as a team through Project Ashes. We hope to return to this universe someday!

Team

Saylor O'Malley - ProducerCo-founder of Studio Hip Sword.Saylor was Lead Writer and Lead Game Designer on HipWitch and has managed all Studio Hip Sword projects to date. He wears many hats and learns on the go.

Rhys Angelo-Jones - Co-FounderOne of the founding members of Studio Hip Sword and formerly Lead Programmer.Rhys has a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Victoria University of Wellington and works as a Contract Web Developer.He programmed HipWitch, Legs Outta Line and Elven Mohawk.

Brett Ruys - Lead ArtistCo-founder of Studio Hip Sword. Brett is a multimedia artist who works in illustration, 2D animation, content creation, poetry and game
development.Outside of being Lead Artist on most Studio Hip Sword projects, he is also a Character Animator on the fighting game Smack Studio and an Animation Tutor for NGEN Room.

Yogev Sitton - ComposerYogev is a Software Engineer at Meta, a musician with 25 years of
experience and a Composer for indie games.He has composed the
music for all of Studio Hip Sword's projects, as well as Mission Zigloton by Ben Lega. He has a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science.

Heinrich Sporys - Lead ProgrammerHeinrich has a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from TU Chemnitz and he is currently working towards a Master's degree. He was the sole programmer on Heaven Yeah!

Kenneth Knutson - ProgrammerKenneth is a self-taught coder and game developer. He has a strong passion for worldbuilding and history.He makes devlogs detailing his game development journey and created Last Stand and Don't Let the Lights Go Out. He has a Bachelor of Arts in History and Asian Studies.

Jensen McMillan - ArtistJensen is a digital artist and analogue printer based in Wellington who first joined Studio Hip Sword’s art team during the development of HipWitch.She also does freelance illustration work for tabletop games.

RJ Ratu - ArtistRJ is a Whanganui-based artist with a Bachelor of Arts from the Universal College of Learning. He is currently working towards a Bachelor of Creative Technologies at Media Design School.RJ joined the team during the development of HipWitch and drew most of Heaven Yeah!’s art assets. He has also worked on Swordcery and Into the Dark.