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'My 5 minute game took me like 5 years to draw by hand': one dev broke 50 pencils to make this gorgeous 'interactive illustration'

Short Trip, a charming side-scrolling indie game where you're a tram-conducting cat, arrives on Steam December 11th. Enjoy a relaxing, hand-drawn world, picking up (or ignoring) feline passengers in a unique, untimed experience or challenge yourself with the new 'scheduled' mode.

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Short Trip stays true to its name in that the game really doesn't take too long to see all the way through, but its developer spent five whole years drawing every inch of its gorgeous world by hand.

For those unfamiliar, Short Trip is a side-scrolling game where you play as a tram-conducting cat that needs to pick up and drop off other trench coat wearing cats along a serene countryside-core world. You either hold the right or left arrow buttons to move the tram, and you can even ride right past the felines waiting at each station, making it more of a tranquil drawing to unwind with rather than an objective-fuelled game. 

It was originally released for free on developer Alexander Perrin's website where it was "enjoyed by millions," but it's now getting a premium release on Steam come December 11. "This complete version includes all the content of the original while adding a new 'scheduled' mode that integrates your computer's clock to create a tram timetable," the game's Steam description reads. "Reach each station at the correct time and rack up a high score! I've also included a little peek behind the scenes at the development process for the curious."

Over on Reddit, Perrin delved into how unexpectedly time-consuming the process was. "My 5 minute game took me like 5 years to draw by hand," he wrote, before joking that he made it "with a pencil (or fifty)." All of those development hours and doomed pencils show when you actually boot up Short Trip, from the subtle shading to the beautiful details hidden everywhere.

"Honestly, there isn't really a goal!" Perrine continued in a Reddit comment. "The classic mode (which imo is the best way to play) is just an untimed, completely free way to play where you can pick up passengers… or not. I absolutely created the game to be more of an ‘interactive illustration’ than a goal based game. As you say, it won’t be for everyone, but I hope some people enjoy it for what it is!"

Take a look at some other upcoming indie games of 2025 and beyond for more.