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agentepsilon.bsky.social
Puzzle Spy International
@agentepsilon.bsky.social
440 followers 110 following 210 posts
Puzzle Spy International combines substantial puzzles with fun conversations. Solve wordplay and logic puzzles in this '60s spy adventure.
Releasing ~Q1 2026.
Demo available at http://s.team/a/3406690
and at https://mdashow.itch.io/psi-demo
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agentepsilon.bsky.social
The Thinky Awards are getting closer! (As is the image on the banner!)
They're tomorrow, Wednesday at 10am PST, and Puzzle Spy International is up for Most Anticipated Game. See you then!

#puzzleGame #puzzleGames #thinkyGames #indieGames
A banner showing a close-up of the Thinky Games mascot - a black blob with arms and one eye - holding up the thinky deciphering-wheel trophy. The information reads "The 3rd Annual Thinky Awards, Wednesday February 4, 10am PST / 1pm EST / 6pm UTC"
February 3, 2026 at 5:20 PM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
A reminder that the Thinky Awards, a puzzle game award hosted by @thinkygames.com, is this Wednesday at 10am PST, your time may vary. Puzzle Spy International is up for Most Anticipated Game. We're excited to see all of the nominees and winners!

#puzzleGame #puzzleGames #thinkyGames #indieGames
A banner for the 3rd Annua Thinky Awards on Wednesday February 4 at 10am PST / 1pm EST / 6pm UTC. The banner art shows the thinky games mascot - a black blob with arms, legs and a single eye - holding up a trophy that looks like a decoder wheel. There are other blob-guys standing around in the middle of a colorful, stylized hedge maze.
February 2, 2026 at 5:09 PM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
For #screenshotSaturday, here's another puzzle from Puzzle Spy International. (Partly censored because your security clearance isn't currently high enough to see it all.) But solving this should help you locate the enemy base.

Wishlist and try the demo at s.team/a/3406690

#indieGame #puzzleGame
A puzzle from Puzzle Spy International. There are some clues to the left with text areas to fill in, large polyomino pieces in the center that also get filled in with the answers to the left, and then a grid on the right where one can drag the polyominoes. I won't bother to tell you the clues as they're partially censored, nor list the answers as they're all wrong.
January 31, 2026 at 9:42 PM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
Another time-lapse inking video, this one of the geology museum in Rome, known affectionately as the Museo di Neo Geo. This was all done in Procreate.

#gameArt #indieGame #indieGames #indieGameDev #illustration
January 30, 2026 at 5:13 PM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
Folks seemed to like the environment process details we posted last week so here’s a new look at process: the line art for the Paris exterior scene. This was “inked” in Procreate.

#indieDev #gameArt #indieGame #VN #VNdev
January 21, 2026 at 8:59 PM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
Even though release is still a little ways off, I spent the weekend working on a release trailer for the game. It's fun work as it ties in with my roots as an animator, and it's helpful to have awesome music from Alex Doty to sync it all up with. 😁

#indieGameDev #trailer #indieGame
A partial screenshot from DaVinci Resolve showing part of a clip from a trailer-in-progress. At the bottom there are some partial clips on the timeline and in the upper right, there's a frame from the trailer showing one of the puzzles and the word "discover" superimposed over it.
January 20, 2026 at 5:38 PM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
For #ScreenshotSaturday I thought I'd share a process shot: Here's a '60s apartment in Paris from Puzzle Spy International, from rough thumbnails (and I made many many more than shown here!) through rough sketch, line art, and finished color.

#gameArt #VN #VNdev #indieGame #indieGameDev #puzzleGame
A collection of 8 rough thumbnail sketches done in blue pencil, showing various configurations and styles of rooms, walls, windows, couches, armoires, lights, etcetera. A finished sketch, still rather rough, showing a room with French molding, pictures on the wall, a big curved 1960s couch, curvy '60s coffee table and chair, a small bar table, and an armoire against the wall. You can just make out pink perspective lines used to guide the lines in the picture. The same apartment, only now all of the lines have been tightened and cleaned up. The final illustration of the apartment, primarily in reds. The color is all flat but there's a sense of richness and modernity, and a large patch of light angles through the room from upper left to lower right.
January 17, 2026 at 10:20 PM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
For #screenshotSaturday one of my favorite puzzles with a recently-refreshed UI. I love all of the baggage tags in this one, which fits with the "international" theme of the game and the three big letters on them lent themselves to a fun word puzzle and a lot of airline puns.

