Shanty Town Press-Kit

ShantyTown is a relaxing diorama-building game about finding beauty in everyday chaos. Bring new locations to life, stack your urban buildings high, and fill each little nook and cranny with your own touch. Even messiness has its own little charm.

This game is inspired by my love for densely built cities around the world—the kind of places where every wall, alley, and rooftop tells a story. You’ll be encouraged to build upwards, fill the smallest gaps, and find clever ways to place light sources or decorations to bring your creations to life. Just like when you’re packing a bag, there’s always room for one more thing!

You’ll step into the role of a surveyor, tasked with building and photographing 20 distinct locations. Each site offers its own set of objects and atmosphere, but how everything comes together is entirely up to you. Upgrades are possible for large structures like buildings and gates, but to complete it, you must provide them with light, utility, and decorations. Upon completion, you will be awarded new unlockable objects and decorations. When you are finished with a location, take a photo of it to add to your dossier and prepare to move on to your next blank canvas.

Each location comes with its own twists and sights. You might be working with food trucks, neon signs, or smokestacks. The challenge isn’t in following rules, but in making something that feels alive within ShantyTown. This is a casual game through and through. There are no wrong answers here. Remember to make each placement personal, and every messy little corner adds to the charm.

Hi, my name is Erik Rempen, and I’m a self-taught solo developer behind Kainga: Seeds of Civilization and now ShantyTown. I’m a world traveller, having been to over 70 countries, lived in 8, learned 3 languages and studied a dozen others, and I’ve always been interested in organically growing urban development and found that there was something special in unorthodox buildings.

I decided to develop ShantyTown because I was unsatisfied with the direction casual building games were going. Sometimes too much freedom can lead to a choice paralysis! 


I wanted to make a game that guided your creativity with goals without forcing your hand with optimal placements. A game that would let you live with your mistakes and oversights and be surprised at the beauty that can be found in disorderly chaos. It took a little while to get the balance just right, but I’m really happy with the result!

I plan to keep making weird games that bring joy and surprise to players around the world. Who knows what wild adventure the future has in store!