Papers, Please
papersplea.se
Dystopian document thriller in which you play a border inspector in the fictional country of Arstotzka.
diff ~/p/lucas-pope ~/p/tyler-tvgs
Lucas Pope vs Tyler (TVGS)
Products, revenue & stack compared side by side.
Lucas Pope vs Tyler (TVGS) at a glance
Both Lucas Pope and Tyler (TVGS) are bootstrapped solo founders. They overlap in Indie Game Makers. Lucas is based in Saitama, Japan, Tyler in Sydney, Australia. Lucas started in 2010 and Tyler in 2025. Lucas Pope has 4 products listed on IndieMakerList vs Tyler (TVGS)'s 1. On X, Lucas has about 100K followers and Tyler about 119K.
Side-by-side comparison
- Based in
- Lucas Pope: Saitama, Japan
- Tyler (TVGS): Sydney, Australia
- Started
- Lucas Pope: 2010 (16 yrs indie)
- Tyler (TVGS): 2025 (1 yrs indie)
- Revenue (self-reported)
- Lucas Pope: Not public
- Tyler (TVGS): Not public
- Products listed
- Lucas Pope: 4
- Tyler (TVGS): 1
- Product status
- Lucas Pope: 4 active
- Tyler (TVGS): 1 active
- X followers
- Lucas Pope: 100K
- Tyler (TVGS): 119K
- Style
- Lucas Pope: solobootstrapped
- Tyler (TVGS): solobootstrapped
- Courses & resources
- Lucas Pope: —
- Tyler (TVGS): —
Revenue figures are self-reported by each maker and not audited; dates and scope differ. Highlighted categories are shared by both.
Top products
R
Return of the Obra Dinn
obradinn.com
1-bit mystery game where an insurance investigator deduces the fate of every crew member of a lost merchant ship.
Mars After Midnight
play.date
Playdate-exclusive game about running a support group for Martians.
T
The Republia Times
dukope.com
Short free browser game about editing a newspaper under a censoring regime, a precursor to Papers, Please.
Schedule I
store.steampowered.com
First-person open-world crime sim where players grow, mix and sell product and build a business empire in Hyland Point.
~8.2M copies, ~$126M gross…
Tech stack
No tools in common in their publicly listed stacks. See the indie maker tech stack.
No stack shared publicly.
Unity
How they build
- Build a game around one strong, unusual mechanic and polish it deeply.
- Use distinctive, constrained visual styles to make a small game memorable.
- Share development openly through detailed devlogs.
- Let streamers and players spread the game organically.
- Mix dark humour with cozy management loops.
- Only announce update dates once confident of hitting them.
Lucas Pope vs Tyler (TVGS) FAQ
Who makes more money, Lucas Pope or Tyler (TVGS)?
Neither Lucas Pope nor Tyler (TVGS) has publicly reported a revenue figure that IndieMakerList tracks, so it's not public.
Who has built more products, Lucas Pope or Tyler (TVGS)?
Lucas Pope has 4 products listed (including Papers, Please, Return of the Obra Dinn and Mars After Midnight); Tyler (TVGS) has 1 product listed (Schedule I).
What tech stack do Lucas Pope and Tyler (TVGS) use?
Lucas Pope hasn't shared a stack. Tyler (TVGS) uses Unity. They don't list any tools in common.
Where are Lucas Pope and Tyler (TVGS) based?
Lucas Pope: Saitama, Japan. Tyler (TVGS): Sydney, Australia.
Who has been an indie maker longer, Lucas Pope or Tyler (TVGS)?
Lucas Pope started in 2010 (16 years indie); Tyler (TVGS) started in 2025 (1 year indie).
Are Lucas Pope and Tyler (TVGS) bootstrapped?
Yes, both are listed as bootstrapped founders on IndieMakerList.
Full profiles
Read the full story, timeline and links on Lucas Pope's profile and Tyler (TVGS)'s profile.
Lucas Pope vs Adam Lyttle
Lucas Pope vs Mike Klubnika
Lucas Pope vs Jonathan Blow