#gameArt #puzzleGame
A puzzle with 26 lines of text and 26 different baggage tags. The tags are from the 60s, all different colors and graphic design approaches, and represent airlines and countries from all over the world. At the bottom of the screen is a place to input 26 letters to solve the puzzle.
January 10, 2026 at 8:24 PM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
Here's the end of our credits roll on Puzzle Spy International. Every single thing you see in the game, I created all myself. (Or we wrote together, or designed, etcetera. The music was all made by a guy who lives down the street.)
The end of the credits from the game Puzzle Spy International. Underneath the special thanks section, called out with a big yellow rectangular outline, is the following note: "No generative AI was used in the creation of this game's artwork, UI, writing, music or any other content. We made everything all ourselves."
January 9, 2026 at 5:24 PM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
For #screenshotSaturday, a scene of Agent Epsilon confronting shady diamond-cutter Jasper Van Cleeve. It's been great having the time off of both work and school, and we've used that to make a TON of progress on Puzzle Spy International this week. 😁💪

#indieGame #gameDev #puzzleGame #thinkyGame #VN
Agent Epsilon - dark skin, short black hair, 60s mod dress - points angrily at Jasper Van Cleeve - slick white hair, well manicured beard and a prodigious moustache, dark raspberry suit and a green vest which all work surprisingly well together. Van Cleeve, looking offended, says "That is quite an accusation, my dear! I am offended you think I would be so clumsy. The Eswatini Giant is far too recognizable a prize to be caught with." They are in a jewelry store (it's Van Cleeve's.) The art is all flat colors and black lines, a mid-century modern 1960s look to it all.
January 3, 2026 at 3:45 PM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
VN devs, share your works! QRP with 4 screens from your game and a link✨

Puzzle Spy International is a hybrid VN/puzzle game: It's a 1960s spy adventure where you travel the world, chat/flirt with contacts and solve substantial thinky puzzles.

Demo on steam - s.team/a/3406690 - and also on Itch.
Agent Epsilon - Dark skin and hair, teal and charcoal mod mini-dress, warm smile - chats with Inspector Ewan Danger - blond, chiseled features, natty vest and tie and a big tan trenchcoat. They're standing in front of the old New Scotland Yard, with Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament in the background. The scene is all blue and the art style is mid-century modern. The player has two choices on-screen for how Agent Epsilon can interact with Ewan: "Give a Friendly Greeting" or "Chat Him Up!" (British Slang for "flirt with him.") Agent Epsilon is confronted by Stefania Plinth, who is agrily gesturing and saying "Those diavoli! They broke in here and stole the Eswatini Giant!" Both women are in 60s outfits, Epsilon in a teal mod short-sleeved dress and Stefania in a blue and cream dress with a wide collar and double-breaster buttons up the front. She's got cats-eye glasses and her hair is in a tight bun. Both are standing in the geology museum, with display cases of rocks, framed phots of how plate tectonics work, and a T-rex skeleton in the back. The scene is purple and gold and the whole thing is drawn in a mid-century modern art style. A scene at a cafe with a bunch of people, ach one with a text entry box next to them. You have to figure out who each person is. There are a number of clues (some in fake Latin to avoid spoilers) on the side to help you deduce the identities. (Example: The first one says "Embarak is reading.") A puzzle screen with lots of cards with colorful illustrations on them, and a bunch more with just text on them. Agent Epsilon is in the corner of the screen pointing at two UI buttons labeled "Hints" and "Check answers." She is saying "Here’s the hint button in the corner! Use it if you need a little help solving a puzzle. We don’t track hint usage and there’s no 'score' so you’re free to use it whenever you need some help."
December 27, 2025 at 6:14 AM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
I've spent the last month updating the UI and hint systems in Puzzle Spy International. We now have a Hints button on all puzzles and a "Check Answers" button on most. I also tidied up the navigation UI on puzzle screens, clearing out unneeded buttons.

