The Spirit of Twelve is out.
Story mode, The Endless Trial, and a free update that brought four new champions to the Trial roster. Available now on Steam for Windows, macOS and Linux.
the one that started in 2017. finally. Buy on Steam
STANDER · Cape Town, South Africa
We make small worlds with big personalities.
Mystery. Fantasy. Cozy adventures. Completely unreasonable sea monsters.
Our games
Worlds worth getting lost in.
Four games, four very different places. A fallen kingdom, a quiet forest, an angry ocean and a dusty little town where everyone blames the baboon.
Out now on Steam
The Spirit of Twelve
Cards shape destiny.
A painterly adventure-RPG of dice, choices and grief. Roll a d20 and play your cards in the open, no hidden maths, as a hunted girl wakes the Twelve powers sleeping behind her ribs, on a branching road to the throne beneath a fallen kingdom.
Coming soon · wishlist now
Wildmark
A quieter kind of adventure.
A cozy woodland idle RPG. Play the Warden: chop, forage, hunt, fish, mine, cook and craft your way through ten gentle skills, raise a homestead lodge, tame companions, and defend the wilds, even while you're away. Wander in for five minutes or an evening. The forest keeps growing.
Coming soon · wishlist now
Man vs. Gary
One man. One boat. One Gary.
Row out. Shoot the enormous sea monster. Drown. File the incident report. Do it again, a little angrier each time. A hand-illustrated idle comedy about losing to Gary, a kraken with opinions and an HR complaint, until one day you don't.
In development · Steam page coming soon
The Doringbult Detective
Everyone blames the baboon. Somebody has to check.
An illustrated deduction mystery set in a small Karoo town where everyone knows everyone and nobody saw anything. Hendrik Stokstert, meerkat, detective, reluctantly home, works five cases with a notebook, a magnifying glass and a town full of very confident witnesses.
Who we are
We don't make one kind of game.
We don't make one kind of game.
We make games with places worth remembering.
STANDER is an independent studio in Cape Town, South Africa. It consists of one (1) guy, a long list of ideas, and a stubborn belief that a small game can still have a big personality.
Every world here is written, directed and built by hand, from the first sketch to the last line of dialogue. Generative AI is used as a supplementary tool for some of the games' assets, and all of it is reviewed and refined by hand before it ships. The games are built in MonoGame for Windows, macOS and Linux, and published on Steam.
different worlds. same obsession with character.
Watch
Trailers.
Story trailers, gameplay walkthroughs and the occasional Gary. More on the STANDER YouTube channel.
Out nowThe Spirit of Twelve — Story Mode Trailer
Coming soonWildmark — Gameplay Trailer
Coming soonMan vs. Gary — Announcement Trailer
Roguelike modeThe Spirit of Twelve — The Endless Trial
The idle boss-siege, explainedMan vs. Gary — Gameplay Trailer
From the workbench
What's happening.
Wildmark and Man vs. Gary head to Steam Next Fest.
Both games are on Steam and taking wishlists now, with playable demos planned for Steam Next Fest in October and release to follow shortly after.
Gary is not ready either. Wishlist WildmarkAnnouncing The Doringbult Detective.
An illustrated deduction mystery set in a small Karoo town. Five cases, one meerkat, and a baboon who did not do it. The Steam page is in review; the trailer follows once it is live.
everyone blames the baboon. Enter Doringbultfor Glenie.
Every game here is for my wife, Glenie, the strongest person I know. If you'd like to know why one (1) guy keeps making these, her story is the reason.
Knock on the door
Come say hi.
Games are better with company. Wishlist the games, join the Discord, or just write and tell me what Gary did to you.