Hi everyone! I'm Cooka, the founder and PD of a small indie team, SONAK: Story Design Project.

Like many of you, I've always been drawn to games where the story is the puzzle — where every clue, every room, every character exists for a reason. That obsession eventually led me to spend the last 5 years building our dream project: The Lost Study.

In this game, I've worn many hats—storyteller, puzzle designer, and director. But my main mission was ensuring that the puzzles never felt "stuck on." I wanted them to flow seamlessly within the narrative.

To keep things challenging and fresh, I collaborated with our other designer, Chelly. I'd map out the emotional and narrative flow, and we'd work together to craft puzzles that fit that specific moment perfectly.

The biggest challenge? Balancing the difficulty. We all know that feeling—if a puzzle is too easy, it's boring. If it's impossibly cryptic, it's frustrating. Since our mobile launch in 2023, we've traveled to various game expos to watch players in real-time. We've used all that feedback to polish the upcoming PC version: ensuring clues are fair, logic is sound, and that "Aha!" moment feels earned.

One thing I love about the digital medium is that we aren't limited by physical walls. In our game, you'll find yourself searching for lost sheep in a field or diving underwater for fishing rod parts.

It's our first big project, so it might not be perfect, but we've hand-drawn every single pixel and poured our hearts into every plot twist.

👉 Wishlist on Steam: [Link]

See you in the Study! 🖋️

Hello everyone!

I’m Cooka, the storyteller behind the world of <The Lost Study>.🌿

Like many in the indie scene, I wear many hats—I founded Team SONAK, and I serve as the PD, Game Designer, and Art Director. But above all, I am a storyteller who loves weaving deep narratives.

Each of the 14 stories is a unique narrative-driven escape room (point-and-click puzzle) experience. You’ll explore beautifully hand-drawn scenes, gather clues, and solve creative 'quizzes' to unlock the next chapter of the mystery.

Our study contains a vast range of genres — delivering a love letter at a magic school, remembering days in an elven village, running a herb shop at a festival, and 11 more stories. As a narrative-driven puzzle game, you will solve various quizzes to progress through each story. Today's favorite? A half-elf named Ru, learning the rhythms of a seaside restaurant — from fishing at dawn to serving the last table at night.

Each story has its own unique charm, but here’s the secret: Every single world within <The Lost Study> is connected. — a mysterious customer at the herb shop turns out to be a friend of the it-girl at the magic school. Same universe. 🌿 I’m currently buried deep in the final grind, targeting an August release for our Steam Demo.

This project has been my life for the past 5 years, starting from my junior year of college. It’s been a long, dedicated road:

• Year 1: Launched the first 9 stories on mobile.
• Years 2-4: Expanded the universe for PC, adding 4 more stories and launching on Stove Indie.
• Year 5: Now, I’m spending a full year on Localization & Polishing to bring <The Lost Study> to you on Steam.

I'd love to hear what you think about the art or the concept — feel free to ask anything in the comments.

Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4171200/_/?beta=0

Next month, I'll be back with the story of Erdentuya —a warm-hearted herbalist from a bustling, loving family. Stay tuned! 🌿

See you in the Study! ✨

Hi everyone! I visited the Lotte World Aquarium in Korea yesterday for the Cookie Run: Kingdom collab :)

It was so cool to see our favorite Kingdom cookies in real life! I wanted to share some photos with you guys for my first post here.

Hi everyone! I visited the Cookie Run Aquarium in Korea yesterday 😄

It was such an amazing experience, so I wanted to share some photos for my first post here!