Meet the Team

Hi,, everyone! In todays' post I'm excited to tell you more about our team.

Downtown Game Studio started with 2 brothers: Mato (art director) and Josip (producer/writer). We grew up together (well, duh...) and watched tons of movies, cartoons and played video games together, and we always dreamt of making our own game. That dream became reality when we met Aleksandar, Downtown Game Studio's solo programmer.

The 3 of us started making mobile games and, during that time, we got familiar with the Unity engine and improved our workflow. 2 years later, we decided to leave mobile game space and focus on a game we truly wanted to make and play - Dark Queen of Samobor. Steam post imageAleksandar, Mato, and Josip showcasing Dark Queen of Samobor at a local event in Zagreb, Croatia

Soon after, the 4th member joined the team - Matija, our friend from the neighborhood and studio's sound designer.

Steam post imageMatija and Mato playtesting Dark Queen of Samobor at a local event in Karlovac, Croatia

And finally, when Mato met Alisa, they fell in love and our team got its 5th and final member - visual artist and a UX/UI designer.

Here's a short bio for each of us: Steam post image Mato, Art Director

Drawing has been a lifelong passion for him since discovering his talent at a young age. After attending art school, he began his career at an AR/VR company before co-founding a game studio with his brother Josip. A lifelong gamer and artist, he draws inspiration from films, comic books, and video games to create immersive, story-driven experiences. His love of cinematic storytelling is especially evident in Dark Queen of Samobor, where atmosphere and direction play a central role. Many games across different genres have left a lasting impression on him, including What Remains of Edith Finch and Disco Elysium, both of which have influenced his appreciation for storytelling, world-building, and memorable characters. Outside of game development, he enjoys watching movies, reading comic books, and expanding his collection as a dedicated comic book enthusiast.

Steam post imageJosip, Writer & Producer

Me and Mato loved playing video games together since our youth. Well, Mato would be the one playing, while I would curl up on the couch and cheer for him, as a younger brother should. I am a bachelor of Philosophy and Literature, and I loves reading fantasy novels... and writing them. I write the lore, dialogues, and all the texts in Dark Queen of Samobor, as well as handle production and marketing. I have always loved games with deep narrative and my absolute all time favorite is Metal Gear Solid series. Besides MGS, I spent countless hours playing Dota and with Matija. If I'm not playing games or writing stories for Dark Queen of Samobor, I love spending time in the nature and traveling solo, and I spent couple of semesters studying abroad, learning about other cultures.

Steam post imageAleksandar, Programmer Aleksandar grew up playing Flash games. He started making his own web games in 2018 then briefly moved into mobile gaming, before joining forces with Downtown Game Studio to create Dark Queen of Samobor. In his free time, he unwinds by playing memorable single-player games, especially ones that try something unique with strong atmosphere and interesting systems. Some of his all-time favorites are Return of the Obra Dinn, Banished, Mad Games Tycoon (fittingly), and Papers, Please. Out of more recent ones, Strange Horticulture and FAR: Lone Sails are ones that have left a strong impression. To balance out working at the desk, he likes going on long bike rides with the longest so far being 105 km.

Steam post image Matija, Sound Designer

Matija showed an interest in music very early. He discovered heavy metal in elementary school, and in high school he started playing drums and formed his first band. He hasn't stopped playing since then and has recorded half a dozen albums with his two bands, all recorded, mixed and produced by themselves. Occasional but long-time RTS gamer, starting with Starcraft as a kid, and becoming completely obsessed with the idea of ​​conquering the world in Total War (Rome and Medieval 2). Likewise, he spent countless hours playing Dota with Josip, and countless more hours watching Mato overcome story driven games. In his free time, he studies history and plays local gigs. His passion for music, sound, history and historical games is now focused on one project: Dark Queen of Samobor.

Steam post image Alisa, Visual Artist, UI/UX Designer Alisa always had a creative side and started exploring graphic design during high school. Video games have been a big part of her life since childhood. Syberia and Syberia II, in particular, sparked her fascination with game development and digital art, inspiring her to learn how games are made. In her free time, she began teaching herself 3D modeling and game development, gradually building the skills that would eventually lead her into the industry. As part of a small development team, she enjoys wearing many hats and drawing on her background in design, marketing, and 3D art. She loves the collaborative nature of indie development and is excited to use everything she has learned along the way to help bring Dark Queen of Samobor to life.

And last but not least... Here's Roni! The studio's pet and the Chief Antistress Officer of the team. When the crunch gets tough, Roni is there to remind us that the play is equally important as work (or for him, THE MOST important thing in the world... well, right after sleeping).

Steam post imageRoni, Chief Antistress Officer

We are a small team of family and friends, but our small size is exactly what allows us to be extremely agile, focused, and productive. We love attending game jams together and sometimes when we are all in the same room, it almost feels electrified. We are all super close and enjoy spending time together, both working on Dark Queen of Samobor and relaxing outside of game dev world.

Game development is our passion, and Dark Queen of Samobor is our dream. We are so incredibly grateful for the community that is forming around our game, and we want to take this opportunity to THANK every single one of you who backed our campaign, gave us advice and feedback, or supported us in any other way!

You are helping us make our dreams come true. Thank you for reading, and we'll talk to you again soon! Josip