Puzzle Spy International
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agentepsilon.bsky.social
Puzzle Spy International
@agentepsilon.bsky.social
390 followers 96 following 170 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
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
agentepsilon.bsky.social
For anyone who happen to be in the SF Bay Area, tomorrow night we're bringing TWO new puzzles to The MADE for playtesting. Come check them out, along with the dozen or two other indie games that will be playtesting & demoing there. 5pm to 8:30.

#indieGame#Dev #puzzleGame #indieGame #indieGames
It's Paris at dusk and Agent Epsilon is standing there, a pretty sunset behind her. She's smiling and gesturing at the bright yellow and orange text on the screen: "Live playtesting Friday October 3 Oakland, California at the MADE."
October 2, 2025 at 4:22 PM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
I was asked recently which specific artists or styles made up the Mid-Century Modern influences on the style of Puzzle Spy International. So here's a mood board, and a write up of some of my (Mike's) visual inspirations for the game's art direction...
1/x

#gameArt #ArtDirection #retroArt #art
A "mood-board" collection of various images that were some of the many influences on our game Puzzle Spy International. It's all mid-century modern illustration, including character drawings from books, animation backgrounds, and character art. Much of it is unlabeled but some of the names called out include Satoshi Hashimoto, Derek Yaniger, Shane Glines, Kevin Dart, and show/movies like 101 Dalmatians, Mr. Magoo, and The Jetsons.
September 29, 2025 at 5:09 PM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
Agent Epsilon has solved another puzzle and - with Friday's help - is off to another part of the world! The "where she's heading" is the area of the game that we've been focusing a LOT on lately, including testing two new puzzles for that locale.

#screenshotSaturday #indieGame #gameArt #VN #gameDev
A red room, French architecture, mid-Century light fixture and curvy couch and coffee table, and Pop artists on the wall: Warhols and a Lichtenstein from the looks of it. On the right stands Agent Epsilon - Indian with medium length bob, mod dress, and a compact that doubles as a phone held up to her air. She's talking to Field Liaison Friday, shown in an inset: handsome Asiam guy in a white button-up shirt and orange tie holding a receiver up to his ear. Epsilon is saying "Thanks for the help, Friday. I’m on my way!"
September 20, 2025 at 8:45 PM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
For #screenshotSaturday a throwback to the first puzzle in the game (so this isn't giving away too much!) Hopefully rearranging these cards and tags can give you a lead on the location of the diamond thieves.

#puzzleGame #tinkyGame #gameArt #indieGame #indieGameDev
A screen with 10 cards with colorful pictures on them, ten grey tags with clues, and slots for the 10 cards at the bottom. A hint window covers up some of the puzzle with some hopefully helpful hints. The hints read "Hint 1: There are spaces on the top of each card. Type in each to fill them all in," and "Hint 2: There are 10 picture cards and 10 tag cards. Can you figure out which ones go together?" Two of the cards have been partially filled in: The ones with pictures of a gazebo and a star have been labeled by the player "gazebo" and "star."
September 6, 2025 at 6:41 PM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
For #ScreenshotSaturday a new puzzle we've recently got working. Don't bother trying to solve it, this is all fake text so you can enjoy figuring it out in the actual game. Despite the location (not fake!) the actual puzzle is in English, not Latin.

#puzzleGame #indieGame #indieGameDev #thinkyGame
Puzzle spy Agent Espilon holds a brochure and is thinking hard. We also see a close-up of the brochure, which is about tourism in Rome. The top read "Tour around Rome" but the rest is in fake Latin. There are also some illustrations on the sheet of Roman tourist locations. At the bottom is a place to enter 8 digits into the door's electronic lock. All of the art is in a simplified mid-century modern art style, mostly in avocado green and cream and mustard. Yummy!
August 23, 2025 at 8:36 PM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
Some new character designs for Puzzle Spy International that I sketched over the weekend. I can't tell you their names or else... no, I wouldn't have to kill you, but it would give away some answers for one of the game's puzzles. 😉

#indieGame #gameArt #puzzleGame #VN #VNsky #characterDesign
Blue pencil sketches of two cartoony characters: A compact curvy woman in a Western-style shirt and cowboy hat with a 1960s style hairdo where the hair curls up at the ends. The second character is a man with a 50s or 60s pompadour and a track jacket and sweatpants with a letter 'C' on his chest. Both look rather serious.
August 18, 2025 at 4:16 PM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
Folks playing - appropriately enough - a puzzle about French word at our table at MAGwest on the last day of the show. @magwestofficial.bsky.social
3 or 4 con attendees hover over a laptop to solve a puzzle. One of them is in a black-and-white striped shirt, a red beret, and has a baguette slung over his back.
August 10, 2025 at 8:48 PM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
Demoing Puzzle Spy International at MAGwest in San Jose all weekend. Here’s my nice little set-up complete with “fancy” tablecloth and an Agent Epsilon standee I made myself out of foamcore! 😄
Puzzle Spy International set up on a table at a small con. There’s a laptop and free-standing monitor and a cute little stand up of Agent Epsilon that I made myself out of foamcore. A woman ponders over the puzzle on-screen.
August 8, 2025 at 8:01 PM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
PSI is part of the new Debut Festival on Steam sponsored by Gamedev.ist and showcasing first-time games from brand new studios... which is what we here at Travel-Friendly Cake are! 😁

Check out our Steam page (and maybe play the demo?) at s.team/a/3406690 🕵️‍♀️

#indieGame #indieGames #puzzleGame #VN
A banner for the Debut Festival, all orange with a big star and a rainbow on it. The dates listed on the banner are August 7-11. Set inside a frame is a smaller banner for Puzzle Spy International, showing Agent Epsilon's head and the game's logo.
August 7, 2025 at 4:46 AM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
For #screenshotSaturday, Agent Epsilon introducing herself to 3 unknown characters. This is the most people we have in one scene, and I spent this week animating entrances and exits, drawing poses, and just generally giving this scene a lot of fun interaction.

