Idle Researcher - Familiar Findings demo out now
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idleresearcher.bsky.social
Idle Researcher - Familiar Findings demo out now
@idleresearcher.bsky.social
450 followers 1.5K following 630 posts
Indie dev and producer for idle game Familiar Findings
👾 https://store.steampowered.com/app/3914780?utm_source=irbsky

Former Dev at Jagex

Full-time cat bed (and react native engineer)

🇮🇪 Living in 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

#IrishGameDev #IndieDev #GameDev

(They/Them)
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idleresearcher.bsky.social
Familiar Findings is part of the #MidwinterSpirits Festival!

🌟 Cozy witchy idle game

🧙‍♀️Complete your magical grimoire

👻 Summon grumpy ghosts, sleepy dragons and two-tailed cats

✏️ Play while you study, work or over other games!

Demo out now on Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/3914780?...
On the left there is a graphic that reads Midwinter Spirits, December 01 - 08 in white text on a blue background. There are small stars dotted around the graphic. The S from Spirits is designed to look like a ghost. On the right is a graphic advertising the idle game Familiar Findings. It depicts a white haired elf opening a magical grimoire. Coming out of the book is a cat with two-tails. Behind her a small red dragon is flying over her shoulder. Above her head is purple text which reads Familiar Findings. The Fs in Familiar and Findings are designed to look like antlers, while the tail of the g resembles a dragon's wing. This is on a yellow background with purple stars dotted throughout.
December 1, 2025 at 6:24 PM
idleresearcher.bsky.social
Just know when you see the wonderful animations in Familiar Findings that this is what our lead animator has to put up with for references from me. As you might be able to tell I am not the artist for this game.

#IndieDev #whosthatpokemon
A poorly drawn figure of a sleeping ghost wearing a cloak with its lantern lodged in the ground.
November 7, 2025 at 9:43 PM
idleresearcher.bsky.social
Hey #PitchYaGame!

Familiar Findings Demo Out Now:

👾Creature collector and idler

🧙‍♀️Summon magical creatures

👻Sleepy Dragons, Grumpy Ghosts, Curious Cats and more

✏️Play while you study, work or over other games!

#IndieDev #cozygames #idler

Wishlist: store.steampowered.com/app/3914780/...
November 7, 2025 at 9:38 PM
idleresearcher.bsky.social
The demo is live now. We've tried to make it as user-friendly and accessible as possible with simple mechanics, UI and accessibility options. We've also heard that it's great for people with ADHD because it keeps them engaged with whatever else they're doing without interfering in their work.
A screenshot from the Idle game familiar findings. A magical grimoire is opened on the codex page. The page shows different categories of Familiars like dragons, spirits and fauna. On the righthand side is the entry for a Draig. It says "Draigs were once hunted for their hides, which were fashioned into highly protective and durable scale mail. This practice has long been outlawed thanks to the work of Familiar Rights groups." In a different font it says "The first Familiar Rights Group was founded by my ancestor, the famous mythozoologist Avis Draki."
November 4, 2025 at 12:18 AM
idleresearcher.bsky.social
Streamers! Transparent window mode has been added to our demo so you can stream our game alongside others more easily with OBS. This + Twitch Integration were among our most requested features at NextFest and we are hard at work on the latter

Always hear first on our Discord: discord.gg/NFPPADyjYF
An image of the Familar Findings idle game discord QR code. A white haired elf stands in front of a small cozy cottage. A two-tailed cat sits in the corner. A dragon pup stands by her side while an adult dragon flies over head. A slime is in the distant background.
November 2, 2025 at 10:50 PM
idleresearcher.bsky.social
NextFest might be over but the Familiar Findings Demo is still available. If you're looking for a Halloween game that's witchy but not scary it's a great way to enjoy the festive season. Find it here: store.steampowered.com/app/3914780/...

#indiegames #idlegames #idler #cozygames #halloweengames
October 27, 2025 at 9:37 PM
idleresearcher.bsky.social
@anwenvt.bsky.social may have had one of my favourite reactions to a Familiar in all of Next Fest. Check out their stream for the full thing here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTNB...

