Press / About

Stefan Srb (leafthief) is a Vienna-based game developer and pixel artist.

About

A professional game designer (for Mi’pu’mi Games) by day, his passion for making games drives him to make even more games at night. Stefan has been making games since 2011, regularly participating in game jams such as Ludum Dare and likes to introduce myself as a gamejam enthusiast.

LeafThief wants to tell stories through games utilizing characters as a main device to do so. In both mechanics and narrative he likes to think of how the game and it’s underlying system transport something about how it feels to be that character – the game as a characteristic experience or – if you will – letting the player walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. One of the key development tools to do that is trying to align the emotional world of player and character to inspire insight.

 

History

While finishing his studies in early 2011 Stefan needed a short break from writing his thesis and a distraction from the (longer) game project he was working on for his degree. Through the Flixel (a Flash engine by Adam Saltsman) forums Stefan stumbled upon the Ludum Dare game jam competition and decided to participate. He made his first real game: a very short Flashgame called Entity that received a lot of positive feedback.

Later that year Stefan started working for Mi’pu’mi Games Gmbh, a Viennese independent game development studio. Although working in games professionally he never stopped making games on the side and participating in game jams. One of Stefan’s biggest successes was – without doubt – The Lion’s Song: a point & click short story about a young composer who tries to find inspiration in nature. The game was rated #1 in Graphics and Mood (Jam) and won the Vienna Content Award 2014 for “Best Character” in November.
LeafThief is still making games, regularly participating in game jams.

 

Projects

Games:

Collaborations:

  • On Tario
  • Nero is Falling
  • Deep South Motel
  • The Axe Games
  • A Fragment Of Her
  • Being Her Darkest Friend

 

Awards, Mentions, Appearances

  • 2014-08-22 – Ludum Dare #30 Game Jam: #1 Mood (Jam) and Graphics (Jam), #4 Overall (Jam) for The Lion’s Song
  • 2014-11-14 – Award @Vienna Content Award in category “Character” (The Lion’s Song)
  • 2015-03-27 – Talk @AEC Gamestage, Linz: Character Games
  • 2015-04-24 – Hypertalk @A-MAZE Festival, Berlin: A Game Graveyard
  • 2015-07-10 – Exhibiting @RADIUS Festival, Vienna: Ten Weeks
  • 2015-09-11 – Interview @Examiner.com: Indepenent developer LeafThief hopes games elicit emotions
  • 2015-10-19 – Pixel Art Prints @Viennese Videogame Aesthetics Exhibition (Hollerei Gallerie)
  • 2015-10-31 – Talk @Pixel Vienna 10, Vienna: The Majesty of Pixel Art (and the beauty of minimalism)
  • 2015-11-02 – Guest lecturer @University Of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, Hagenberg: Game Art and Design
  • 2016-03-17 – Award @Vienna Content Award in category “Games” (Ten Weeks)

 

 

PAST & RECURRING COLLABORATORS

  • Craig Barnes (@cbstegeman, Music): So far I’ve collaborated with Craig for GBJAM #4 in August 2015 where he helped me with chipmusic and superb Sfx for my entry Onemore Night
  • Josef Ortner (@iossif, Code): Josef and I have collaborated on a number of game jams. When working together he focuses on coding while I work on the content. We try to split design decisions.
  • Chronerion (@chronerion, Design): Having known Christian, the mastermind behind Chronerion, for quite some time before we both started making games I helped him build major parts of the first title A Fragment Of Her (Scripting, Writing, Art, Characters). I’ve since supported him with Pixel Art, animations and feedback for Being Her Darkest Friend.