#ScreenshotSaturday #indieGame #pouzzleGame
A puzzle screen with lots of cards with colorful illustrations on them, and a bunch more with just text on them. Agent Epsilon is in the corner of the screen pointing at two UI buttons labeled "Hints" and "Check answers." She is saying "Here’s the hint button in the corner! Use it if you need a little help solving a puzzle. We don’t track hint usage and there’s no 'score' so you’re free to use it whenever you need some help."
December 20, 2025 at 11:19 PM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
WOW! Puzzle Spy International has been nominated for a Thinky Award for Most Anticipated Game! I'm beyond stunned... Thank you so much @thinkygames.com for the honor! 😊

#indieGame #indieGames #puzzleGame #thinkyGame #indieDev
A banner for the 2rd annual Thinky Awards nominees for the Most Anticipated Game. There's a thumbnail for each of the nominees, which include Puzzle Spy International, along with Compress Space, Locator, Nonolith, Order of the Sinking Star, Professor Layton and the New World of Steam, Rita, The Button Effect, The Incident at Galley House, and Trifolium: The Adventures of Gary Pretzelneck
December 17, 2025 at 7:51 PM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
Hi #TeaseYaGame!

Puzzle Spy international is a retro spy adventure where you solve thinky puzzles and chat with (or chat up!) contacts around the world. It's got wordplay puzzles, logical deduction and rules discovery.

Demo available at s.team/a/3406690
and at mdashow.itch.io/psi-demo

#puzzleGame
Part of the title screen for Puzzle Spy International. A mod '60s spy - Agent Epsilon - looks confident as she holds a manila envelope. Behind her is a collage of various mysterious characters and buildings. The whole image is all in teal, orange & yellow. A scene at a cafe with a bunch of people, ach one with a text entry box next to them. You have to figure out who each person is. There are a number of clues (some in fake Latin to avoid spoilers) on the side to help you deduce the identities. (Example: The first one says "Embarak is reading.") A puzzle screen in which there are first names and last names that you have to drag over to fit in slots matching the description of various thugs. For example, next to the description "Joined to amass a large fortune", the player has filled in the name "Hugh J. Mount." There are also hints shown in the open hint screen giving you a bit of a clue about how the names might work.
December 16, 2025 at 10:16 PM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
We've overhauled our puzzle sections' UI: We added a Check Answer toggle in the lower left to show you if you're on the right track (we had this before but once enabled, many wanted a way to turn it OFF!) and we simplified the nav UI to remove what you don't need for the puzzle.

#UI #GUI #indieDev
Two different versions of the bottom of one of the puzzles from Puzzle Spy International. In the top one (labeled "before") there is a Hints button in the lower left and 6 different UI buttons in the lower right, including Back, History, Skip, Auto, Save & Prefs. In the second image ("After") there are now two buttons in the lower left: Hints and Check Answers (a toggle) and the lower right has been reduced to Save and Prefs.
December 5, 2025 at 5:23 PM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
For those of you who are local, we'll be doing our last live playtest of the year at The MADE in Oakland tomorrow night (Friday Dec 5.) We're testing our latest puzzle (the last new one in the game!) and some older ones. $15 gets you access to a ton of new indie games!

#indieGames #indieGame
Agent Epsilon in PAris at dusk. She's mostly in shadow, all purple, and pointing to the text which proclaims "Live playtest Friday Dec 5 Oakland, CA at the MADE"
December 4, 2025 at 10:23 PM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
Someone noted that the partial screenshot of Puzzle Spy International in the recent Kotaku article made it look like Agent Epsilon was being covered by censor bars, so here's the full-screen image for #ScreenshotSaturday