#NextFest #indiedev #idlegames #cozygames
October 19, 2025 at 7:34 PM
idleresearcher.bsky.social
@amiiatsix.bsky.social is now live streaming our game Familiar Findings. Check it out! www.twitch.tv/amiiatsix

#nextfest #idlegames #cutegames #cozygames #streaming #twitch #halloweengames #indiegames #gamedev
A screenshot from twitch. A Vtuber is playing Familiar Findings. There is a red panda, a ghost and a dragon on the bottom of the screen. On the desktop, the user is also playing the same game with other mythical creatures.
October 19, 2025 at 7:09 PM
idleresearcher.bsky.social
It was really cool to see how @skellanore.bsky.social positioned #FamiliarFindings alongside interfaces in other games in their stream last night!

#NextFest #CozyGame #CuteGame
A screenshot of a Twitch stream. The interface for Familiar Findings has been resized to fit neatly within the interface of the game behind it.
October 19, 2025 at 12:56 PM
idleresearcher.bsky.social
@cosmicnexuss.bsky.social discovering the OpenDyslexic font in #FamiliarFindings reminded me to post it for #ScreenshotSaturday. Having multiple fonts for people to choose from to improve accessibility was an early decision we made in this project.

#cutegame #cozygame #nextfest
A screenshot of a codex page in Familiar Findings. The font is OpenDyslexic, which is a wide spaced font specifically designed to made reading easier for those with dyslexia. The page shows a small red dragon. The title says Hatchling, Tier 1 Dragon. There's a lore entry below that saying "These mischevious pups are closely guarded by their flock until their wings strengthen and fire ignites in their bellies.". There's a note from the writer of the codex below saying "How to Train your Dragon Familiar was my first ever book about Familiars. I still keep a copy in my library!"
October 18, 2025 at 6:53 PM
idleresearcher.bsky.social
I love this, but making Elfie cry if you choose "I'll think about it" is absolutely heartless 😭
A screenshot of Elfie: A Sand Plan. It shows a text box, with Elfie asking "Could I interest you in wishlisting the game?". The four options presented are "yes", "absolutely", "show me where" and "I'll think about it".
October 17, 2025 at 11:45 PM
idleresearcher.bsky.social
Taking a break from scouring social media to actually spend some time playing the demo!
A screenshot of the opening screen for Elfie: A Sand Plan demo. The screen shows the title of the game, as well as a menu to start, change options and exit. At the bottom of the screen, the overlay of Familiar Findings is shown, with a dragon, hedgehog and ghost on the screen alongside Avia, the witch main character.
October 17, 2025 at 11:37 PM
idleresearcher.bsky.social
Doesn't *exactly match your hue, but it does match a little.
An image of a blue pixel art dragon, flying and blowing smoke.
October 16, 2025 at 5:13 PM
idleresearcher.bsky.social
Had a lot of fun catching up with @embershadow.bsky.social's stream of our game on Twitch. Seeing people enjoy our game has been far and away the best part of NextFest. Check out their Twitch here: www.twitch.tv/embershadow2...
YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0ey...

#cozygames #indiegames #idler
October 16, 2025 at 2:28 PM
idleresearcher.bsky.social
NextFest has been phenomenal for us so far, 2,000 wishlists in just over 2 days, 100s playing the demo. Watching streamers play has been especially meaningful, getting to see and interact as people are experiencing #FamiliarFindings for the first time.

#wishlistwednesday #indiedev #cozygame #idler
Promotional art for Familiar Findings' participating in Steam Next Fest. The art is split down the middle. On the left is the Steam Next Fest logo, text reading Familiar Findings, Cliffa Games. Below that it says "Check out our game demo during steam next fest. Oct 13 - 20 AT 10 AM PT". On the right hand side, some of the capsule art is shown. A smiling white haired character has a small red dragon above her, and a two-tailed calico cat to her right.
October 16, 2025 at 12:15 AM
idleresearcher.bsky.social
Familiar Findings was featured in Buckeye Bunny's video "28 Free Chill & Cozy Games to Play NOW." Watch the full video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=90I0...
October 14, 2025 at 9:33 PM
idleresearcher.bsky.social
We were featured in @paytonscorner.bsky.social on YouTube. Thank you to Payton and check out the full video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCEJ...

We're around the 1:09:00 mark. #NextFest #Idlegames #cozygames #pcgames #indiegames
October 14, 2025 at 9:19 PM
idleresearcher.bsky.social
Releasing a first game is pretty nerve wrecking, especially when most of your feedback has been within your own network. There's something really lovely about seeing the line go up when it gets in front of a wider audience.

