adminEvil Trout is bringing its second detective game, The Incident At Galley House, to Steam after the original made an impression as a free release on Itch.io. The studio’s approach echoes its debut, The Roottrees Are Dead: take an independently made game with an audience, then develop it into a more polished commercial release. Yet founder Robin Ward says this two-game pattern emerged by chance rather than from a deliberate plan.
Image credit: Evil Trout
How Evil Trout found two Itch.io detective games
Ward founded Evil Trout in 2023 after leaving the technology startup Discourse, which he had helped establish. His original goal was to make The Secrets Of Skellig, a third-person puzzle game. That project did not reach release, and an unexpected injury helped redirect his work.
After breaking his arm in November 2023, Ward found himself unable to continue programming comfortably. During his recovery, he tried The Roottrees Are Dead, a puzzle game created by Jeremy Johnston. Johnston had first developed it for the 2023 Global Game Jam, whose theme was “Roots,” and later published a fuller version on Itch.io.
The game’s family-tree mystery attracted interest despite limited promotion. Ward saw potential for a wider audience if the experience received a visual and technical polish. He proposed funding a Steam adaptation, including new artwork. Johnston agreed, while Ward took on the financial risk.
From free release to a commercial launch
Ward funded the development of The Roottrees Are Dead by selling some of his Discourse shares. Its budget was about $60,000, with much of that spent on professional art by Henning Ludvigsen. The new character portraits replaced AI-generated images used in the original free version.
The Steam release earned back its budget within 48 hours. Its performance then helped pay for Evil Trout’s next project, whose budget grew to around $250,000. For readers interested in the business side of indie games, the contrast shows how a successful release can give a small studio room to take on a larger production.
Robin Ward | Image credit: Evil Trout
The next game began with another Itch.io discovery. William Rous had worked on Type Help intermittently for about two years, drawing on a story idea he developed at university. He released it in January 2025, shortly after The Roottrees Are Dead arrived on Steam. Rous had not expected much of a response, but Ward contacted him with the idea of adapting it.
How The Incident At Galley House changes Type Help
Unlike a straightforward polish, The Incident At Galley House substantially reworks its source material. The original presented scenes as text transcripts. The new version uses 2D artwork and a voice cast, while players enter codes through a science-fiction device rather than relying on a text interface.
That device also addresses a practical design goal. Johnston wanted the remake to work on Steam Deck and potentially consoles, where a mouse-and-keyboard-focused text interface may not translate as naturally to a controller. A useful consideration for players comparing versions is that the remake changes both the presentation and the way information is handled.
Johnston joined Evil Trout full-time after working on The Roottrees Are Dead. He had initially doubted that Type Help needed a remake, but Rous welcomed the adaptation. The new game also expands parts of the story, including its ending.
What comes next for Evil Trout
The studio’s future plans will depend partly on how The Incident At Galley House performs. Ward says he would like to create a game from the ground up next, rather than adapt another Itch.io title. He and Johnston have ideas to consider, although the scale and direction of their next project are not yet settled.
For now, The Incident At Galley House is another example of how Evil Trout turns an independent game into a fuller Steam release. The studio’s next chapter may move beyond that model, but its latest launch builds directly on the success of discovering promising games on Itch.io.
