My Indie Game Launch was a Failure - Steam Sales Numbers & Lessons Learned
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- Опубликовано: 16 июн 2024
- Summit on Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/14...
After a little over a year after I launched my 2D Metroidvania Summit I wanted to do a retrospective on what I would do better next time and how much money the game made (spoiler: it didn't make me rich).
Stay tuned for a new game development journey soon!
00:00 Intro
01:44 Sales Numbers
02:10 Lessons Learned
06:17 On the Bright Side
07:58 What's Next? 
Игры
99 percent of devs logs I see on RUclips never launch a game. Congratulations on that huge milestone.
THIS! I have released a little game on the xbox360 indie section and honestly the learning experience of this is much more than starting and giving up on lots of projects. You cannot buy what you learn, I hope his game does pick up it seems a bit insane how hard it is to get games known these days.
Should of released it on the switch those guys will buy any garbage on the store
This is the #1 reason why I didn't start one, hah. Also, who has time for that? I'm making a game and working a day job, I can't make videos too, that's insane.
@@ghostradiogamesI relate more to this point of view than to the author one. There is not enough life time and life force to work and to do an actual side project. Not everyone can win the Olympic game and make a record, but there will always be few. More to this point: it is quite psychotic to persuade only the highest bars. While you have no war outside - have a chilly evening and appreciate it.
@@nugget9458 must… not… respond… to… this… bait… and… switch… comment.
"Building a game is so incredibly hard that you really cannot afford to build it on an idea you're only half passionate about"
That quote is pure gold.
Thank You for the informative and quite inspiring video and wish You luck in future productions.
Then what is the bare minimum? Two-thirds? Three-quarters?
Two thirds and three quarters of that final third. :B@@austinreed7343
Making a 10 hour long game with fully hand-built content as a part-time solo dev takes and iron will. Looking forward to seeing what you have in mind for your next project!
And it takes a very strong character to see the game then "fail", decide to learn from it rather than be down, and look towards how one can improve the next project.
You launched mate, that's not a failure! I think the hardest part is uploading the final build and pressing release :) Onwards!
It is a failure.
@smokinjoe9415 not half as much as your life
@@smokinjoe9415And how many commercial successes have you released on steam?
ITS NOT A FAILURE IF SOME CHECKBOXES EXIST.
1. Was it your first game?
2. Was it something you made mostly on your own, or with a few people involved?
If these two questions are answered with Yes. It wasn't a failure. Because I opened the app. I saw the game. Lots of parts in this "game" is just learning and using parts of game features.
example,
* Rope swing, originated from "Worms"
* Levels design are the same in most games. Using VFX, using parallax, blur, depth-perception
* Hub worlds (towns) to buy items from
* Item shop which require state management of inventory, health, and attributes points
* 2D travelling methods (bridges, slopes, elevators, mine carts, ...)
* Maps, progression, save points
Lots of its is core things you need to have in 2D platformer that (first time) takes time to learn, memorize and understand fully. You now possesses that knowledge. This is extremely valuable. Onto the game itself, It has a great premise. The idea of climbing comes with many challenges and possibilities for surprising experiences.
--- Imagine yourself playing the game. The game should be fun. And it probably is too! But when you released the game. Did ANYONE know it was released? Did the word spread by people online? Was it considered something that people was "excited" to get their hands on before release?
@@Vistorri 67
Man.. I am a gamedev as well and coming from a youtube dive.. You are like the 8th gamedeveloper video I watched. All videos I watched was 2 years ago, 1 year ago, 3 years ago.. None of them finished it. Store link, wishlist. No release date.
You did it dude. You finished it!
So much respect!
Hey man, appreciated your post mortem here. I'm a solo dev who shipped a massive SaaS B2B project a few years ago, and have made a whopping $500, with a net costs of around $6k (hosting, PO box, and local tax). So just here to say that I resonated a lot with some of your points. I also at one point reached a development hell, and realized I needed to ship or I might never ship. The result was the project worked but lacked enough features to really drive organic traffic. Marketing was also not my strong point so there was very little of that, and as a result many people never even saw it!
What kind of project did you build?
@@TB191you won't get a response. Remember, not good at marketing 😂
I think the art style was a major factor in the game's failure. As you said, it's hard to stand out and art style can make or break an otherwise good game.
nah art does not mean anything, gameplay is the key! Look at games like dwarf fortress ascii, vampire survivor and minecraft.