#indieGame #VN #puzzleGame #gameArt
An apartment with fancy art on the wall and 60s mod couch and light fixture, all in red. Agent Epsilon - Indian, short hair, teal mod dress - stands with arms crossed. She is facing three other people - a black woman with an afro and a wide-collared dress, an unamused white guy with blonde hair, thick-framed glasses, mustard-colored turtleneck and a black blazed, and a thick white man with a rounded head and nose wearing a brown suit and tie. Agent Epsilon is introducing herself: "Agent Epsilon from Puzzle Spy International. I’m here for the Eswatini Giant." All of the art is drawn in a simplified mid-century style.
July 26, 2025 at 5:57 PM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
For #ScreenshotSaturday here's Agent Epsilon meeting Stefania Plinth, the Director of Rome's geology museum, the Museo di Neo Geo. There's a problem to deal with... and a puzzle involved!

See more and find the demo at s.team/a/3406690 and mdashow.itch.io/psi-demo

#indieDev #puzzleGame #VN #VNsky
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.
July 19, 2025 at 7:34 PM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
For #ScreenshotSaturday here's a new little puzzle we're working on for Puzzle Spy International. (Don't bother trying to solve it - the text is all fake.)

#puzzleGame #indieGame #indieGameDev #thinkyGame
Agent Epsilon - British Indian, short dark hair, retro short-sleeved mod dress - in standing in a hallway holding a flyer and pondering it. We also see a zoomed-in image of the flyer, which is a travel brochure for touring Rome. There are a couple of illustrations of Rome sights, and a lot of text (which here is fake Latin.) There is a space at the bottom to enter an 8-digit door code which will unlock the keypad lock in the door in the hallway. The entire scene is in avocado greens and is drawn in a Mid-century Modern art style.
July 12, 2025 at 3:24 PM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
I have a new dev-blog post up on Steam, where I talk about the differences between games that offer a guided intro to the mechanics versus those that invite the player to explore without being too directed, and why we specifically chose the latter for PSI.
store.steampowered.com/news/app/340...
A banner showing a scene of a hallway with Agent Epsilon smiling and gesturing at some text. The text includes the Puzzle Spy International logo and the text "June Update."
June 24, 2025 at 4:48 PM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
A new character from Puzzle Spy International. One of her lines calls for a massive eye-roll so I drew this. I don't mind making a custom sprite that's used only once in the game if it really sells a line and gets some of the humor across.

#indieGame #indieGameDev #gameArt #VN #VNsky #visualNovel
A slim black woman in her late 20s or early 30s, drawn in an angular, mid-century style, with a 60's afro and a dark aubergine wide-lapelled 60s mini-skirt dress. She's giving a huge eye roll.
June 17, 2025 at 6:07 PM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
I guess I’m not cut out to be a Veil agent as I never even thought of that solution! But I guess it’s not too late: Here’s a pic of our cat Jasper… so how do you turn on the panel on the 3rd floor so you can adjust the green and purple sliders? 🤔 😅
A photo of a grey, white and black tabby cat, sprawled out on a great, white and plaid blanket with his fluffy belly all exposed. His eyes are closed.
June 2, 2025 at 6:28 PM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
We're excited to announce that Puzzle spy International is in the Cerebral Puzzle Showcase which starts today on Steam! Find out more about a ton of cool puzzle games at @puzzleshowcase.bsky.social
and check out our demo at s.team/a/3406690 (or on itch at mdashow.itch.io/psi-demo)

#puzzleGame
A banner showing Agent Epsilon and some other mid-century modern styled characters in front of a stylized pink and purple background showing the old New Scotland Yard and Big Ben in London. The text reads "Puzzle Spy International - Demo and Prelude is part of the Cerebral Puzzle Showcase. Demo out now! Find it on Steam and Itch.io."
May 29, 2025 at 4:11 PM
agentepsilon.bsky.social
Attention agents! 🕵️‍♀️ The demo of Puzzle Spy International will be available as part of the Cerebral Puzzle Showcase, a Steam event celebrating puzzle games.

📅 The showcase takes place May 29th - June 5.

For more info on the event, check out @puzzleshowcase.bsky.social

#puzzleGame #indieGames
The colorful frame of the Cerebral puzzle Showcase - featuring puzzle pieces and characters from various games including Portal and Duck Detective - surrounds a banner for Puzzle Spy international - Demo & Prelude, which includes a pick backdrop with a London Tube map and Agent Epsilon smiling as well as the eponymous game logo.
May 28, 2025 at 7:52 PM