IndieSurvive

Code. Ship. Don't Go Broke.

Free · In‑App Purchases · Designed for iPad. Not verified for macOS.

Every indie dev knows the feeling: 3am, half-broken code, $47 in savings, and a dream that refuses to die. Now it's a game. Welcome to Survival Mode. You quit your job to build apps. Big mistake? Maybe. But here you are. INDIE DEV: SURVIVAL MODE is a retro ASCII terminal-style simulation game where you play as a solo indie developer trying to survive. Manage your energy, health, stress, and savings while developing apps, fixing bugs at 3am, doing delivery gigs to pay rent, and trying not to have a mental breakdown. ▸ DEVELOP & SHIP INDIE APPS Pick up projects, assign tasks to yourself or your AI assistant, squash bugs, submit for App Store review, and start earning revenue. Every project is different — from 1-star quickies to 5-star epics. ▸ ASCII TERMINAL AESTHETIC A love letter to the command line. Monospace fonts, green-on-black UI, 8-bit sound effects, and the warm glow of a terminal at midnight. No fancy 3D graphics — just pure text-based charm. ▸ AI ASSISTANT (BUGS INCLUDED) Hire an AI to help write code. It's fast, it's cheap(ish), and it occasionally introduces bugs that are worse than the ones you wrote yourself. Upgrade it to reduce the chaos. ▸ SIDE GIGS TO PAY THE BILLS When savings run low, pick up food delivery, drive for rideshare, or fly passengers as a pilot. Each gig comes with its own random events and hazards. ▸ 250+ RANDOM EVENTS Your laptop overheats. A recruiter offers you a job. Your ex posts your code on Twitter. A wedding invitation arrives (that's $2,000 gone). Life as an indie dev is never boring. ▸ SOCIAL MEDIA & REPUTATION Post updates about your work. Go viral. Get roasted. Build your reputation to boost app revenue and unlock opportunities. ▸ STRESS & HEALTH SYSTEM Skip meals and your health drops. Work too long and stress builds up. Hit 100% stress and you'll have a meltdown — complete with a therapy bill. Sleep is not optional. ▸ THREE DIFFICULTY MODES • INDIE — $12,000 starting cash. Manageable. • CRUNCH — $8,000. Things get tight. • NO FUNDING — $5,000. Good luck. ▸ PRO VERSION Free players reach a checkpoint at Day 14. Unlock Pro to play indefinitely — the only way to lose is going $100,000 in debt. Made by a real indie developer who has lived this life. Every bug in this game is a feature. Every feature is a cry for help. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

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The developer, MING-TA HSIEH, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .

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    Information

    Seller
    • MING-TA HSIEH
    Size
    • 39.1 MB
    Category
    • Entertainment
    Compatibility
    Requires iOS 15.1 or later.
    • iPhone
      Requires iOS 15.1 or later.
    • iPad
      Requires iPadOS 15.1 or later.
    • iPod touch
      Requires iOS 15.1 or later.
    • Mac
      Requires macOS 12.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.
    • Apple Vision
      Requires visionOS 1.0 or later.
    Languages
    • English
    Age Rating
    4+
    In-App Purchases
    Yes
    Copyright
    • © 2026 HSIEH MING-TA. All rights reserved.
  • Developer Website
  • Privacy Policy

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