- New Hidden Song (Autumn Update) - 17 October 2025
Hello everyone,As the autumn leaves start to fall and the air gets a little crisper, we find ourselves looking back fondly on the warmth of summer.It seems Taina isn't quite ready to say goodbye to those sunny days either. We've just pushed a small, heartfelt update to give her one more reason to linger and relive a perfect, sun-drenched memory before she packs her things.We're so excited to add a brand new cassette tape to the game, featuring the beautiful and nostalgic track "Safe and Dreamy" composed by the talented George Pandrea with soothing voice samples from Ana Roșca.But you'll have to find it first! We won't spoil the exact location.This is a small gift from us at Stoneskip to you, a thank you for all the love and support you've shown Simpler Times. We hope this new tune brings a little bit of warmth to your autumn days.Update Notes:✨ New Content: A new cassette tape has been…
- Introducing… Simpler Times Steam Community Items! - 6 November 2024
Starting today, players of Simpler TImes can unlock seven new, cozy Steam Trading Cards, along with chat emojis and profile backgrounds to show off their love of Taina’s coming of age tale. The Steam Trading Cards can be unlocked simply by booting up Simpler Times and progressing through the game (or, of course, by just hanging out and enjoying the chill vibes). Seasonal Profile Backgrounds and Emojis of our favorite in-game items can be acquired through the Steam Points Shop here. To celebrate this update, Simpler Times is currently 30% OFF on Steam for the first time from now through November 11. There’s never been a better time to take a break from the stresses of everyday life and jump into our contemplative, cozy experience. :) https://store.steampowered.com/app/1812210/Simpler_Times/
- Simpler Times is Now Available! - 7 June 2024
SURPRISE! Simpler Times launches TODAY on Steam. Take a break from the craziness of Summer Game Fest to relax and turn off with this lo-fi chill vibes simulator. For the next two weeks, we will be running a discount of 10% OFF its regular price. Check out the brand new Launch Trailer below. Simpler Times takes players on an emotional journey as they guide Taina through the process of packing her childhood treasures for college while reflecting on pivotal moments in her young life. Music is a gateway for those memories, and playing old records whisks her back in time to see how her room – and herself – have grown and changed over the years. Music is a key component throughout Simpler Times, so it's only fitting that we make George Pandrea's beautiful lo-fi score available for all to listen. Starting today you can listen to "Studies," which is featured in the new launch trailer, on digita…
- The Story of Simpler Times - 27 February 2024
Stories. What are they? Why are they? I like to think that every story is worth listening to and worth writing about. Through every story, we can find a little more about ourselves. After all, are we not all just a collection of stories? When I first heard about the Simpler Times project and talked with Dragos about the game, it felt a bit unreal. Too good to be true sort of thing. I was to write a story about leaving behind your childhood, and moving into another place. The symbolic next step on the journey to becoming an adult. While it didn’t involve trolls under bridges, or legendary swords, it had two main characters: Taina and her bedroom. A simple tale about reality. The story hit close to home, or, should I say, close to my new home, as I had moved out of my parents’ place a few months prior, and I was still discovering what it’s like to be on your own. So every morning I would…
- The Art of Simpler Times - 21 November 2023
Is it the objects and how realistic they look? Their small imperfections telling a story? Or is it the lighting and the animations? The shadows playing on the room’s floor, and the subtle movement of the curtain in the breeze? Let’s explore these questions and discuss what we think makes a virtual space feel alive. It’s time to delve into one of our favorite topics: Simpler Times’ graphics. Whether we’re talking about the endearing Sir Inks-a-Lot, with whom players can interact and fling around, or the subtle logo sitting on a cassette player that can be inspected up close, they both share the same visual goal – they must belong to the same era visually and contribute to the story. The art in Simpler Times is inspired by the bold colors and shapes of graphic design and the timeless style of mid-century aesthetics. Objects are simplified, and textures have just enough detail to communica…
- It’s apple picking season! - 20 October 2023
Hello everyone! We are thrilled that so many of you played our demo and had a great time. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support! However, we noticed that some of you were getting stuck in the tutorial and unable to pick any apples. The good news is that we have fixed the problem and the apples are back on the tree, ready to be picked again. If you have already downloaded our demo, please make sure to update it, and for good measure, give it a hard reset by going into the Options Menu / Extra / Reset Game. Thank you for your patience and for writing on our discussion board. Your feedback has helped us improve the game’s performance, and we believe it now runs smoother than ever. The painting feature should also benefit from this change. To make the game even better, we would love to hear more from you. Please take a few minutes to fill out this short survey and let…
- Help Simpler Times grow! Take the Audience Survey! - 17 October 2023
If you took the time to try out Simpler Times at the October 2023 Steam Next Fest, we would appreciate it if you took 5-8 minutes to fill out a brief audience research survey to help us out. SURVEY: https://forms.gle/Sq3Vs3W4gpQoAPGU7 Your responses will help us learn more about our game and how we can transform it into the best possible experience. All personally identifiable information will be kept confidential.
