I don't think it is nesesarily a "I am a failure I fucked up" type situation, more so "I did succeed, but not as much as I hoped for, let's analyze what I did and next time go even higher" Dude hit the goal, but his aiming to go higher, and I really appreciate him sharing his thoughts and insight and I hope he does in fact shoot straight to heaven.
I just played Platform Gun from beginning to end, and here's what I have to say: I find the gameplay idea to be extremely creative and fun, I got some good joy from finding ways to optimize my movement using the gun's "freeze/unfreeze" mechanic. That on its own made the game a certainly fun and memorable experience that I hope you revisit in the future. The combat in the game is just... pointless. Your gun is simply not fit for killing enemies, and this is especially apparent when you have to fight multiple zombies at once. Killing enemies is more than possible, but doing so is a slow, repetitive task that doesn't really add anything to the game. The only part in the game where I genuinely appreciated combat was during the boss fight. The boss forces you to not only shoot it in specific parts, in specific ways, but also forces you to use your gun to run away from it. The boss also doesn't overstay its welcome, which is great since there's so many games where the boss battle lasts forever for no good reason. I also found that the player's base movement speed was way too sluggish. It made going from point A to point B to be a bit frustrating at times. And the game also has a lot of tight corridors spread throughout, so using the gun to travel quickly isn't always an option. But in my opinion, what hurts this game the MOST is its lack of personality and branding. Imagine if Neon White was called "FPS Cards", had a nameless main character that didn't talk much, didn't have its amazing PS3 Grunge aesthetic paired with the Heaven setting, and didn't have a soundtrack made by Machine Girl. That's what Platform Gun feels like. I know Neon White had funding and multiple people working on the project, but my point is that you could have spent more time trying to make your game stand out, and have its own identity, aesthetics, characters and memorable moments that make the game feel more special besides the gameplay ideas. You as a person working alone, doesn't have the obligation to make a game as cool as Neon White, but you could definitely try to put as much personality in your games as you can handle on your own. I don't know if you're even interested in revisiting this idea anytime soon, but my final suggestions for Platform Gun would be as it follows: For the player, make their movement speed faster, their air physics less floaty, make so you can jump out of the platforms and maintain their fast momentum in mid-air, and allow them to crouch, so they can shoot platforms that are closer to the ground for fast travelling. For the game's level design, I frankly believe this game should've been a puzzle game; you should probably toss away the entire combat altogether (with the exception of boss fights) and instead focus on making puzzles that take advantage of the platform gun mechanics. You could use the "timed power switches" to force the player to find the most optimized way possible to travel the area's geometry. You could still have enemies in your game, but they would probably fit better as obstacles you're unable to kill, and instead have to find a way around. Bosses could still be pretty fun if they're made to be more puzzle-focused instead of combat-focused. (Edit: I just noticed you did describe your game as a "puzzle platform game". When I played it, it just came across as a regular platformer with puzzle elements - it didn't feel committed to puzzles. And I think puzzles are exactly what Platform Gun needed more of, so take that of that what you will) And for branding, please give your game a cooler name like "Quick Steps to Outer Space" or something. Also, I'm legally obligated to say that I'm brazilian every time I notice Brazil is mentioned
Having a good art style is essential because even if we dont want it to be true first impressions matter. Most "gamers" have more games than time to play them and being free is not enough. You need to to convince us that using our time in your game is a good idea at a glance. If you can buy an artist or learn: do it, if you cant, let a simpler style do 80% of the work for you. Look at games that use old pixel art styles: KeeperRL, The Dungeon Beneath, heroes hour. Or if you dont like pixel art, look at apotheon, the life and suffering of sir brante, world of horror,world of goo, crayon physics deluxe etc... . A strong style can mask a lot of your imperfections in perspective, proportions, color etc... . The other things you said are important too, specially exploring in depth the interesting mechanic that makes your game unique (like in your game... what if you had other weapons? other bullet tipes and bullet effects that interact with the freeze time / plataform block idea? maybe some bullets are faster? some interact with the othe (bullet hitting a rocker?)? wont that wake up the curiosity in the player about what will find and how can he use it?) and ofc marketing your game as much as you can, specially in indie places. (you should check itchio!)