#indieGame #indieGames #puzzleGame #VN #VNsky #gameDev #gameArt
A screenshot of Puzzle Spy International with a retro mid-century modern art style. The scene shows Agent Epsilon - dark skin, short dark hair, mod dress - chatting with Stefania Plinth - Italian, nice 60s dress in navy and cream, hair in a bun and cats-eye glasses. They are in a geology museum, with rock samples and a T-rex skeleton in the background. Agent Epsilon - and by extension, the player - has the option to respond to Stefani by "Keeping it professional" or "Chatting her up (British slang for "flirt with her.")"
November 29, 2025 at 6:17 AM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
Well well well, look who happens to be on the front page of Kotaku right now! Big thanks to @botherer.bsky.social for including PSI on the list of interesting-looking upcoming indie games! ❤️🕵️‍♀️

kotaku.com/indie-games-...
The front page of gaming site Kotaku circa November 27, 2025, which shows an article title "20 Incredible, Innovative Indie Games To Wishlist This Thanksgiving" by John Walker. The large accompanying image shows vertical banners for 5 colorful games, one of which is for Puzzle Spy International and features a nice large image of Agent Epsilon.
November 27, 2025 at 5:26 PM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
As of this morning, PSI is Puzzle Complete: Every puzzle is fully coded, in-game with final art, and has all working hints. There's still PLENTY to do, including puzzle testing (especially for the one we just finished) & story and art, but this is a big milestone! 🎉

#puzzleGame #indieGame #gameDev
One of many different puzzle screen from Puzzle Spy International: Here, Agent Epsilon - retro style art, dark skin, mod dress - is holding up a puzzle and thinking about it. The puzzle is to deduce the 8-number passcode for an airlock-like door on the far right, but the sheet of paper - shown in detail in the center of the screen - is blurred out so that you, the viewer, can't solve it without purchasing the game.
November 18, 2025 at 5:24 PM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
While some players steadfastly refuse to use the hints, something many have asked for is a way to check answers... and to be able to TURN OFF that check once it's shown! I just finally got this bottom left toggleable button all coded up and working this morning! 🎉🕵️‍♀️

#indieDev #indieGame #puzzleGame
The lower left corner of a screen for Puzzle Spy International. In the lower left is the Hints button (with a light bulb on it) and below that is a glowing button labeled "Check Answers" with a toggle switch and a checkmark showing that it's activated. Above are some answers to a puzzle, some with green checks showing that they are correct and some with red Xs showing that they are not.
November 9, 2025 at 7:01 PM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
Doing playtesting at The MADE in Oakland CA. Here fellow indie devs @exodrifter.bsky.social and @filthyhouseplant.bsky.social (check out their games too!) are trying out the newest puzzle.

#indieDev #indieGame #indieGames
Two people - their backs to the camera / are looking at a puzzle on a laptop. To the left of the laptop are our new postcards and behind the screen is a small standee of Agent Epsilon.
November 8, 2025 at 3:57 AM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
Hi, #PitchYaGame!

Puzzle Spy International is a '60s spy adventure where you travel the world, chat with (& flirt with!) contacts, and solve substantial thinky puzzles involving wordplay, logic & rules discovery.

A standalone demo is on Steam at s.team/a/3406690 and on itch.io.

#puzzleGame #VN
In this screenshot from Puzzle Spy International: Demo & Prelude, Agent Epsilon - dark skin, short dark hair, serious expression, in a teal and charcoal mod dress - is listening to detective Ewan Danger - chiseled features, blonde hair, 5-o'clock shadow, vest and tie and trench-coat. They're in London, standing in front of the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, and the new Scotland Yard (yes, they really are all right on the same block together, or at least were in the mid-60s.) Danger is saying "We've positively identified them as Hammer and sickle. They're two 'obfuskoperatives' who work for the Soviet Cypher Force." A puzzle with a bunch of clues at the top and 26 baggage tags at the bottom. The tags are from the '60s, back when each airport had its own colors and graphic elements on the tags, they didn't all look the same like they do now. The baggage tags are in disarray, as a player has already moved many of them around. Covering up some of the clues is a modal showing hints for the puzzle. The hints read "hint 1: There's something wrong with each one of these sentences" and "hint 2: There are places where letters are missing, but thanks to the baggage tags, we have extra letters!" A scene in a cafe. It's simplified, retro art with just a few colors, mostly browns, purples and tans. Several people sit at tables, and most of them are looking at you. Each person has a box to fill in next to them. There are hints on the left - for example, "Embarek is reading" and "Aloui and Bakhti hate each other and sit in opposite corners as far apart as possible" - but in this screenshot, some of the hints are in fake Latin. You'll have to eventually buy the game to see the real clues and find your contact in this cafe. Agent Epsilon is confronted by Stefania Plinth, who is agrily gesturing and saying "Those diavoli! They broke in here and stole the Eswatini Giant!" Both women are in 60s outfits, Epsilon in a teal mod short-sleeved dress and Stefania in a blue and cream dress with a wide collar and double-breaster buttons up the front. She's got cats-eye glasses and her hair is in a tight bun. Both are standing in the geology museum, with display cases of rocks, framed phots of how plate tectonics work, and a T-rex skeleton in the back. The scene is purple and gold and the whole thing is drawn in a mid-century modern art style.
November 7, 2025 at 6:32 PM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
We ran out of postcards so I designed us another one (the red & green one.) It's very cool to have a physical thing you can hold in your hand for your digital game! We find all sorts of occasions to hand these out: Cons, playtesting nights, and local puzzle events.

