History of Cozy Crow Studios

On a warm August day while waiting for the bus, Michael Betar IV and Joshua Mom were talking about the future. As they were approaching the end of their college career, the both of them expressed their uncertainties for life after they graduate. At the time, they had no jobs lined up nor even a clue where they’d be the happiest within the games industry.

Both of them have worked with small indie teams during their time at Indiana University, with the two working on their own Senior Capstone games to develop and publish before they graduate for their Bachelor’s of Science in Game Design. During this discussion, the both of them teased on the idea of opening their own Game Development Studio to create games that they wished were available to play.

Rather than just making them wishes, the two of them decided that they will make them true. After several concepts of different names for their upcoming studio, with many of them relating to Michael’s Mother’s cat, Thom, the two of them heard a caw in the distance… And that was when Joshua suggested “Cozy Crow Studios.”

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Who we Are

Michael Betar IV

Michael’s experience in working with games is primarily within the audio and management end of development. His first role was being the Audio Director of an indie game created by ANTS LLC titled Go! Save the Queen! as a Sophomore in College. From there he has held audio roles for other projects such as Slime Guy (Foley Artist), Crow Heist (Audio Director), and various Game Jam games. In terms of Production and Management, he has been working on his Senior Capstone game, Decomposition, since October 2023 in many roles on the team including Producer, Audio Programmer, Lead Programmer/Designer (October 2023-May 2024), and Marketer. He is also the Producer of Forecast and is involved with the management of Crow Heist‘s project as an advisory role.

In his spare time, he enjoys photography both as a hobby and a side gig. Michael’s favorite game genres are Visual Novel and Adventure with his favorite games being Monkey Ball Deluxe, EarthBound (マザー2 ギーグの逆襲), the When They Cry (のなく頃に) series, and Stray.

Joshua Mom

Joshua Mom has always loved games, the memories of playing many SpongeBob games are still fresh in his mind, or playing other console games that others dearly love was a key joy in his childhood. As he grew older, he became passionate about games with pretty art and cool characters, thus causing Joshua’s journey into the art world as a 2D character artist. He worked on the craft for 7+ years, wanting to make characters that people would smile at and love. With determination, Joshua, with some stumbles and falls, went into Game Design for his study at Indiana University’s Game Design program as a 2D and concept artist. 

Joshua’s experience is primarily within 2D art, working as a character artist and animator. He has worked on a few senior capstone games, Rockin’ Racket (animator and UI), Love Surge (environment and character artist), and Slime Guy (item and character artist). He is also working on his capstone project, Crow Heist, were players will be able to play as our studio’s lovable and chaotic crow mascot, Crowley.

Joshua loves games with pretty art styles, characters, and moving narratives. The game genres he loves are action, visual novel, romance, and funny enough psychological horror. His favorite games are Spiritfarer, Bayonetta 2, and Mouthwashing. Joshua has a love of cute plushies, to the point they filled his bed, and would love to design his own one day.

Elayne Mason

Elayne Mason has been writing narratives for a few years now. She has worked on writing for a few projects as of currently and is attending Indiana University, getting a degree in Game Design: Games in Mind. She has always had a huge love for video games with compelling narratives such as Omori, Undertale, and The Legend of Zelda series.

Elayne’s experience in working with games has been with writing and applying her narrative design skills. Her first role as a contracted writer was with The Little Witch Shop: New in Town (2023) created by Paper Koi Studios. The next year after that she became the lead narrative designer and writer for Love Surge! (2025) created by Volt Heart LLC. Elayne has also gone through with being the lead narrative designer and writer for a project: Forecast under Cozy Crow Studios LLC. She hopes with Forecast to help create an emotional and interesting narrative with this game for people to enjoy.

Elayne has a huge love for cats especially with her two cats named Tengen and Lucifurs. She enjoys playing video games with streaming on her account WhiteRabbitLane, when she has the time, hanging out with her friends and partner, and aspires to become a voice actress. She wants to make emotional stories and create relatable characters through her writing and designing a good player experience narratively.

Brenden Wood

Brenden Wood is a self-taught music composer and audio programmer who began working on music during COVID. Since then he has worked on various projects with online groups creating original music and sound. He currently is attending Indiana University Bloomington, studying a Bachelor of Science in Game Design. He is also studying at the Jacobs School of Music for a Minor in Scoring for Visual Media. Since then he has found new projects to hone in his craft and work on his skills.

Brenden’s experience in working with games has mainly been within the audio realm. His first role was being the Lead Audio Designer, Composer, and Audio Programmer for Love Surge! (2025) created by Volt Heart LLC. In the same year, he was also contracted by One-Life LLC to compose music for Slime Guy (2025). Since then, Brenden has also gone on to lead a project: Forecast under Cozy Crow Studios which was pitched and named runner-up for the Indie Game Academy’s Foundry Program. Thanks to this experience, he now leads the team as a Creative Lead and Audio Director as he hopes to share this story and game with the world.

Brenden loves Shiba Inus (a little bit too much), spending time with his friends and partner, and enjoys hiking and being in nature. He hopes to bring interactive experiences through his music, and to design the audio of games so that they are both engaging and involved with the other game elements.

Kat Steele

Kat Steele is a digital artist who mainly focuses on creature and monster design, but also works on creating all kinds of 2D art. They are currently attending Indiana University, pursuing a Bachelors of Science in Game Design. In addition to their studies, they have found multiple projects to hone their skills and abilities.

Kat’s experience in working with games has primarily been within the art realm. Their current roles are working as the Art Lead, Concept Artist, and 2D Artist for a game project currently in development, Divine Diner. They also are a Concept Artist and 2D Artist for Cozy Crow Studios LLC and working on the game project: Forecast.

In their spare time, Kat likes to learn new skills and dabble in other areas of game development in order to better communicate with team members, such as learning a bit of 3D Animation and some Narrative Design. They also love playing RPGs, Visual Novels, and Strategy games.