having a good art style dosent matter as much its the main gameplay loop that matters cuz even if it fails to attract people's attention as long as it gets 1 person to download it and recomend it to hes friends it can spiral this game out of control
@@commandocorp5834 I can agree, but only in gameplay loops that are amazingly fun and uncommon at the same time. Things like Minecraft or Vampire Survivors are IMHO good examples, but sadly most clones and gameplay loops wont ever scratch that kind of success. Again, IMHO, its easier to construct a decent art and gameplay than to have a unique idea polished so good that its innovative gameplay will make you spiral out of control.
@@commandocorp5834 that's naive imho, because to have that one person who'll like it you still need to find your way to that person and convince them to download. It's way easier to find your audience and people who'll like it and recommend it when it looks good. And the whole "art style" can be improved just by downloading a random color palette from the Internet and applying it. Won't be perfect but better than this youtuber had.
I agree, I’ve personally never played a game thinking it will be the same with better graphics. My game projects have always seemed more fun to me after I improve the graphics, but of course still needs to be combined with great gameplay.
the basic mechanic looks really fun and original. aside from unpopular genre as you mentioned, i think the biggest issue is it looks like a scratch game.
Shame your game didn't live up to your expectation but now that you have this experience with releasing a game, I can't wait to see what you have cooking in the future.
This just goes to show how important it is to stay in tune and up to date with market trends. Not on the consumer end, but on the back end. Why marketing teams do what they do. How platforms pedal your content. Thanks for the video.
Good video and it seems like you've taken all the right lessons from your release. I'd add that I think people seeing an ugly game doesn't only impact their aesthetics feel, but also suggests that if there wasn't much effort put into the visuals, it might be the same case for the rest of the gameplay experience.
Honestly, just develop what you're interested in without focusing too much on marketing dos and don'ts. I feel like you enjoy your journey much more and if you're lucky and work well, then you'll perhaps get rewarded at some point. I've developed a 2D cyberpunk VN with a couple of other devs, published it on Steam and approached loads of publishers to ask for marketing support. Never got a YES, until... one publisher contacted us (not one of those we contacted before) and they offered to publish our game on two consoles! So as I said, if this is not your 9 to 5 job and it's just a hobby, try to keep it that way: Fun! Whatever comes along the way is a bonus
I agree, this is in line with the business. We’re not wall street looking for our next high off big money, you should be dreaming about that awesome game you’ll produce or move onto something else. I’d add to this that the enjoyment should include players playing your game. What you’re doing should be smart work to achieve high player counts all enjoying what you built, and then you’ll truly also enjoy what you’ve done.
4:07 Its this part that really irks me as a gamedev and always makes me hesitate on projects since I'm not much of an artist. Even then, though, there are ways to make a game look clean and "good" with lighting/shadows and solidly colored vector shapes, and you can see something like that in 'Thomas was alone.' BUT I think it is very VERY important to find an artstyle thats lends itself to the gameplay or story elements of your project
Honestly, his game could have had perfect gameplay, but with that art no one would pick it up. It's a harsh reality, but people care about visuals. A lot. Some games sell on almost nothing else but their (art) style.
I played your game and thought it was fairly good. I can relate a lot to your marketing issues. Making a game almost seems easy when compared to selling it. I've ran into a lot of these things when releasing my game (The Silicon Shadow) on Steam. My last project had a bigger scope than expected and I decided to do a six-month development plan. I've also been realizing the true importance of art just because gameplay is king doesn’t mean art doesn’t deserve your full attention. Lastly, I also found out Steam doesn’t have the built in audience it used to.
