Devlog notes - Part 1

The time has come to finally share a bit more about the development process of The Flat. For those of you following us on Discord you probably already know that we post small updates there every Friday. However, we've been pretty quiet here, and I’ll be honest—it’s not because we didn’t want to share. It’s just that between development and life, there wasn’t much time to write a full post, and for a while, we didn’t have many exciting things to show in full. But that’s changed. As we approach the demo release in the coming months, we’re excited to let you in on what’s been happening in The Flat.

This project has been through a lot. Development started back in late 2022, and since then, we’ve gone through countless prototypes, concepts, and changes. So much has been added and evolved that it feels like the right time to give you a peek.

Right now, we’re in the polishing phase, adding a few last touches to get the demo ready. The game is evolving rapidly, and we’re pushing hard to make everything feel just right. This post is a bit of a summary—a look at where the project began, how it’s changed, and where it’s headed.

From idea to reality

Like most projects, The Flat started with a big idea. We wanted to figure out what The Flat should be and what kind of story we wanted to tell. We definitely wanted the world to be minimalistic, carry its own atmosphere, and at the same time offer addictive gameplay.

At first we wanted to create a completely different game, with a procedural way of creating maps, RPG elements, and everything in a dark Slavic climate. We tried to put together a team of friends from the industry: three people with a background in graphics and engine knowledge, plus one programmer, and someone handling marketing. A total of five people. But the scale of that original idea was way too ambitious for the time and resources we had. So, we took a step back, reimagined everything, and The Flat idea was somehow born.

We downsized our small team to just one person handling graphics, one for programming, and the occasional involvement of the marketing specialist. The initial idea was simple: a game set inside the player’s apartment, with occasional trips outside into the larger world. The flat itself would be a kind of hub—a base to return to after exploring. But as we played with the concept, it evolved into something much bigger and more visually striking. It changed completely and we left just a few bits of the very first gameplay ideas we had for the game and I personally believe it was the right path to go.

The current version of The Flat is very visual-heavy, with a dark, brutalist aesthetic and a mix of humor and absurdity in its story. The idea of being trapped in a corporate machine—a cog in a never-ending grind— like Steam description states, really resonated with us, especially since many of us have experienced corporate life firsthand. It just clicked. That’s why you’ll find little jokes, absurd letters, and references scattered throughout the game, poking fun at the ridiculousness and stupidity of it all.

Inspiration

The inspiration behind The Flat ties back to our experiences and how we see the world (I guess?)—how things work (or don’t work), and corporations being just a symbol. When it came to designing levels, weapons, characters, and the overall vibe, we