"Making the Game is the Easy Part": Malhaar Developer Coffee For Two on the Realities of Scaling an Indian Indie Studio
From building the game of their dreams to burn out and back again.
Malhaar is a slice-of-life RPG for PC made by Coffee For Two. Set in a town reminiscent of Banaras, it features a heady mix of exploration, social systems, and gorgeous art direction effortlessly wrapped in a comfortable, cosy vibe. And vibes is something that this game has in spades if the trailer is any indication.
Naturally, I reached out to Coffee For Two to know more. Turns out that it’s a two-person indie outfit of Sneha Agarwala and Anmol Kaul. They were generous enough to wax eloquent (with exceptional clarity I might add) on what to expect from Malhaar, their inspirations, what they’re learning from Steam’s new meta, as well as Steam Deck support, regional pricing, and a whole lot more. Some responses have been edited slightly for clarity and length.
For the uninitiated, could you give us a brief background of your game development journey?
We are a two-person indie studio working on our first ambitious game, Malhaar. Coffee For Two came about from our shared love for story-telling and games, especially the kind that leave a mark. We have always wanted to tell stories our own way through games, and here we are now.
In 2023, the idea of going full-time indie brought us together and planted the seed that would eventually become Malhaar. The journey, though beautiful, was riddled with ups and downs, mostly downs to be honest.
After working on tonnes of games through freelance work, game jams, and our own small projects, we finally decided in December 2024 to leave everything aside and go full sail on Malhaar. Finding the art style became one hell of a task, since neither of us came from an art background. Recurring burnouts from working non-stop for over 12 hours a day, seven days a week, made us rethink our decision. Development came to a halt, and we went out to search for jobs as we were (and still are) completely broke.
Fast forward to September 2025, Malhaar was selected for Indie Top 40 at IGDC and the IndieVerse Showcase at GamingCon Bharat. The response was unexpectedly and overwhelmingly positive. Everyone seemed to love the game, which became a turning point for us and motivated us to keep working on it, look for publishers or launch a Kickstarter, and finally release it one day.
What’s Malhaar about and what can players expect at launch?
Malhaar follows Om’s journey as he travels to Sindhu during the firefly season after receiving a letter from his grandfather. Expected to carry on his family’s legacy of musicians and luthiers [craftspeople that make and repair string instruments], what begins as a simple visit for a festival gradually becomes a journey of self-discovery, community, and reconnecting with one’s roots.
At launch, players can explore a handcrafted 2D isometric world inspired by the Indian subcontinent, meet a cast of memorable locals with quirky personalities, learn ragas on the sitar, put up tiny music shows, craft and tune classical Indian instruments, help out at the local dhaba, uncover forgotten stories hidden throughout the town, experience an authentic Indian carnival through mini-games like shooting, puppeteering, and the Well of Death, and unravel the mystery of the lingering musical spirits.
More than anything, we want Malhaar to feel like a place players can slow down, get lost in, and call home.
What are the inspirations for Malhaar and how long has it been in development?
Its biggest inspiration comes from our travels to Banaras. From the quirky characters and local cuisine to the music and overall atmosphere, you can spot traces of that influence throughout the game. At the same time, Malhaar draws from the daily lives, traditions, craftsmanship, and deeply rooted culture of India that has evolved over centuries.
We wanted to bring all of those elements together in an interactive experience, and a slice-of-life RPG felt like the perfect way to tell that story. We have been working on it for 1.5 years now.
The description for Malhaar on Steam states the game focuses on crafting and playing musical instruments (among other things). The trailer shows off some particularly detailed shots of crafting instruments (camel bone, gourd etc). How did you go about researching this if at all?
Now this is an interesting story.
We were in Banaras in December 2025 after wrapping up our showcase at GamingCon Bharat. While sitting at a dhaba along the Ganga (Theth Banarasi, which is the inspiration behind Kailash Dhaba in Malhaar), we were discussing instrument crafting and looking for sitar makers nearby. Since Banaras has such a rich musical history, it felt like the perfect place to start. We ended up booking a meeting with Radhey Shyam Sitar Makers, whose instruments have been played by legends like the late Pandit Ravi Shankar.
They were incredibly humble and kind enough to walk us through the entire crafting process firsthand. We got to see the materials being used, understand how different parts of the instrument come together, and learn about the craftsmanship behind it all. That visit gave us invaluable insight and helped shape how instrument crafting is represented in Malhaar.
