About the studio
We make games about figuring things out.
Syscall Studios is an independent game studio. We like games where you slowly work out how something works, whether that's a machine, a small business, or a whole town.
What our games are about
Learn how
a machine
works.
- a machine
- a small business
- a workplace
- an economy
- a community
- a piece of infrastructure
- a logistical operation
- a physical process
- a place
We don't want to be stuck making one genre or one art style, and our games won't all be about computers.
What stays the same is how we approach them.
How it should feel
The moment it clicks.
At first you don't really know what's going on. You poke at things, try stuff, and watch what happens. Slowly you start to notice patterns.
Eventually you stop just reacting and start planning ahead. You try something on purpose, it works, and it worked because you figured it out.
“Holy shit. I figured that out.”
We can't hand you that feeling. All we can do is build something worth figuring out.
How we pick projects
Three questions, in this order.
- Question 1
Is it fun?
Fun in the prototype, today. Not fun once we've added the fifty features we have planned. If the rough version doesn't make us want to keep playing, more features won't fix it.
If not, we stop. - Question 2
Will people care?
It doesn't need to be for everyone. We just need to believe there are people out there who'd get into it, talk about it, and swap what they've figured out.
If not, we figure out why. - Question 3
Can we actually build it?
With the people, tools, time and money we really have. A great idea we can't finish doesn't help anyone.
If not, we cut it down or shelve it for later.
How we build
Get the core working first.
We're a small team, so we have to be picky about where the time goes. We'd rather make a few systems really good than spread ourselves thin across a hundred features.
What we do
- Build a small version that actually plays
- Make sure it's fun
- Make it better
- Then make it bigger
What we try not to do
- Build everything at once
- Hope it gets fun later
What we avoid
Things we try not to do.
Complexity for its own sakeA game can be complicated without being deep.Realism for its own sakeWe'll simulate what makes the game better and skip the rest.Spreadsheet worldsIf a number matters, you should be able to see what it's doing.Empty spectacleA good-looking place still needs a reason to be there.Too much hand-holdingWe'd rather leave you room to work things out.Scope creepAdding more stuff rarely makes a game better.Filler contentWe'd rather make a few things that matter than a lot you'll forget.Getting stuck in one genreWe want to be able to make something completely different next time.
- 1A program asks for something.
- 2The system does it, or doesn't.
- 3The program finds out what happened.
- 4Next time, it asks better.
The name
Why Syscall?
A system call is how a program asks the operating system to do something for it. On old 32-bit Linux, that was int 0x80, which is where the bracket in our logo comes from.
We liked it because it's basically how we think about playing a good game. You try something, see what happens, learn a bit, and try something smarter next time.
And no, that doesn't mean all our games are about computers.
What to expect from us
If you see our name on a game, we hope the first thing you think is: someone cared about how this works.