Tursiops Truncatus Studios

Tursiops Truncatus Studios is a quirky, women-led, majority LGBT independent game studio. We create games that challenge expectations, explore boundaries, and put the player first.

Raised on a well-rounded diet of nerd culture and fine arts, our passion is taking games as an art form to innovative new places. Our roots date back to the 90’s shareware game community and our creative nucleus came together on the roller derby track.

We use games as a means of creative expression. Exploring and experimenting with new mechanics and genre-bending ideas is our jam. We are a creative studio first and foremost, and a business only when we absolutely have to be (and even then, reluctantly). We’re grounded in creating games with an emphasis on thoughtful intention rather than production speed without feeding ourselves or our players to the bottom line.

Featured News

The Day We Fought Space is Now Available in the App Store!

Our Design Philosophy

Games can change the world. We believe in the power of games to effect social change: imagining a better world is the first step to creating one. We have an opportunity to amplify diverse voices, and we accept the responsibility to think critically about the messages we deliver through our narrative, our mechanics, and our aesthetics.

Our unique selves shine through. We create worlds where queer voices and LGBTQIA+ characters are able to be out and proud. We lift up the virtues we hold closest to us: openness, sincerity, and freedom of expression. We embrace the goofiness of life and having fun, and we never take “different” as an insult.

Innovation is our jam. While we have a healthy appreciation for the classics, the question that drives us to create is not “remember when?” but “what if?” Our passion is for new twists on old formulas, for the pursuit of oddball ideas, and for blending ideas together in new and unique ways.

Audience before algorithm. We’d rather craft a positive experience for our players than chase the whims of an opaque and capricious algorithm. We know what it’s like to be introverted or demand avoidant and respect those boundaries in our games. Our players trust us with their time, money, and emotional well-being, and these things are not mere tokens to be bartered for a bump in our performance numbers.

Slow-cooked to perfection. Every indie team has find their own strengths. We’re just not ever going to be that studio that’s able to produce six games a year to see what sticks, and we won’t sacrifice our mental health to try and pretend we are. The games we pursue are chosen with care and intention, and we hope you find them worth the wait.

About Our Name: Tursiops truncatus is the binomial name of the bottlenose dolphin, a species whose propensity for play is well-known. Our name is a nod to the ability of games and play to bridge across cultural gaps, even when they are as wide as being two different species.

Our Team

Forged on the Flat Track. Our creative core, along with many of the talented folks we’ve worked with along the way, met while playing on the same roller derby team. We carry forward the lessons we’ve learned in our sport, such as the importance of communication and the strength and power in community. We embrace the can-do DIY spirit of a small independent group of folks with an itch to do something awesome.

Cathy, Gamewright-In-Chief

Cathy is the founder and general manager of Tursiops Truncatus Studios. She wears the programmer and designer hats and has been the voice behind our social media accounts. She studied Computer Science at Valparaiso University and can trace her interest in game design back to crayon drawings made at age six. Aside from gaming, she has been a volunteer for Community Shares of Wisconsin, a skater with Madison Roller Derby, and enjoys cycling, cubing, and cosplay as hobbies. She lives in Madison, WI but frequently escapes to Newfoundland.

Susan, Pixel Wrangler

Susan is the artist for Tursiops Truncatus Studios since 2012, creating everything from concept art to sprites to environments as well as marketing material. Susan earned her BFA in Studio Art and Graphic Design from Viterbo University in 2003 as well as a Post Baccalaureate teaching certificate in art education in 2005. Outside of video games, she considers herself a “jack-of-all-trades” when it comes to art making, she is a skilled printmaker, painter, potter and bookbinder and is always looking for a new art project to take on. Non art based hobbies include skating with Providence Roller Derby, traveling, and playing tabletop board games and DnD. Susan grew up in Wisconsin but is a recent transplant to Rhode Island where she lives with her family, two dogs and one cat.