Meaningful decisions through limited choice. How the devs behind Tiny Bookshop were inspired to design their hit cozy game

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I recently spoke with David Zapfe-Wildemann, co-founder of neoludic games, the team behind the popular cozy game, Tiny Bookshop. In this charming simulation, you run a very small bookshop – basically a shed on wheels! You’ll travel to beautiful places, meet the people who live there, learn what books they’ll love, and sell your wares.

Conversation with the co-founder of the studio behind Tiny Bookshop

Tiny Bookshop has built a dedicated fanbase who enjoy its relaxing, single-player gameplay. Even after it launched, thousands of players continued to play on Steam each day. It was also a great decision to release the game on Nintendo Switch, as it’s ideal for this kind of experience. Plus, the online communities surrounding Tiny Bookshop have remained surprisingly lively.

A few weeks ago, I had a great email interview with Zapfe-Wildemann. We discussed a lot of interesting things, including the surprising influences on their game, Tiny Bookshop – they even mentioned the Pokémon series! Zapfe-Wildemann also explained how players can learn to understand the game’s 52 different book tag types, and shared what they’re currently reading. Here’s the full interview with the co-founder of neoludic games.

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Matt Buckley from Gamepressure asks, “Could you tell our audience who you are? Please share your name and what you do on the team.”

Hi, I’m David Zapfe-Wildemann, the designer behind Tiny Bookshop, and I also co-founded the indie game studio, neoludic games.

Tiny Bookshop has become really popular with gamers who enjoy cozy games. Besides the game being well-made, what do you think the developers did to build such a dedicated and engaged community around it?

We believe kindness and compassion are central to our game, and our players appreciate that in their interactions with each other. This creates a positive and welcoming environment on platforms like our Discord and Reddit.

I’m interested in learning what other games helped shape Tiny Bookshop. Were there any games that influenced how it plays or looks?

I really appreciate how Pokémon games make choices feel important, even though you don’t have many options. You only get to bring six creatures with you, and each one can only learn four moves. This limitation forces you to think carefully about your team, which makes battles faster and more engaging. Frog Fractions is another game I admire – its unexpected twists and turns inspired the surprising side quests and adventures in Tiny Bookshop. We wanted players to be genuinely surprised! And of course, Night in the Woods is a huge influence, especially when it comes to creating a strong atmosphere and compelling writing.

We’re getting a lot of questions from the community about how our book recommendations are generated. People are curious about which tags are most important, and if there are any factors we don’t publicly share. We’re also considering adding a feature that explains why a particular book wasn’t recommended to a player.

That’s an interesting question! We use around 52 different tags to categorize books, and a customer request usually includes two or three things they like – and sometimes even unstated preferences. For example, we know children generally don’t enjoy books for older teens, and older adults aren’t usually fans of graphic novels. We always try to fulfill requests, but it’s important to remember there isn’t always one perfect answer. Sometimes we don’t have exactly what a customer is looking for, and it’s helpful to keep in mind that they’ve probably already considered the most obvious choices.

Here are my personal top 3 tips for recommending books in TB:

Notice how people request books and how emphatically they express their preferences.

If you can’t find a book that perfectly fits what your customer wants, skip the features they don’t like and concentrate on their top priority.

Don’t limit your search to obvious places. You can find fantasy in children’s books, and classic literature might surprise you with other genres too.

Is there any possibility of letting players customize their shelves in the game sometime down the line?

That’s awesome to hear! The team actually had this really cool idea way back when – a character who was a woodworker and could help you personalize your shop with custom shelves and stuff. They even did some early designs for them, but unfortunately, they didn’t quite make it into the first version of the game. Hopefully we’ll see them eventually!

Are there any plans for future updates? If so, what will they include? Will the focus be on new things to do in the game, like gameplay features, or more on things to collect and customize, like decorations or books?

We’re currently working with a group of people from our community – a ‘book council’ – to broaden and diversify the books we offer. You’ll see the results of their work in our next update.

I’ve noticed a recurring question: are children’s books intentionally difficult to sell in the game? Or is there something players aren’t understanding about how the system works?

We want to encourage players to explore the town in your second-hand mobile bookshop. We’re doing this with quests, interesting characters, and points of interest, but also by limiting the number of books available each day. If you specialize in a specific genre like crime, you might find yourself running out of stock. Currently, we have the fewest books and quests related to children’s books. While locations like the castle, beach, supermarket, and park are good places to sell them, it’s generally harder to sell a lot of kids’ books compared to other genres.

MB: Finally, do you have a favorite book or one you’re reading right now?

I’ve been really into Martha Wells’s Murderbot Diaries lately. I’m also starting my yearly fall tradition of re-listening to the Song of Ice and Fire audiobooks, which should keep me entertained all winter long.

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We’d like to thank David Zapfe-Wildemann and neoludic games for letting us share this charming indie game with you. If you’re looking for a relaxing and delightful experience, we highly recommend checking out Tiny Bookshop, which is now available on Steam and Nintendo Switch.

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2025-12-26 19:03