Field Notes from the Lone Pine Dev Team — Devlog #1 | Bang Bang Bang Interactive

Lone Pine is a narrative indie adventure game about hiking down a mysterious mountain filled with cryptids, puzzles, and emotional storytelling. In our first monthly devlog, we share how the project has evolved, plus a behind-the-scenes look at our upcoming Steam demo in early 2026.

Welcome to the start of our monthly journey up the mountain.

Hey everyone! We’re the team behind Lone Pine, and we’re thrilled to be kicking off a brand-new monthly devlog series. With our Steam demo planned for early 2026, this feels like the perfect time to start taking you behind the scenes: how we’re building the world of Lone Pine, what we’re learning, and what we’re excited (and occasionally terrified) about. Whether you’ve followed us from the beginning, or you’ve stumbled across this update while chasing cryptid lore, welcome.

Screenshot from Lone Pine showing Izzie examining a trail sign on the Old Growth Trail mountain path.

Old Growth Trail sets the tone for Lone Pine’s quieter, reflective opening.

Who We Are (and how this all started)

Lone Pine began the way many indie games do: as a small game-jam idea that got wildly out of hand. Originally, the concept was simple: a short, cosy experience where you started at the top of a mountain and hiked down with the help of a friendly forest spirit. That was the entire pitch. No cryptids. No spooky undercurrent. Definitely no multi-ending narrative branching system. It was just Lachie, Dan, and Sam experimenting, learning Godot, and seeing what we could make in a weekend.

But something about the atmosphere stuck with us. We kept tinkering, building a little scene using stock assets, and then one day Lara saw what we were making and said, “This looks fun, can I join?”

With Lara’s illustrative style, the project suddenly felt like it had a unique visual identity. Before long, we were dreaming bigger: What if Lone Pine had cryptids? What if it had mystery? What if it had heart? And so, Lone Pine as you see it today was born.

Screenshot from Lone Pine showing Izzie examining a radio in the Cable Car control room.

Inside the Cable Car control room, Izzie searches for a way to contact the rangers.

Where We’re At: Demo Development and Playtesting

Right now, all four of us are flat out working toward the Steam demo, planned for early 2026. The demo covers roughly the first act of the game, where the tone shifts from curious wilderness exploration into something a little more… perilous.

We’ve finished building two new scenes for the demo, along with improvements to puzzle flow, UI refinements, new audio layers, and some early narrative sequences. It might be a lot for the demo of a short narrative game, but it’s exciting seeing everything start to feel cohesive. We can’t wait for you to play it!

We’ve also opened our first round of playtesting on Discord. The feedback so far has been incredibly helpful, along with a healthy list of bugs to tackle. Reaching this milestone has made the demo feel very real, and we’re more confident than ever about where it’s heading.

Photo of the Bang Bang Bang Interactive team at PAX Australia.

Sam, Lara, Lachie, and Dan at PAX Australia

Team Snapshot — Who Does What

Just so you know who’s who behind the scenes:

Sam – animator, sound designer, composer, video editor, and the voice of Izzie

Lara – illustrator and UI/UX designer, creator of the Lone Pine aesthetic, and Ranger Coleman’s voice

Lachie – narrative designer, game designer, producer, and the voice of Ranger McFadden

Dan – developer, systems wizard, and the one holding Godot together (as well as the voice of a secret character we can't reveal yet 👀)

Like any indie game, everyone wears a lot of different hats and helps out where they can.

Screenshot from Lone Pine showing Izzie investigating an old vehicle at High Ridge Lookout, surrounded by a small campsite and scientific equipment in the mist.

High Ridge Lookout marks the first moment something feels off on the mountain.

What We’re Excited About Right Now

1. Building the Emotional Core

The emotional core of Lone Pine comes from Izzie’s story, which explores themes of grief, solitude, memory, identity, and our relationship with nature. Also, rather than casting the wild purely as a place of self-actualisation and emotional healing, Lone Pine asks how we balance personal spiritual narratives with environmental ethics.

2. The Spooky Side Begins

The demo teases the mystery surrounding the mountain, and leads players on Izzie’s journey as she starts to discover that not all at Lone Pine is what it appears, and not all the cryptids at Lone Pine are friendly.

3. New Scenes & Puzzle Refinements

The new demo areas introduce some of our favourite early puzzles, including some photography-based challenges and a couple of environmental interactions we hope will surprise and delight players. Keeping things intuitive but challenging is a balancing act, but after the feedback from PAX, we’re confident about where we’ve landed.

4. Art & Animation Coming Together

Lara’s new environment illustrations paired with Sam’s animation has been a satisfying combination - after all, the two have worked closely together for years. Lone Pine has a unique visual style that we hope has become one of our biggest strengths.

Pre-colour environment sketch of Shady Rest cabin from Lone Pine, with Izzie placed in the scene for layout and scale.

Shady Rest cabin in its early sketch phase. Blocking out scenes first allows development and illustration to move forward in parallel.

Want to Be a Playtester?

If you’re interested in testing Lone Pine, join our Discord and we'll invite you to the playtesting group when we're ready for the next round. We’d love to have you!

That’s all for this month!

Thanks for reading our very first devlog. We’re excited to share more as we get closer to the demo and show you how Lone Pine grows month to month. See you next time!