Townscaper is an indie city builder video game. It was released for PC and Mac on the Steam platform in June 2020 by developer Oskar Stålberg. A port to the Nintendo Switch was released in August 2021, alongside which the Steam version left early access.^[3] It features low poly graphics and a simple, minimalistic user interface.

The game is also scheduled to be released on mobile platforms in October 2021.^[4]

Gameplay[edit]

Townscaper has no inherent objective or story, and has been described by developer Stålberg as “more of a toy” than a game.^[5] Users construct an island town by placing and removing colored blocks on an ocean. Various “rules” dictate these blocks’ appearances, with some appearing as spires and others as balconies. This method of rule-based decoration allows arches, gardens, and stairways to be created without specific user instruction.^[1]

Setting[edit]

Townscaper takes place on a large distorted grid set in an infinite sea.^[5] This allows for towns that feel more organic and unstructured when compared to similar games that are based on regular grids.

Development[edit]

Townscaper was developed by Swedish^[6] developer Oskar Stålberg, who previously worked on Bad North. Stålberg gave a talk at the event IndieCade Europe 2019 during development, that showcased some of the game’s features, including terrain generation and procedural building design.^[7]

Reception[edit]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (July 2020)

The game was covered by a number of online journalism websites shortly after its release.^[8][1][5]