I think the biggest mistake was probably that the game looks like shit. Like i'd excpect to see this on an old adobe flash games website, and not even a popular one. Next time, I HIGHLY recommend putitng some more time into art, UI, UX, and a lot more time polishing + working on good sound effects. Besides that, good job with the release! Although my comment is very critical, you've done so much more than most aspiring game-devs and I salute your hard work.
Yeah, it starts with genre, title, "box" art and graphical feel. If it doesn't feel right, gameplay and story might be amazing but I am not going into it. It needs to be decent/stylish and consistent along the way. I usually decide if I will play something based on screens/trailer first, then check price, read description and hit buy/play. Price tag is also important as I didn't think twice playing Among Us, Stardew Valley, Undertale but I am usually waiting for 50-90% discounts on most games so they feel affordable based on how many games I have in Steam library. It's better to sell cheaper but more than not too many games but more expensive. Even as artist/designer you would want more people to experience your game. I also take into account how good hardware game needs as I didn't upgrade my setup yet, still having low hardware requirement games in my library to finish. So generally you will have both audiences, ones with best setup available to run anything and those who have weaker PC and play less demanding, cheaper games. I believe expensive, more demanding is best left for AAA studios and indies should make smaller, cheaper games for older PCs.
Great content, very relatable. I also started with the gameplay of my game and had a free playtest/demo version on steam so people could try it while in development, but no one plays them. Participating in topical steam fests (VR fest, Strategy fest) did give a big boost in impressions, it also showed a very low click through rate. Just before strategy fest I hired an artist to redo my steam capsules, but I don't know if the capsule or the trailer/screenshots on hover were the issue for the low click through rate. I am now redoing all the art, so the screenshots trailer will look better... no point in improving the gameplay if no one gets to playing it. This also made me understand why there are so many games with great trailer/screenshots but completely disappoint when you play them, because it is the marketing that is the most important for financial success. Good luck on your next games!
Fortunately, not really. Steam lets you return game that is short and disappointing so even if art and trailer baits you into mediocre/bad game, you can return it in during first two hours.
The best I have done is 8k free installs for freight hopper. But the point wasn't really to succeed, was more for learning and for fun. 2d platformer though in 2023 is pretty brutal
That was a good topic - I love so many things just about games and gaming - even just topics discussed and this was cool - very fresh and a good idea to cover this
A lot of people talk about your game not having "good art", including yourself However, marketing aside, I don't think there's another problem Look at "Thomas was Alone", which is also a 2D platformer without any "art" I think your game lacks juiciness, there are no appealing special effects ; for example, in "Thomas was Alone", when the cube jumps, it stretches itself ; it's that kind of little thing that can make the game a whole lot better
Ive been following your channel for a little while, did a couple of the Vampire survival tuts, and have been waiting to try out PG, I had no idea it was listed on steam until this video. Ive just played it for the first time, and I liked it, will be going back to it again.. :-)
Seriously you achieved more than me so far. Thank you for sharing you knowledge with us. I'm sure if you keep studying and improve your skills a great and inspiring GAME will be made!
If you're going to do simplistic art style in 2D, it's probably best to learn pixel art. Simplistic art can work, but it has to be made in a charming style (ala Undertale) in order to draw in potential players. Granted this advice won't help with your current 3D project (unless you use pixel art billboarding etc).
There is a "genre" of games that is far from oversaturated. It's not actually a genre, but rather games that have one thing in common - they are exploration first and everything else second. Make one of those, and you'll have my interest. Games with metroidvania elements tend to be this way, only because you need to search and explore for the next power up. So Metroid and older Zelda games fall into this category. Other fantastic games are Subnautica and Outer Wilds. Both require exploration to progress. Outer Wilds gives you clues, information and story as rewards for exploration. Subnautica gives blueprints for new tech, in order to get farther away, which is a touch of metroidvania. Immersive sims have a tendency towards this too. Especially the classic System Shock (and now the remake).
