About / Pocalyptic Labs

The end of the world has a beginning.

I'm Steve, an indie game developer based in Edmonton, Alberta. Pocalyptic Labs is where I create sci-fi apocalypse games and stories about the moment things start to go wrong.

I'm Steve, an indie game developer based in Edmonton, Alberta. Pocalyptic Labs is where I create sci-fi apocalypse games and stories about the moment things start to go wrong.

Steve, founder of Pocalyptic Labs, smiling in his home studio.

01 / WHY I MAKE THESE

I want to know how it started.

I grew up playing games in the late '80s and early '90s, and sci-fi and the apocalypse have been my favorite ground ever since, in games, novels, film and TV. Most stories in this genre begin years after the fall, with the ruins, the scavengers and the slow rebuilding. I'm more interested in the beginning: the chaos, the brutality, and how people react while nobody yet knows what's happening. I like the mystery, and the hidden things that surface when you dig.

I've carried story ideas in this space for years without taking the next step. Phase 6 Protocol, which I've wanted to make since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, is that step. Pocalyptic Labs is the home for everything that follows.

02 / INFLUENCES

Stories that start with a question.

The stories that stuck with me all hold something back. The Silo series keeps asking why its world is the way it is, and that need to uncover the hidden truth is what I want a player to feel. World War Z put me inside the outbreak itself, not the quiet years after it. Contagion showed me how gripping a pandemic story can be when it stays grounded in how a real outbreak might unfold.

These are only a few of the influences. There are many extraordinary works in this genre that have shaped how I think about the story, and I'm grateful to every one of them. I'm not trying to retell any of them. I want to make the kind of story that makes you lean in and ask what really happened, and why.

The stories that stuck with me all hold something back. The Silo series keeps asking why its world is the way it is, and that need to uncover the hidden truth is what I want a player to feel. World War Z put me inside the outbreak itself, not the quiet years after it. Contagion showed me how gripping a pandemic story can be when it stays grounded in how a real outbreak might unfold.

These are only a few of the influences. There are many extraordinary works in this genre that have shaped how I think about the story, and I'm grateful to every one of them. I'm not trying to retell any of them. I want to make the kind of story that makes you lean in and ask what really happened, and why.

03 / HOW IT'S MADE

Solo developer, learning as I build.

Pocalyptic Labs is a one-person studio. I'm new to coding and still learning, and I have some skills as an artist. Where I'm stretched thin, I lean on AI to help with concept imagery, promotional graphics, coding help, brainstorming and editing. The ideas, characters, stories and creative decisions are mine, and I review and make the final call on everything that ships. The people, organizations and quotes in my games are fictional.

AI is how I'm getting these projects started, not how I want them to end up. I want real artists' work in these games.

04 / COLLABORATE

Let's build something together.

I'd like Pocalyptic Labs to be more than a one-person studio, and I'm always looking for opportunities to work with other creators. I'm open to working with artists, developers, writers, composers and anyone else who loves sci-fi and apocalypse stories and wants to help build them, whether that's on a single project or as a long-term partner or co-developer.

I'm self-funded with a limited budget, so I'm not posting a job. I'm looking for people who are excited by what I'm making and want to connect. Terms are open, and I'd rather work them out in conversation, openly, than promise something I can't deliver.

If that sounds like you, tell me a bit about yourself and what you'd like to work on, and send a link to your work if you have one.

I'd like Pocalyptic Labs to be more than a one-person studio, and I'm always looking for opportunities to work with other creators. I'm open to working with artists, developers, writers, composers and anyone else who loves sci-fi and apocalypse stories and wants to help build them, whether that's on a single project or as a long-term partner or co-developer.

I'm self-funded with a limited budget, so I'm not posting a job. I'm looking for people who are excited by what I'm making and want to connect. Terms are open, and I'd rather work them out in conversation, openly, than promise something I can't deliver.

If that sounds like you, tell me a bit about yourself and what you'd like to work on, and send a link to your work if you have one.

POCALYPTIC LABS / Contact

Send a signal.

Collaboration, a question, or just a hello. Tell me who you are and what you'd like to work on.

Your details are only used to reply to your message. See the Privacy Policy.