Supercode: Color Your Heart Out

We spoke with Mitch from Itchy Mitchy Games to find out about their new AI-powered game - "Color Your Heart Out", a creative colouring app for adults - a little bit about the indie game world, game design, their process and how the adventure in AI and gaming has gone so far. <3

Dreamlab: Tell us about this new project, what's Color Your Heart Out all about? We've tried Color Your Heart Out and we love the concept!

Mitch: Color Your Heart Out is an AI-powered coloring book app for adults that’s all about turning your words into cool, artsy pages. Just type what’s on your mind and let our AI do its magic, turning it into a coloring page. It's packed with fun tools like pencils and sprays, and even has chill tunes to help you relax.

"...this was my first solo flight—coding, designing, you name it. To see it all come together into something that’s actually out there? That’s wild to me.

D: We love the concept of this game and we've been having a blast exploring the idea... and creating the odd masterpiece! What are some of the things you're most proud of about developing this game?

M: Honestly, I'm just stoked that I got to wear so many hats with this project. I mean, I've dabbled in digital stuff before, mostly strategy work, right? But this was my first solo flight—coding, designing, you name it. To see it all come together into something that’s actually out there? That’s wild to me.

D: Sounds like you've got your work cut out for you; it sounds like you've constructed a pretty complex role. Are there any systems that you use to create game concepts?

M: I keep it super simple. It starts with me thinking, "Hey, would I play that?" And if it's a yes, it goes into a big ol’ doc where I dump all my brainwaves. It’s my treasure chest of "what-ifs" and "maybe-somethings" that might turn into actual features.

D: So - For the people out there unfamiliar with the territory - how did you go about organizing and planning this project? 

M: Changelogs are my lifeline. They’re not just for tracking what I did but for steering the whole project. It’s like my project diary, helping me remember the what, when, and why of every little change. Plus, I love ticking things off the list.

D: That's really cool, the idea of a project diary, "organized ambition". Even with staying organized, there are always challenges along the way; what were some of the most challenging issues of designing this game?

M: You’d think it would be the big, flashy AI features, right? Turns out, it was the little things like getting a custom cursor to play nice. It’s always the small details that sneak up on you!

D: Very true, especially in new creation territory. I could understand how little, unexpected, things popping up could be nearly endless. What kind of things inform you when creating in this space? Do you follow gaming software trends?

M: Yes! Being clued into what’s hot helps me keep the game relevant and exciting. Plus, it sparks ideas that I can tweak and make my own.

D: The concept of Color Your Heart Out feels very inspired. Is this your first game or have you worked on other games before?

M: This is my first solo coding rodeo. I’ve been part of teams for other projects, but this is the first game where I’m the one in the driver’s seat from start to finish.

D: Nice. This sounds like it's been an adventure then. What have you encountered as some of your strengths and weaknesses in game development - how do you leverage your strengths and work around your weaknesses?

M: Coding isn’t naturally my jam—I’m more of an ideas guy. But, I’ve gotten pretty good at using AI to fill in the gaps. Like, if I need a script or something, I just prompt an AI, tweak what it gives me, and bam, I’m set. For example, I needed something that could rename an entire folder of colouring book page files while also creating a JSON file containing colour codes and keywords for each of these pages, to save me many hours of tedious work. So I prompted ChatGPT to write me a simple Python script which would do this very task, and voila! It worked perfectly and I was able to do that portion of the development in minutes rather than hours.

"Coding isn’t naturally my jam—I’m more of an ideas guy. But, I’ve gotten pretty good at using AI to fill in the gaps."

D: What motivates and drives you to create games?

M: I’ve been gaming forever, and I’ve always got this running list of "Man, I wish this game had..." So, making games? It’s my chance to take all those wishes and make them real for myself and everyone else.

D: With this kind of experience and passion for gaming, what was your approach to designing the way people interact with games - the interfaces? 

M: As a quadriplegic, accessibility was non-negotiable. I needed something that I could use easily, so that drove me to design something clean and simple that anyone could get into, no matter their skill level or physical ability.

D: From exploring the game so far, it feels like you've definitely succeeded in that regard. Did you create this game completely by yourself, or as part of a team?

M: It was mostly a solo gig. I had some testers and a little coding help from AI, but the rest was all me.

D: What do you consider your biggest achievement with creating this game?

M: Figuring out how to work with the AI to get it to do what I needed was huge for me. It felt like I had a coding buddy, helping me bridge the gap between my vision and what I could actually program.

D: What inspired you to create Color Your Heart Out?