#NextFest #CozyGame #CuteGame #IdleGame #FamiliarFindings
A chart showing the daily active user count for the idle game Familiar Findings. The line fluctuates between 10 and 30 from mid September until 13th October. When Steam NextFest begins, there's a sharp increase to close to 100.
October 13, 2025 at 11:47 PM
idleresearcher.bsky.social
It's the final #wishlistwednesday before NextFest! We've been hard at work making sure our demo is stable ahead of Monday.

If you're someone who likes idle games, cute monsters or just a little bit of magic in your day, please do check us out!

#indiedev #cozygame #cutegame #irishdev #steam #demo
Capsule art for the idle game Familiar Findings. It depicts the protagonist Avia, a white haired witch, holding a grimoire. A two tailed cat is being conjured from the grimoire. A red dragon is peering over Avia's shoulder. In the centre of the image, the Familiar Findings logo is present.
October 8, 2025 at 8:27 PM
idleresearcher.bsky.social
Very happy to say that the demo for #FamiliarFindings is now available in 9 different languages! Hoping to add another 2 before NextFest.

#indiedev #nextfest #cozygame #wishlistwednesday #jogoindie #fofura #インディーゲーム #独立游戏 #인디게임
A screenshot of the settings page in Familiar Findings. It shows a dropdown of the language options, which includes English, Spanish, French, Dutch, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Russian and Japanese. A screenshot of the tutorial text from Familiar Findings. It's written in Brazilian Portuguese and introduces the character Avia.
October 2, 2025 at 2:00 AM
idleresearcher.bsky.social
Can I suggest a cozy idle game adored by cats this #wishlistwednesday? Mine loves to watch the little creatures on the bottom of my screen while I work. We've just updated our codex with fun lore and history for each Familiar. Link: store.steampowered.com/app/3914780?...

#indiegames #cozygames
A screenshot of the codex from the idle game Familiar Findings. The left page shows the player the Familiars that they've unlocked. You can see spirits, faunae and dragons. The right page shows the entry for Grimalkin, a starter Familiar in the game. The player can see how many they've found, the highest rarity they've gotten, fusion combinations that they've tried and flavour text. The scholarly text reads: "The domestication of Grimalkin pre-dates recorded history. Mythohistorians theorise that they were initially adopted by herbalists as mousers but became valued for their companionship overtime." Avia's notes read: "Cute and cuddly, Grimalkin are a great low-maintenance "starter familiar" for young witches." A tuxedo cat in front of a desktop monitor. The monitor shows the idle game Familiar Findings. On the bottom of the screen you can see a two-tailed cat, a dragon and a blue unidentifiable creature. There is an open spell book hovering in the centre of the screen.
September 24, 2025 at 9:47 PM
idleresearcher.bsky.social
If you're a content creator/games reviewer and you're interested in joining our press list please reply below/DM me. Looking to work with a wide variety of smaller creators. Familiar Findings is a cozy idle game where you summon witches' familiars to complete a magical grimoire. #indiedev #gamedev
Capsule art for the idle game Familiar Findings. It depicts a white-haired elf holding a spell book/grimoire. Purple smoke is coming out from the pages forming into a two-tailed cat. A dragon peeks at the book from behind her shoulder. The background is yellow with purple font spelling the games title.
September 24, 2025 at 12:55 AM
idleresearcher.bsky.social
There's been a lot of team discussion on what to name these creatures in our game Familiar Findings. Any suggestions? It's a cozy game with magical familiars so the vibe is cute/magical/witchy.
2D Pixel art from the idle creature collector Familiar Findings. It depicts a small mammal with an otter like face, deer like antlers and racoon like markings. The fur is green and white and the eyes are blue.
September 18, 2025 at 11:31 PM
idleresearcher.bsky.social
Here's a picture of my cat Persephone for anyone who wanted a real cat photo.
A tuxedo cat on a sofa. It's staring wide eyed at something above the camera.
September 6, 2025 at 6:24 PM
idleresearcher.bsky.social
Thought it might be fun to combine #caturday and #screenshotsaturday in one post. This is our two-tailed cat, the starting familiar of our fauna family. We've updated the summoning page recently to make the rarity reveal feel a bit more special.

#gamedev #cozygame #creaturecollector #irishdev #cute
A screenshot from the idle creature collector FamiliarFindings. It depicts a grimoire. The left page shows a selection window where the user has chosen to summon a familiar from the fauna family. The right page shows a tarot style card, with a two tailed cat in the center, and two filled gems at the top of the card indicating its rarity out of five. The cat is white with orange spots, and the gems are red.
September 6, 2025 at 6:21 PM