#indieGame #indieDev #gameArt
Postcard #3 for Puzzle Spy International. A mod '60s spy - Agent Epsilon - looks concerned as she holds a manila envelope. Behind her is a woman in a haik (white garments that cover everything but her eyes) and a suspicious looking blone man in thick-rimmed glasses, with his fingers steepled. Behind them all is a curved control room with a giant map of the world on a huge screen. The whole image is all in red and avocado green. Postcard #2 for Puzzle Spy International, this one specifically for the "Demo and Prelude." A mod '60s spy - Agent Epsilon - looks cheery as she holds a folded piece of paper. Behind her is a handsome British detective, two suspicious-looking Soviet agents, and London, specifically the old Scotland Yard, Houses of Parliament, and Big Ben. The whole image is all in purples, pinks and salmon. Postcard #1 for Puzzle Spy International. A mod '60s spy - Agent Epsilon - looks confident as she holds a manila envelope. Behind her is a collage of various mysterious characters and buildings, including the Coliseum in Rome. The whole image is all in teal, orange & yellow. The back of the postcards. In includes a line-drawing of Agent Epsilon gesturing at a QR code. The top has the Puzzle Spy International logo (the logo of the in-game organization, not the game's logo) and says "Location: Classified." The text reads: "Pursue a ring of diamond thieves and their trail of cryptic puzzles in this 1960s spy adventure. As Agent Epsilon you’ll choose your path as you chat with (or chat up!) suspicious contacts. Decode cryptograms, decipher clues and deduce answers as you solve wordplay and logic puzzles across the globe! Puzzle Spy International is an upcoming PC game of substantial and rewarding wordplay and logic puzzles which will appeal to fans of Puzzled Pint, Puzzle Hunts, escape rooms and the NYT Puzzles. It also features retro mid-century modern art and cool spy music. Play the demo now on Steam at s.team/a/3406690
October 29, 2025 at 4:16 PM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
For #screenshotSaturday, a look at our logic puzzle where you have to locate a contact among these patrons of a northern African cafe. Some of the text has been swapped with fake Latin so it's not solvable but should give you an idea of what the puzzle is like.

#puzzleGame #indieGame #thinkyGame
A scene in a cafe. It's simplified, retro art with just a few colors, mostly browns, purples and tans. Several people sit at tables, and most of them are looking at you. Each person has a box to fill in next to them. There are hints on the left - for example, "Embarek is reading" and "Aloui and Bakhti hate each other and sit in opposite corners as far apart as possible" - but in this screenshot, some of the hints are in fake Latin. You'll have to eventually buy the game to see the real clues and find your contact in this cafe.
October 25, 2025 at 9:14 PM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
What could this new game location be? A secret base, of course! This is what the whole game is building to! I talk more about it in my new blog post on Steam:
store.steampowered.com/news/app/340...

#ScreenshotSaturday #puzzleGame #indieGame #thinkyGame #gameDev #gameArt
A scene all in teal and orange: A giant building with 1950s "googie" architecture sits in the middle of a rainforest. It has a sharply triangular roof, a radar dish, and off in the distance some sort of observatory with a laser nozzle sticking out of it. Agent Epsilon isn't shown here but you can read her dialogue: "This is definitely... the base I’m looking for... but that’s a lot more hiking... than I usually do on a mission!"
October 4, 2025 at 10:11 PM