Coal Supper

Coal Supper is an independent British video game development studio founded in 2019 by childhood friends Will Todd and James Carbutt. Originally from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, the founders established their studio in London. Their games combine surreal comedy, hand-drawn animation and interactive storytelling with a distinctly Northern English perspective.

The studio's creative approach draws on regional dialects, working-class culture, Yorkshire folklore and British comic strips. Influences include classic sketch comedy such as Vic Reeves Big Night Out and Monty Python. These references inform worlds filled with exaggerated characters, absurd encounters and visual jokes, where animation and dialogue play central roles in the experience.

From surreal vignettes to Barnsworth

Coal Supper released its first game, The Good Time Garden, in November 2019. Available free on Steam and itch.io, the hand-drawn adventure introduced the team's combination of vibrant animation, bizarre environments and gross-out humour. Its surreal vignettes established an aesthetic that the studio developed further in its subsequent work.

The team then spent more than four years developing Thank Goodness You're Here!, published by Panic and released in August 2024. Described as a comedy “slapformer,” the game takes place in the fictional Northern English town of Barnsworth. Players guide a tiny travelling salesman through increasingly strange chores, interacting with residents and objects by slapping them. Its setting and dialogue draw directly on the founders' shared Yorkshire upbringing.

The game's performances feature British comedy talent including Matt Berry, alongside contributions from the founders and animator David Ferguson, also known as Davey Swatpaz. Its animation, comic timing and vocal performances received critical praise.

Across its work, Coal Supper brings together game design, programming, character design, frame-by-frame 2D animation, scriptwriting and sound production. The studio develops its games using Unity, combining interactive systems with a strong emphasis on authored visual comedy.