M: I stumbled across this AI model for making colouring book pages, and I thought, why not build a whole game around that? Something where you can create and then colour right there in the same app—it just clicked.

D: Do you have any plans for any other games or platforms?

M: Oh, definitely! I’ve got a few ideas brewing. Some involve more AI, and others are like modern takes on some classic arcade games. I’m just getting started!

D: Tell us about some of your favourite games, and why?

M: I’m a big fan of strategy games like Civilization—they make you think, you know? And I love the open-world chaos of games like Fallout and DayZ.

D: As a gamer what are your thoughts on the indie game industry currently?

M: It’s a powerhouse of innovation. Without the same pressures as the big studios, indie developers can experiment and push boundaries in ways that are seriously exciting.

D: Given the endless possibilities. Do you think there is a right or wrong way to develop games?

M: Nah, it’s like art. Everyone’s got their style and process. What works for one might not work for another, and that’s totally cool.

D: What are some of your favourite game genres and platforms?

M: I’m all about PCs for the versatility they offer, especially for indie games. But when it comes to genres, give me a good strategy or survival game, and I’m set for hours.

D: Tell us about some of the figures in the indie game industry that people absolutely need to know.

M: You gotta check out folks like Burak Dabak—he’s a one-man army, creating games that can stand toe-to-toe with big-budget titles. It’s super inspiring.

D: What are some ways for aspiring game creators to get inspired?

M: Just start playing with the tools out there! Today’s tech gives you so much freedom to experiment and learn as you go. And never underestimate the power of a good gaming community for support and ideas.

D: Do you have any additional planned updates for Color Your Heart Out?

M: For the upcoming update to Color Your Heart Out, we've got some really cool stuff coming that I think you're going to love. First up, we're introducing a feature that lets you create your own coloring books. It's like making a playlist but for colouring pages! You can mix and match your favourites to print or share, which is great for getting exactly what you vibe with.

We're also rolling out a feature that lets you color with friends. It's about turning colouring into a hangout session, where you can collaborate on the same piece in real-time. Imagine having a virtual colouring party; that's the kind of community feel we're going for.

"Without the same pressures as the big studios, indie developers can experiment and push boundaries in ways that are seriously exciting."

D: We noticed on Twitter that you had some roadblocks when it came to distributing your game, and it seems you started with Steam as your initial choice. Tell us about that, what happened and why you went with the current platform. Also for the people out there who would like to know how games are distributed, tell us a little bit about the process.

M: Oh man, that whole Steam debacle was a real bummer. I've always been a big gamer on Steam, so naturally, I was stoked to release my game there. I thought it'd be awesome to see my own game pop up in a place that's been my go-to for gaming, you know? Plus, Steam’s got this massive user base worldwide, and I even made sure my game was accessible in 33 languages to really make it shine on that platform.

So, here’s the kicker—my brother, who’s pretty much my number one fan and has been an amazing supporter, especially after my accident, promised he’d cover the $100 fee to get the game on Steam if I managed to finish developing it. And yeah, he delivered because that’s just the kind of solid guy he is. Quick shoutout to his project, UCHEW, by the way—this epic rock parody gig he’s been doing that turns every U2 song and image into a food-themed extravaganza. It’s hilarious and it’s all for a good cause, supporting what I do.

Back to the Steam saga—after setting everything up, which took a hot minute since it was my debut launch there, I was just counting down the days to the release. But then, bam, right before the big day, Steam hits me up saying they’re pulling my game off the shelves. They flagged Color Your Heart Out for having inappropriate content, which totally floored me. They banned it outright—no chance to modify or re-submit, nothing. Just shut down the conversation and wiped my store page.

Here’s the thing—I designed the game as an adult coloring book app. I even put password protection on the AI page generator and set up filters to block any off-colour content users might try to create. But Steam? They just dropped the hammer without giving me any real feedback or a fair shot at fixing whatever they thought was wrong. And this is the same platform that’s selling games with titles that are way, way out there. It didn’t add up.

Feeling pretty gutted, I told them exactly how unfair it was, but it was like talking to a wall. I figured it must be some blanket ban they’ve got on all AI-driven games right now, but man, they handled it so badly.

Anyway, that’s the tweet drama. I ended up moving the game to Itch, which, funny enough, works out since my game studio’s called Itchy Mitchy Games. Seems like it was meant to be, right?

D: ...and the rest is history! Thanks for taking the time to talk to us about colouring your heart out; we're really looking forward to the evolution of this unique gaming concept and genre.

<3