- Simpler Times Livestream - 10/13 @ 9AM PT! - 12 October 2023
We hope that you have enjoyed the Simpler Times Steam Next Fest Demo. If you haven’t tried it yet, you can download the demo now and immerse yourself in this meditative and thoughtful experience now. We will be hosting a second livestream on October 13th, 2023 at 9AM PDT. 3D artist Andra Perju will be part of this livestream again, and the developers will be in the chat answering any questions you may have about the game and its development.
- Simpler Times Livestream - 10/10 @ 9AM PT! - 7 October 2023
We are thrilled to share that Simpler Times will be part of the October 2023 Steam Next Festival. A special demo of the game's opening section will be available to everyone for the duration of the festival. To celebrate, we will be running a special livestream with 3D Artist Andra Perju, whose beautiful work you can appreciate in the game. This special livestream will take place on October 10th, 2023 at 9AM PDT. We look forward to seeing you there!
- Simpler Times Demo coming to Steam Next Fest! - 6 October 2023
The journey to creating "Simpler Times" has been an intimate experience. I am both excited and humbled to announce that our game will be part of Steam Next Fest: October 2023 Edition. From October 9 to October 16, I invite you to dive into a chapter of Taina’s life, as she reflects on her past while preparing to leave her beloved childhood room. I moved a lot throughout my life, and every time it felt like I didn’t have enough time to process things. Packing usually goes quickly, with full excitement about the new place. I forget to take a moment and appreciate what I leave behind, all the memories, as Taina would say: “Even though I’m excited for what will follow, how can I leave all this behind? All the memories and the good times I’ve had here?” The process of making this game mirrors those sentiments. At its core, 'Simpler Times' is about reminiscing, reflection, and moving on. We w…
- The Sounds of Simpler Times - 27 September 2023
I think we can all agree that music connects people. I mean, here at stoneskip studio we all do, at least. It's such a big part of our game that we thought, why not dedicate a whole post to the music and the awesome people behind it? Remember that first post where we talked about friendship and community? Well, that theme's still going strong, because it's how we found George Pandrea, the musical genius behind Simpler Times, and how he found Maeve Kroeger, who later became the voice of Taina. Dragos and I (Laara here) decided that we wanted a chill, lo-fi vibe for the music. We wanted to emphasize the relaxing aspect of the experience, and the lo-fi hip-hop beats reminded us of the early 2000s, the era we grew up in and connected with. We made a playlist (an audio moodboard, if you will, which you can listen to here) of what we had in mind and started asking around for a local musician…
- The Inspiration for Simpler Times - 27 July 2023
This is the story of how Simpler Times came to be—a story about passion, synchronicities and hard work. But above all, it is a story about friendship. Simpler Times, like many other great things, started out as a mere daydream, seemingly unimportant and evanescent, that grew and grew into something bigger than we have ever hoped or even imagined until just a few weeks ago when it was officially announced at Summer Game Fest 2023. To stay true to the very core of the game, we—Laara, the Creative Director and Dragos, the Game Director—sat down at a sunny cafe table and started digging up our pasts, reconnecting with our past selves and trying to connect the dots of the happenings that led to Simpler Times being a full-on experience based game. What we found is a story that actually starts way, way back in time. So come along with us on a journey of reminiscing, on a tale about us and on a…