@@Mangeurdemouton You have a point to an extent but I think those games were able to sidestep artstyle because of outstanding gameplay. But if you just have good gameplay than you are among thousands of games that are also "good" and not outstanding". In which case having an great artstyle can lift the game up to greatness and get it noticed.
It's a balance.
I agree. I am illustrator and concept artist and I think he made an awesome job considering he have not an art education. But yeah, it doesn't stand out at all. It looks quite generic and amateurish. He would benefit a lot collaborating with an experienced artist for his next project.
@@Mangeurdemouton Minecraft looks unique, it have its own aesthetic. And have also a unique and never seen before gameplay. The other 2 I don't know them but probably shine a lot in terms of gameplay. And last but not least, I think marketing and social media is an important thing in the sucess of a game launch.
@@Mangeurdemoutonas mentioned in the video there exist games with simple yet charming art styles. Both Minecraft and Vampire Survivors fall into that category. By contrast, the art in this game just looks fairly generic and cheap.
Dwarf Fortress is an insanely expansive game that has been in development for decades and can be downloaded for free. The paid version of course has a rather charming art style and QoL improvements, as opposed to the default ASCII and keyboard controls of the free version.
Congrats on successfully releasing a game!
What you learned from this game will help you a lot in your next one!
Thanks for the kind words and thanks for stopping by. Your channel has been a huge inspiration!
The fact that you released a game in general on steam is something that not many can share. You should absolutely be proud of yourself and your work.
Hey, you shipped a game and learned the right lessons, for a very first commercial game that's a success! You should be proud!
As someone who released a *somewhat* successful game, here are other things I learned:
- Start with a very short game. If you want to make a game in 6 months, imagine a game that could be made in 2-3 months.
- Playtest your game a lot, every month/2 months or so. Even when you think you won't learn anything valuable, you will!
- Invest money in your key art. Pay someone to make it if you're not skilled enough in art. It's such an important part of you game getting noticed on Steam!
- Manage expectations: in your communications, trailers, Steam page etc, don't hesitate to state what your game is and particularly what it is not. Very important for reviews.
Best of luck with you future projects!
I think Thomas Brush would tell you that all of this is part of the success of failing forward. Many people never even finish the process of actually releasing the game. Keep moving forward!
Recently I watched a documentary about Bethesda.
The most important thing about it was that they were constantly testing the game at every step. They have the whole testing procedure there. They give the product to the testers and observe in silence. Maybe create a demo of the next game and share it on steam, advertise it on YT and ask people what they like and what they don't like, I know that many people do it and it works.
@@wPeniSwiadomy kinda fascinating to hear since Bethesda is known for their many bugs.
YES! Listen to this dev. ART matters. Visuals MATTER. If the game was 70% shorter and artistically eye catching it would have sold 100x more.
I absolutely know this... We released game a month ago and it is a failure... about 250$ before steam cut. But like you said, lessons learned...
Exactly! All the best for your next game!
@@NicNac2451 Thanks, you too! By the way, I will buy Summit today! As developers We have to support each other!
@@NicNac2451 Thanks! You too! By the way I bought your game today, I think as developers, we should support each other!
Congrats on being one of the few people who have actually released a commercial game though!
@@fiveprime7968Thanks!
I am not sure I've heard "play testing" even once. It's a shame people don't understand the value of play testing. Giving the opportunity to see other people interact with your game will make a world of difference.
Ok mr know it all
Very good point.
Love how easy it is to criticize. I know as a solo hobbyist dev myself with pretty much NO social media presence and no desire for one, finding players to play test and to market to is not only hard, but practically impossible without 'building' that social media presence.
@@fictitiousnightmares So you literally have no partner, no parents, no coworkers, and no one in the whole world who you can ask to play your game? Okay, I respect that. But dude. You have reddit with a million subs with some of them bound to be interested in what you build. You are one post away from play-testing.
@@ImpreccablePony Oh, so your definition of 'play testing' is having 1-3 people who will most likely lie to you because they are friends/family play it then? smh Come on, use some common sense. And you making up random numbers about Reddit and not even talking about any specific subreddit doesn't help anything. Also, reddit has that weird ass thing where you have to have points or thumbs up or some crap over time even to post or respond on it. I tried and stopped using it years ago because of that crap.