Congrats on getting the game out! Thats all that matters right now! Though, if you want my two cents, even if the game is free why would anybody play it? There's so many options, paid or free, you really need a good reason for people to play it. For example, the free game Moonring just came out on Steam which people are enjoying, even as a free game that's what you're competing with for people's time. You could throw all the marketing you want at a game, but if it isn't appealing, there won't be any success. You're right that you need to show something that looks good as soon as possible, and that could mean working with an artist from the getgo. Or heck, learning simple art styles which you can make look really good with a bit of post processing. Since you seem to be more of a programmer than an artist, I'd say it's worth looking into shaders and post-processing effects like bloom. If you're bad at art, don't try to draw. Practice abstract but simple art styles like flat cubism.Then throw post-processing on top of it, It will look so much more appealing.
Programmers make the game. Artists sell the game. So much so that you can sell a game with ZERO CODE if you've got impressive art and a mockup that makes it look like you have some code written . I AM LOOKING AT YOU KICKSTARTER !
you need 3 skills like the platform laser, like the liquidizer disolver, and the rocket teleporter. the art style is what most games would start off and would have a discussion about art style, what art style you have and what you want, this was a major turning point for the Five Nights at Freddy's turning his christian cgi into mascot horror. and you could always just make a multiplayer, and now it's a perfectly balanced and unique game. Mario started off as a multiplayer game that was converted into a platformer, pong was one of the first games ever and it was multiplayer. It adds a lot.
Hadn't heard about you or your game, but interesting retrospective and most of all "healer roguelite" sounds really interesting. If you'd already have a steam page for it I'd probably click follow on it :)
I really have a problem with this philosophy of "gameplay is the most important part of any game" in indie game development. I know it might have started as a sort of counter-culture to the AAA industry and its focus on HD graphics and photorealism, but it's just wrong. The artistic direction is just as important, if not more, in establishing your game's identity. If you treat the art of your game as an afterthought, it's going to show in the end product.
I'll give you a Pity Purchase, much like how a drunk cheerleader feels bad for a nerd and helps him out. Edit: Nvm its free, much like how nerds are every Friday night.
the bullet as a platform idea is a good one the art dosent perticularly matter but heres the downsides of the game from what i see the player character moves too damn slowly and the things you shoot and die dont feel like enemies they feel like they were just put there for the sake of being there and have something to shoot the platforming side is boring because again slow movement and thats about it
You need to get the keypass for standard permissions. If you go upwards to the top of the level and then to the left you will find new areas to go though.
Well, you got more sales than I did with my retro-FPS / Roguelike hybrid. My big question I don't know how answer now is: If should I leave it around, or cancel my own game for fear someone might someday it crashed and caused some problem, or it might be hit by some license change from Unity? (Or should I worry about being hit by lightening or a meteor instead.)
You mentioned the 6 months development cycle. Let's be real, most indie developers work for companies that have a lot of resources to get the game done faster. I would recommend you to either work for one of these companies or try to start your own.
I'll be honest chief, a 30 minute minute puzzle platforming game does sound boring. If I were a kid and your game was on a DS cartridge, it'd need to be hours longer and then my childhood self might enjoy it. That or you'd be relegated to the try it and toss it flash game pile. What kind of games do you actually enjoy playing? Why not make those, even if you have to drastically reduce the scope?
When you're a kid you go more for the art and the initial rush. Casual usually works. Something you can pick up 10 minutes then put down. PLAY once and put down is not good at creating a Habit. If the game is casual and let's you create a habit (meaning days or weeks). The game should be random or long enough. Also progression. Getting better or unlocking stuff adds to the experience and excitement to continue picking it up 🎉
@@kardrasa I got the first prototype available now. Only lasts around 5 minutes but enough to get feedback on the controls. brannotaylor.itch.io/healed-to-death
@@BrannoDev I like it a lot! I think it can be a really cool game. It does start off a lil complex so easing people in with 2-3 spells to deal with first would be nice. But yeah in general I think this can be a sick-ass game! Add some cool bosses with interesting mechanics and some interesting looking environments, maybe inject some humor, could be really cool. Also would be nice to have jumping in the game, when I saw the barrels at the start I wanted to jump on em right away. Could also be a part of boss mechanics where u gotta jump over an attack or something. Maybe that's making it too complex, but overall this was really cool! I didn't like the fact that it judged me based on speed. afterall what makes a good healer is if no one dies and the boss is defeated!
