Rita is one of the games featured in PAX Aus 2024’s Indie Showcase and was developed by SportkTank. It’s a cute puzzle adventure game where you play as a chick named Rita, as she uses word puzzles to help travel around their hometown. On the surface, it’s a cute game featuring an animal as its lead character. But inside this Aussie indie title is a homage to the developer’s grandmother.
Set in Aspendale 1933, you play Rita, a young chick who loves word puzzles. After entering the world, this critter explores her surroundings, using puzzles like crosswords to help summon items like ramps and earn new abilities like jumping. In addition, there is a special-space-like level in the game, called “lessons,” where players can partake in harder word puzzles to get through the game.
Rita was developed within a year after Sporktank’s solo developer, Martin Stadling, attended PAX Aus last year and was inspired during his time at the event. An early build for Rita was showcased at PAX Aus 2024, and despite its bugs, it gave players a taste of what to expect once it is finished.
More than just a puzzle game featuring a cute animal, Rita is a touching homage to the developer’s grandmother. Stradling told Checkpoint that Rita is heavily inspired by his relationship with his grandmother and that he wants to share that bond through video games.
“I guess primarily, the character is based around my grandmother and the relationship we had at the time. We used to play Scrabble and puzzles like that together. I really want to do some connection to that,” said Stradling. “So yeah, so it’s a like a homage to my grandmother and the connection and the things we did together.”
Many word game puzzles try to make themselves unique and stand out and Rita has to be one of them. It was able to find a way to make a word puzzle game fit into a cozy casual adventure game. In addition, the love Martin has for his grandmother plays a role in the game’s development and it will be interesting to see how it plays out once it is released.
For more on the development of Rita, listen to our podcast episode from last week, where Martin talked about the title in a lot more detail.
Rita has no scheduled release date, but it can be added to your Steam wishlist.
About the Author
Erielle Sudario
If she's not podcasting, Erielle Sudario is seen either playing Baldurs Gate 3, The Sims, or a really cute cozy indie game that she found either in conventions or on TikTok. Outside of gaming, she's either embracing her inner Swiftie, building keyboards, or watching shows/films in theatres or streaming platforms.