The art style is too reminiscent of yearly and mid 2000s flash games. Which for me gives the gut reaction of a basic game with one single mechanic, you play for free for 30 minutes then never again.
But don't feel discouraged. What you did is already an incredible achievement. I know how hard it is to work on your free time on a project like this. I've been making an android app I hope to publish this year. And having to project manage myself, plus my social life, plus my ADHD is terrible.
Seeing someone able to complete a project, regardless if it's successful or not is a great inspiration.
I too would have passed the game up as an asset flip Shovel ware style game if not for this video. Now it is Steam wish listed. So even this video may have helped market the game.
I'm trying to figure out why the art style throws me off so much and i think it might be those ground textures. They're not as artistically shaded as the rest of the areas. They're just flat dirt or flat stone and they take up a lot of the foreground.
I'm trying to remember any 2-d games that I like doing that. I think most will put different interesting little filler or easter eggs in or just shadow the area so it isn't as noticeable. Think Terraria or Aquaria.
yeah the art style is lacking and the large head characters remind me of old toddler cartoons my kids use to watch. the general design is very basic too. people want to play as cool creatures or interesting otherworldly characters in crazy enviroments that are unique
Just what I wrote a minute ago, almost using the same words. Pretty neat, I think our feedback has some merit.
I just posted this! Everything else seems perfectly serviceable but then the graphics are such a turn off. Not that they're terrible but like you said. Just gives off Flash vibes and people associate a certain feeling to that.
@@Fickji Because you can tell it was made by an amateur so it looks cheap lol.
If a professional artist worked on it the colour pallete would be consistent and not all over the place for starters.
I think you can also consider making a "Summit Remastered" by working with an artist, and playtesting with a community etc. You've put a lot of effort into this game and you can probably pivot it to the point where it gets the attention it deserves!
Definitely deserves another go in a couple years once you leveled up and made some connections
I was thinking the same thing. I'm not a metroidvania fan, but the concept is intriguing enough to not abandon. Makes me wonder if it would be worth doing a revised vertical slice with some updated art and animation.
I launched a game on Xbox 360 20 years ago. It failed. I have been developing but never launched another game since. Launching a game is one of the best things I have ever done. Getting a game released is an amazing accomplishment regardless of sales. Congratulations!
I'd be really proud if I were you of the end product. It's no Ori or whatever but I still think it has its charm.
Just found this channel and I appreciate all the clarity and honesty. Congrats on finishing a game! May all your future ones only go upwards in success.
If you'd like a little feedback,..... I would say the main reason of your game's failure is artwork. Vector based high-definition 2D graphics are very much "out of fashion", reminding people of early 2000s Flash games and are commonly associated with low-quality low-effort productions. Even very lowres pixelated art would work better in your case. Just my impression. You have to evoke a certain feeling and your game's look is a bit too sterile. Wishing you best of luck with your new endeavours!
I'd be careful with a generalization like this. There are still plenty of modern 2D vector games that have been able to nail the style and there are plenty of modern pixel art games that come across as generic and unimpressive. It depends on how you implement them and also who the audience is.
You made a bunch of great points. And I think your art looks polished. Good luck on round two!
Sorry to hear that. Chris Zukowski says that you need at least 2 games to get a good shot at being profitable and most studios quit after the first one, so you're on the right track!
Good luck with your future development and thanks for sharing this.
Not a failure, this is an inspiration. I’m new to game dev. Like you, I’m a programmer and not an artist but I have always been driven to create things. I look forward to your next game!
I appreciate anyone willing to share their learnings. Good luck on your next project.
Congrats on being able to ship it, Dominik! I'm a solo dev too so hope to get to that milestone soon. Really appreciate your candor. Best of luck in your next endeavor!
Just the fact that you got to release is amazing. Especially with a project lasting 3 years! Most solo game developers lose interest and never look back, so all power to you for sticking with it. Game marketing is a beast of its own for sure. Gathering 1.000 wishlists is still good!
Good luck in the future, hopefully I can get my game to release in 2024 🙄
Thank you for the post-mortem of your indie project. It takes courage to create one, but it's very helpful to others... and yourself. Good luck, man!
