Game development is far from a science, and I think you’ll see what I mean throughout this interview with Jarett Gross, owner and sole employee of Peacebreak Studio, as he talks about his new and first game, Beaten Path. Beaten Path is a tactical turn-based RPG with job customization, among other things. Launching the game’s Kickstarter on August 19th, 2025, in just one week, the game has already surpassed its initial funding goal.
It’s not unsurprising that Beaten Path has already cleared its goal, with over 500 backers in a single week. A modest goal of $20,000 USD is quite reasonable for a Kickstarter and maybe a little light for a full game. As bloated budgets around the world take their toll on the games industry at large, Peacebreak Studio seems content to appeal to Kickstarter’s built-in audience and let Beaten Path spread like wildfire with simple word-of-mouth marketing.
Beaten Path, on its Steam page, is described as:
“Beaten Path is a turn-based tactical RPG set in a world ruled by fallen gods and ancient machines. Take command of Panna and her companions as they unravel the secrets of time, confronting lost memories, mythic powers, and a looping fate. Strategy, story, and spectacle converge in this character-driven journey.”
There’s actually no shortage of turn-based tactical RPGs being released regularly; however, the next month and change is the perfect time to release a Kickstarter for one. Primarily because fans are hungriest at this very moment. Beaten Path’s primary inspiration, Final Fantasy Tactics, is receiving its big remaster at the end of September. If that wasn’t enough, Square-Enix just launched Triangle Strategy, another fairly popular and well-received tactical turn-based RPG, on PlayStation and Xbox.
Tactical turn-based RPG fans are right now clamoring for more, and Beaten Path is here to give it to them. Jarett, owner and sole employee of Peacebreak Studio, agreed to a short e-mail interview with MonsterVine to discuss Beaten Path, the development process, marketing, Jarett’s background as a developer, and inspiration for the game.
MonsterVine: Who are you? Tell us a little bit about yourself, how you started to learn game development, and how you got to the point where you started on Beaten Path.
Jarett: My background is in software development. I have a computer science degree and worked as a software engineer directly out of college. I always wanted to make my own games since high school, and having that coding background made it an easy enough jump for me to start on games. During college, I experimented with small mobile games, like a puzzle game and an endless runner. A couple years into my professional career, I decided to try to work on a more ambitious project, which grew into Beaten Path.
MonsterVine: Game Development is a long and perilous journey. What drove you to start work on Beaten Path? And, what’s changed over development that’s kept you going?
Jarett: There was no strong driving force besides “I think this will be fun”. I enjoyed programming in my free time and tinkering on my own projects, and I figured I’d put that energy towards a game since I’ve always wanted to make my own large-scale game. When I started on Beaten Path, I thought it’d be a small, 1-year project so I could understand the full game development process. Originally, the game started as a different take on turn-based tactics games, where you’d plot the moves of all characters and then everyone would move simultaneously. I learned (not so quickly) that this was difficult for players to follow and understand what was happening, and also difficult to balance. After having some friends and family playtest, I pivoted to more traditional tactics gameplay and was excited with all the ideas I could throw into the game. Unlike my first version of Beaten Path, there are many more references for these types of games, so it was much easier to find inspiration and see where I would want to expand on ideas or take something in another direction.
MonsterVine: It’s mentioned multiple times that your primary inspiration was Final Fantasy Tactics and Fire Emblem. What other RPGs influence Beaten Path?
Jarett: Pokémon was a big influence, both with its typing system and how every monster can be customized to fit what the player wants them to be. Even if a Pokémon is naturally an aggressive attacker, you generally have enough freedom with its stats and moves to make it bulkier and more defensive if you wanted to go that route. That’s something I wanted to do with Beaten Path, where you can make each character play exactly the way you want, and not be forced into the most expected routes. Other than that, a lot of my inspiration came from a couple of my favorite shows and books: Frieren and Malazan Book of the Fallen. Those both excel with their character-driven stories while keeping the world itself full of exciting events. I wanted to capture a similar vibe with Beaten Path.
MonsterVine: Do you have a favorite or a couple of favorite RPGs that have been released in, say, the past year?
Jarett: I’ve really enjoyed Final Fantasy VII Remake and Rebirth. I never got around to play the original, so I had a lot of fun experiencing the story for the first time.
MonsterVine: Solo development is often used as a buzzword and generally downplays the contributions of others. It seems the contributions from Kickstarter are primarily going to go to outsourcing artwork and music. How do you reckon with the title of solo developer when utilizing contractors?
Jarett: I think the meaning of “solo developer” has evolved in recent years. It’s increasingly rare for one person to handle every aspect of a game — art, audio, code, design, playtesting — entirely alone. If someone does, that’s amazing and I hope they emphasize that. In my case, I handle the design, programming, some art, and the overall direction, but I work with contractors to fill the gaps I can’t cover myself, like artwork and audio. I make sure to be transparent about that. It’s a collaborative effort between myself and the folks I have helping out.
MonsterVine: The Beaten Path Kickstarter has already almost reached its goal of $17698 with 456 backers and 24 days (at time of interview) to spare. What marketing have you done to achieve that level of success?
(Note, as of posting, Beaten Path has already achieved its modest $20,000 goal and is well on its way to reaching its stretch goals.)
Jarett: The most marketing I did myself was put the trailer on YouTube and my socials, and it took off from there. I had my audio partner, Scarlet Moon, send out a press release to help get some press coverage as well, which resulted in a couple of articles that drove traffic to the Kickstarter.
It’s an interesting insight into how solo development works and, maybe more shocking, how marketing works. Time and again, we see failed kickstarters and great looking games fall short of even modest sales goals. One of the primary pieces of advice you’ll receive on releasing an indie game is marketing. What are you doing right, Scarlet Moon?
Beaten Path’s Kickstarter is still up and running, with, at the time of writing, 23 days left to get some of those exciting exclusive backer rewards. As MonsterVine’s resident indie expert, even if you can’t contribute financially, following the studio and game on social media and adding the game to your wishlist is truly the best free thing you can do to support the game.
Jarett and Peacebreak Studio are aiming for a 2026 release and are hoping to achieve enough via Kickstarter to support a console launch as well. Beaten Path is available for wishlist on PC via Steam and Epic Games Store. Keep an eye on MonsterVine for more coverage of Beaten Path, turn-based tactical RPGs, and indie titles.