Moreover, Malhaar’s art direction seems to have a rustic and at times cosy look to it. What was the thought process and inspiration behind it?
Honestly, we wanted Malhaar to be the kind of game that we would pick up ourselves for a relaxing experience. To some, that could mean walking along a riverbank, while for others it might be sitting under a tree and spending the afternoon playing a simple mini-game.
That idea shaped the art direction as well. We wanted the world to feel warm, lived-in, and nostalgic, inspired by old Indian towns and villages. While Malhaar’s world is rooted in an ancient civilisation, we filled it with cozy little corners, vibrant details, and places where players can simply slow down and relax.
From a design perspective we’ve seen some systems like social connections, working at the dhaba, and playing music form part of the gameplay loop. Do these systems impact each other or do they run parallel to each other?
They definitely impact each other. We never wanted Malhaar to feel like a bunch of activities stitched together just for the sake of having things to do.
The idea is that you’re living in the world of Malhaar. You’ll meet people, build relationships, learn music, put up shows, help out at the dhaba, uncover stories, and all of those things naturally become part of your journey.
At the end of the day, we’re trying to make the world feel connected, so whatever you’re doing, it feels like you’re making progress in your journey rather than simply checking things off a list.
The game appears to take place over a month. Does it truly take place across a single calendar month and are there any fail states? Are there any features for replayability or are you building a concise linear experience?
Yes, the story takes place over the course of a month, but we don’t want players to feel pressured to play in a certain way.
There aren’t any fail states. Some days you might spend hours learning music, some days helping at the dhaba, and some days just exploring the town. That’s perfectly okay.
There is a larger story that unfolds throughout the month, but a lot of the experience comes from the people you meet and the moments you stumble upon while spending time in the game.
What challenges have you faced developing a game of this kind?
Honestly, the game itself has been the easy part.
The real challenge has been everything around it. Funding, visibility, marketing, figuring out how to keep working on the game while still surviving as a two-person team. We’ve had moments where development stopped completely because we were financially burnt-out.
And then there’s scope. Every time we add something to Malhaar, we think of five more things we’d love to add. Learning when to stop and say “maybe later” has probably been one of the hardest lessons for us.
But that’s also part of being indie. You learn as you go, make mistakes, figure things out, and somehow keep moving forward.
A topic that comes up often with game developers and publishers on Steam is how the current meta to bring about sales success is that it’s dictated by wish lists and with the Steam revamp, it appears that visibility on the personal calendar and wishlist velocity matter more than ever. As an indie developer how do you solve for this?
We’re figuring it out as we go, just like most indie developers.
Of course wishlists matter, and we keep an eye on them, but there is only so much a two-person team can do. We’ve mostly focused on making the best game we can, putting it in front of people through festivals, showcases, social media, and hopefully Kickstarter in the coming months.
Every wishlist is a real person who saw the game and thought, “Yeah, I’d play this.” For a small team like ours, that’s honestly the part that matters the most.
Indian audiences usually expect a lower price tag on Steam. I’m curious to know, as a developer and a gamer, what are your thoughts on regional pricing? And will Malhaar feature regional pricing in-line with Steam guidelines or do you plan on having your own pricing strategy?
We’re gamers too, so we completely understand why regional pricing matters.
The plan is to follow Steam’s regional pricing recommendations. We want Malhaar to be accessible to players in India and other regions, while also making sure the game is priced fairly for the amount of work that’s gone into it.
As a small team, it’s always a balancing act, but we’d much rather have more people playing the game than price ourselves out of reach.
Finally, are there plans to bring Malhaar to other platforms? What about Steam Deck verification?
For now, all our energy is going into making the PC version of Malhaar as good as it can possibly be.
We’d love to bring the game to other platforms down the line, and Steam Deck is definitely on our wishlist too. Frankly, being able to sit somewhere cozy and play Malhaar on a handheld sounds pretty cozy to us.
We’re not making any promises just yet, but it’s something we’d love to explore in the future.
It’s downright incredible that despite the challenges faced by the duo that they haven’t quit to do something more lucrative. Despite financial burn out and scope creep, it’s a small miracle that they’re still at it, making the game and even released a new trailer to boot.
That said, the development of Malhaar is indicative of what Indian indie game developers face: making the game is the easy part, the challenge tends to be everything else.
You can wishlist Malhaar on Steam right now.