Next time, I hope there will be one, everything will work out! The hardest part you have already done, and you have a foundation for new projects. Good Luck!
Most indie games fail, you have to be satisfied with completing and releasing it.
Congratulations.
As someone that likes to work on mini projects and then leave them at the side - you did a fantastic job at rounding off a project into a total product. As others have said - not many get to this stage and you did.
In a recent podcast I was listening to - they were talking about the reasons you go in and do something. "Did you lose all that time for no monetary gain?" or "Did you learn so much during that time that the learning is the value out of what you did and that's what you value?". If you think of the second more -- you have a good chance at doing great things.
Based on this video, it sounds like you're the second type now ;). Good luck for your next project - I'm sure you'll learn a lot more and produce something better!
(I've wishlisted your game for when I next have some time - looks right up my street!)
You have a released, good looking, well designed, complete game on Steam... I do not see a failure there. No no no! Sales numbers do not defined failure nor success! I see a great accomplishment here. Keep updating the game based on feedbacks. Good luck.
Well said and just by what I see, I can already see he has what it takes to be successful in game dev. I believe if he had a publisher and marketing, his initial launch with this game would of been a lot different.
Cope, money defines success
Great perspectives shared here man. There’s an itch that only making a ten hour metroidvania passion project can scratch and you did it - that’s awesome. I’m excited to see your next project!!
Huge achievement. Well done and thank you for sharing your experience. You are well on your way to indie game success with Summit ad your first release.
Part of our faults are sometimes to set an expectation against a back drop of a type of people that might not match up.
That being said, the truth is you have already put yourself up there in my opinion, the top 1%. I only see great work ahead of you and wish you your best success.
Thanks for the true and kind words!
I really admire that you posted about the outcome even if it wasn't what you hoped for, and I'm glad it was a great learning experience. Thank you for this video!
And you grew your channel. Keep sharing :)
Good job on your game! It is brutally hard out there as a game dev (for basically everyone) so it is good to hear that you are sticking with it.
Congratulations on getting a game published. This is such a hard thing and it sounds like you learned a ton. Good luck on the next one!
Congrats on actually finishing and publishing a game. Many indie devs don't even get to that point. Initial launch is critical but sometimes there's games that still find their audience after release.
Honestly dude as a programmer > artist, your art is excellent. Great video and reflections, thank you for sharing!
Wrong, it looks bad
@@V3SPRlol how's that for constructive criticism XD
I kind of agree though. Like if art isn't your strong suit just lean into that. Like pick a simple style you can do instead of poorly doing a style you can't.
Like forget about realism and shading. Just make something simple that looks cute.
I think art styles and satisfying animations are the most important factor for a game's sale. Then comes gameplay and game design
Great content! I'm currently working in a game and your video is really inspiring
Most important thing here is that you didn't give up. Sucks that summit didn't do the numbers (might still randomly go a little viral at some point) But you are ready to jump in and go for the next one. That is the right attitude and i wish you great success on round 2.
Nice work the game looks fun! I hope you more luck on your future games!
Someone already said it here, but first off, you finished a project, that’s epic. Well done on closing it out and getting it out the door.
👏
Ich werde es mir demnächst mal zulegen. Es sieht schön aus und das Einzige, das mich abschreckt ist der Metroidvania-Faktor, da ich eigentlich nicht wirklich auf solche Spiele klarkomme. 😄 Aber ich probier's auf jeden Fall mal aus. Ich wünsche Dir aber schon mal viel Erfolg bei Deinen weiteren Projekten! 🙂
Great effort and attitude. Your learnings will take you far on your journey.
Danke für den interessanten Bericht.
Bin schon auf dein nächstes Projekt gespannt. :)
From what I've seen in this vid, I believe you did a really nice job for your first release. It might not have made that much money right now, but the learning experience is invaluable. And you made it to the finish line without giving up beforehand, even thinking about new projects after release. The mental aspect is important too, especially as a solo dev. Keep at it, maybe toy with the idea of smaller (scope) projects. I believe you have that spark in you to eventually create something special, alone or with likeminded people. Good luck!
What a great experience and video! Keep developing!
