Independent games. Endless enthusiasm.

A little creaky. A lot of play.

Games made with curiosity, character, and a lifelong love of play.

Meet our first game
Our first game
Swap Swap Keep screenshot: the pixel-art town of Swapley, with a post office, sweet shop, park, pond and picnic area

Welcome to Swapley!

Introducing

Swap Swap Keep

A little town. A world to collect.

Explore Swapley, meet its characters, and grow your card collection. It's a cosy pixel-art game inspired by the swap cards of the 70s and 80s, where every building has something to do.

CozyCollectingPixel art
Follow its progress

Three things to collect

swap, swap, keep!
  • Swap cardsThe classics. Mabel has a few you'll want.
  • Sports stickersPackets from the sports shop, for the album that's never quite finished.
  • Chews Wisely gum cardsFrom the sweet shop. The gum is optional, the cards are not.

Game two

Something else is bubbling away in the workshop. We'll tell you more when we stop arguing about it.

coming soon…
The Creaky Joystick mascot, a red joystick in glasses, hobbling along clutching his back

Older geek. New adventures.

We're Creaky Joystick Games, an independent studio and publisher making games with a bit more life experience and the same childlike curiosity that started it all.

How we make games
The house rules

Three things we won't compromise on

rule one

Every door opens onto something

If you can walk into a building, there's a reason to. No empty shops, no set dressing pretending to be a place.

rule two

Never leave you standing around

Choice and busyness are the fun part. Working towards something is great. Being told to wait until next season isn't.

rule three

No one repeats themselves

Characters get proper stories and plenty to say, so the shopkeeper doesn't greet you the same way for the fortieth time.

From the devlog

Behind the scenes

The first devlog is on its way

Angela is writing up how Swap Swap Keep is coming together. Check back soon for screenshots, sketches and the odd behind-the-scenes disaster.

Say hello

Come along for the ride

Follow the devlog for progress, screenshots and the odd behind-the-scenes disaster as Swap Swap Keep gets closer to launch.