Needful Dreams, a local independent game development studio founded by Wilmington resident Jay Forbes, is preparing to release its first commercial video game in the coming months. 

The game, titled Manes in Cadentia, is expected to launch on Steam, a digital video game distribution platform, by the end of January.

The game, a rhythm-based title inspired by the works of Edgar Allan Poe, combines storytelling and original music across five acts, with the first act drawing on Poe's narrative poem, The Raven. The game is currently planned for Windows, although Forbes expects Mac and Linux builds to come later. 

“I’ve always been drawn to creating worlds or stories that draw people in, and they have some… way to interact with it,” he said. 

For Forbes, building an indie game development studio has been anything but easy.

“You have to handle everything: the coding, the artistic side of things, the sound, the music,” he said. “So it’s a lot of changing hats.”

He added, “You have to have drive before anything else, because it’s not an easy thing, especially if you’re doing it by yourself.”

Previously a software developer for Raleigh-based TV station WRAL, Forbes founded Needful Dreams in 2024. After being laid off from his position at the station, he turned his full-time attention to the studio.

Although the video game industry faces its own challenges, including various economic and technological pressures, Forbes is optimistic about the opportunities for independent developers.

“I think the gaming industry is kind of flipping right now too,” Forbes said. “Like the AAA studios spend millions and millions of dollars on getting their games made and published, and then here come these smaller teams or indie games that outperform and outsell them.”

In March, Cary-headquartered Epic Games announced in a note to employees, posted publicly, that it was laying off more than 1,000 employees. It cited industry-wide challenges, including slower growth and weaker spending, as well as a downturn in Fortnite engagement, as reasons for the cuts. 

Forbes identified artificial intelligence as another factor that could affect the gaming industry, particularly for studios producing what he described as “low-effort games.”

“I stream on Twitch, so I’ll stream some game dev streams where I’m working on the artwork myself, so people can see that I’m not using AI to make this,” Forbes said. 

Financial stakes are often higher for indie game developers creating commercial games independently, and it can be challenging to stand out in a crowded market.

“You hope that it catches on or it’s enough to sustain you,” Forbes said, of releasing a commercial game as an indie game studio. 

Releasing a game on Steam, as Forbes is doing, can also be challenging due to the platform’s lengthy submission process, he said.

While Forbes said he hasn't tapped into any local resources in Wilmington for game developers, he's optimistic about building a supportive network over time.

“People find a way,” he said. “Everything that I know is learnable.”