Congrats on your release mate. Thanks for sharing your story.
you have a great attitude and I definitely appreciate all your hard work for your game! I think it looks great!
subscribed to you, looking forward to seeing what you make next :)
Hey, I'm in a similar position, but haven't launched my game yet. I wondered if you went through the effort of creating a company/LLC/LTD, considering your game was a hobby and you went financially dependent on its success?
Congratulations on releasing Summit - I'll check it out sometime!
Love the video! Thanks for sharing your experience! I think the game is definitely something you can be very proud of and it is great that you have motivation for the next project!
Cannot wait to see what you come up with next!
Thanks! All the very best for your upcoming launch as well!
Surely this video led to many more sales? The artstyle of this game looks great, and way better than most new-dev platformers.
8:34 those words are extremely valuable.
Thanks for share your experience as an indie game developer 👍.
I hope your next game have better luck.
Hi!
I dont know you, but I'm proud of you! You finished it and you published it, NICE! I'm currently in the phase of creating a Demo for my own steam game. Sometimes its hard to keep the motivation to continue developing the same game for this long. You did well!
Purchased 🙂 I will mention this video and the game to others I know both in the retro community (since I think it will have some appeal there) and in the games industry where I work, perhaps some of my colleagues will try it out. I'm not particularly influentional so I doubt I will exactly cause a stampede 😄 But I think the value for the price makes this a no-brainer really, to anyone interested in Indie games. Huge congratulations on your launch, I love seeing labours of love like this reach the finish line.
I was always dreaming about creating my own game and it's inspiring to see your optimism and how you look at this as a learning experience bringing you further in your goals.
Congratulations on launching your game ! This is just a step in hopefully a long and successful journey
Knowing how hard art actually is you did an amazing job!! I love the art style actually!! If you don't mind me asking, im new to inkscape how did you go about learning how to use it?
Congrats on releasing your game. I am also working on a indie game its been 4 months and its not easy at all! Thanks for the inspiration tho
Nice video. Good work on releasing your game. Good luck in the future.
It's amazing that you finished and released a metroidvania, I'm sure you'll do better for the next game.
You did great! I think your work is good, and ends out to me a tremendous experiencie. Now you know where and how to get better! i'm sure your next games will be a selling success!
Thank you for this video. Congratulations on the release at least, it's something not many solo developers reach.
Please name the clips you use in your video. What is the name of the game at 6:03?
Thanks for the honesty, and congrats on finishing the project.
Congrats on shipping your game! My piece of advice that I've seen other devs lean heavily on, is playtesting. That first negative review was mostly critical of the controls. Controls might feel good to you, but maybe the majority of the play-testers will reveal what you're too comfortable with it to notice? Anyway, my #1 thing to do after making sure the art direction, and basic stuff is where you want it, is to playtest. Good luck with game #2! Never stop doing what you love. =D
Very cool, I mean the success of launching a fully fledged game! I'm not one for metroidvania type games but I wouldn't mind taking yours for a spin!! Best of luck on your next endeavor!
We definitely need to celebrate these milestones! This is a great thing for the community to see, and to ensure that they approach gamedev realistically. I am so far from shipping anything, I've fell back to the some tech problem so many times. You are an inspiration!
Congrats on releasing your game! Looking forward to the next one.
My first ever launch went pretty damn well. Keep going bro!
Actually releasing a game is such a great achievement. Well done!
As sign of appreciation, you now have my subscription and i'm going to buy the game and play through it.
This is an incredibly humbling and informative postmortem but, although it wasn’t a commercial success, you can’t call this a failure. You had an idea, you worked on that idea, and now a game is out in the world that wouldn’t have existed otherwise; well done!
I think your art has a nice charm to it, it reminds me of South Park aesthetics. That being said, it could be an interesting experiment (or video idea) to pay a professional artist to create all the visual assets for this game and reskin it, which would be easy considering it looks like you used bone based animation. You could also pay for a small amount of marketing this time around to see if what kind of difference marketing and visuals have on a game using the same gameplay mechanics. I also realize you might be completely burned out on this project by now, but thought I would share this anyways. Good luck with whatever project you work on next and congrats on seeing this project to completion!
Bro was doomed when he decided on Metroidvania/Platformer. Much respect for putting the numbers out there
Congrats on launching your game. Making games is one of the hardest things to do. There are so many skills you have to learn, so props to you Sir.
Healthy take and video! I was motivated to check what steps I need to take to get my first ever launched game active again on google play (it has been removed because of the target android version...) I actually found my signing keys on google drive so it can be active again! Never forget your first launched game, it's an achievement most don't reach!
Just ship it! Congrats man, onto the next one!
When you launch a game on Steam, you've succeeded. Game dev is a journey and you've successfully completed a milestone. Take the win my friend. Congratulations on your release. Subbed.
Thank you for sharing this! your knowledge and experiences are so valuable!
Congrats on the game launch and the experience learned o/ I would also say you may need to do more advertising. You can do this by finding channels on youtube and socials and send a message yourself. Not only on large channels, but small more focused ones may help, even if a little. I have such a channel and I receive tons of smaller projects like yours. I may not review something too raw, like a school project, but Summit seems genuinely interesting. Hope you have more success on your next project o/ Although I would say it’s still not too late for this one.
Thank you for sharing, People too often only share success stories but it is these that are really important to see, they are the stepping stones of how someone gets to success. Bravo. ....PS: are you using that Nvidia Broadcast eye contact filter thing? its a little uncanny valleyish.
Really feel it mate. I've had a huge inspiration boost when Manor Lords released as well as when I found the series of Game Maker's Toolkit about the Magnet over Mind. I'd really love to make a game. Started last week just to realize yet another time that as a pure programmer it's super hard for me to create a game. So I kind of parked the idea and am trying to actually learn to draw and do pixel art now. Hope I can keep my motivation, but unless I learn it there's no practical way of ever creating a game on my own... and it's doable. So I guess I just need to spend some time on drawing, then I can start with a game :)
would love to see an in-depth step by step guide to making a basic game in order to learn programming or if not, are you able to recommend someone else? Anyway, good luck with whatever future project you have planned
Thanks for sharing your experience
You've got me curious about Summit. Gonna pick it up next time its on sale.
You created a full game and launched it. That’s an amazing achievement. I am not even able to work on an idea for more than 2 weeks 😅.
You launched a finished game, congratulations.
Yea, think that's a first on steam...
Wish you good luck bro! 🍀
In Unity or Unreal Engine, is it possible to use a microphone to use speech as the input device? I've been toying with the idea of trying to build a prototype of a game for handicapped people, but I don't know which would be better to learn. Also congratz on finishing the game, who knows, maybe with all the lessons you learned, there could be a very successful Part 2 in your future.
I work as a dev and I think game looks pretty cool. Some parts of the art looks good like the trees while the stones look a bit harsh though. Imoressed you released it. Congrats!
I’ve tried to something but I don’t think I’m cut out for it, too hard and I unfortunately I really lack motivation so I admire anyone who can get as far as you have so congratulations on that, don’t give up and keep doing it if you enjoy what you are doing.
Thanks, enlightening video. Main takeaway for us newbies, don't start with a Game Project that'll take 3 years. Strat with something much more simple and develop a following. But as many other note, you succeeded in launching so now you know all the challenges and pitfalls. Well done. I liked the climbing idea, but was it too difficult to relate to? Maybe you should focus on your 'new hook' which will generate interst in your next game. Thanks again and good luck.
Don't think I have ever made a comment on a RUclips video. However, your honesty and sharing of mistakes is something I have tremendous respect for. May your future projects be blessed.
Great video mate! Love your style and insight!
No such thing as a failure, you learned and now you also have code that can be used in future projects to save time. Congrats on the release, it is a big step for most devs!
keep it up man, I envy you! Any tips for someone who wants to start creating a game or a (web) app, but doesn't know what to create or how to start?
Congratulations on everything you've learned and done!! It's incredibly impressive.
the sheer scale of your game is insane, i would not call this a failure at all!
You just gained an invaluable experience, that's for sure!
getting this recommended shortly after deciding to start getting into gamedev seems like a sign. can't wait to bring out my first failure. cause even if it fails it'll quite honestly be the most enriching experience of my past decade. thanks for the motivation
Hi Dominik, also as a solo dev (from Germany), I think it's great what you've already achieved and the video here doesn't just seem to go down well with me! ;) I just saw that you have programmed a browser game called “Politic Paintball”, which I found super funny, as I have a “similar” project in progress ;) So keep up the good work and good luck!