You game didn't fail, though. You made and entire game, assets by yourself and everything then even released it on a popular store platform. You only failed to sell the game, not the game itself
problems: 1. half hour length.. dl and install and first set up takes longer than comparing the entire game. 2. ancient technology.. game looks like an amiga game. 3. 6 month development time.. this is literally the overarching, main, most important complaint against EVERY SINGLE MAJOR STUDIO.. are you even a gamer? take star citizen for example: it's finished when it's finished, and that's a long way off.. yet, the game has already made half a billion dollars. and related to this: stop listening to the "data driven" guy. stop concerning yourself with any and all "analytics". just make a good game. that's it. that's really the actual secret sauce. just make a good game, and it'll make you rich. you should take about a decade as a single person making an entire game. 6 months is laughable in today's development environment. maybe in the future with ai help it'll take less time to four a single person make a real valuable game, but not today.
As long as you like the game when you play it then who cares about what anyone else thinks of it? The only time you should worry about whether or not other people like your game is if you're trying to sell it and make money off it. But if you're not looking to make money then it's their loss if they pass over your game.
what i'm gonna say isn't out of evil and i'm not trying to berate you or anything like that, just being honest as someone who also does games - the issue with indie goobers is that they almost always never bother to actually make it look good. your issue was because you have no clue how to do game design which is a general issue with indie developers. if you dont know how to do design ask someone to help or cope and learn yourself. all im saying is that you blindly made the game with no direction, analogous to half-assing a project to get that passing grade
The algorithm is not the problem though. I mean, come on. Also, people really should stop spreading the wishlist numbers nonsense. It's not how Steam works. Otherwise any new game would have virtually no chance of selling any copies. Any random month can also have stronger or less strong competition for the type of game you release. So unless you have a crystal ball to predict the future, it is very hard to do any real predictions of what a game should do in terms of sales. Not to mention how most games that underperform, do so for obvious (or less obvious) reasons. No end consumer will deliberately ignore a good game. It's not all about a lucky draw of the algorithm. And most games do not 'go viral'.
Dude, you released a game. That counts as a success to me.
It is an achievement, but not a success :(
I don't think it is nesesarily a "I am a failure I fucked up" type situation, more so "I did succeed, but not as much as I hoped for, let's analyze what I did and next time go even higher"
Dude hit the goal, but his aiming to go higher, and I really appreciate him sharing his thoughts and insight and I hope he does in fact shoot straight to heaven.
I just played Platform Gun from beginning to end, and here's what I have to say:
I find the gameplay idea to be extremely creative and fun, I got some good joy from finding ways to optimize my movement using the gun's "freeze/unfreeze" mechanic. That on its own made the game a certainly fun and memorable experience that I hope you revisit in the future.
The combat in the game is just... pointless. Your gun is simply not fit for killing enemies, and this is especially apparent when you have to fight multiple zombies at once. Killing enemies is more than possible, but doing so is a slow, repetitive task that doesn't really add anything to the game.
The only part in the game where I genuinely appreciated combat was during the boss fight. The boss forces you to not only shoot it in specific parts, in specific ways, but also forces you to use your gun to run away from it. The boss also doesn't overstay its welcome, which is great since there's so many games where the boss battle lasts forever for no good reason.
I also found that the player's base movement speed was way too sluggish. It made going from point A to point B to be a bit frustrating at times. And the game also has a lot of tight corridors spread throughout, so using the gun to travel quickly isn't always an option.
But in my opinion, what hurts this game the MOST is its lack of personality and branding. Imagine if Neon White was called "FPS Cards", had a nameless main character that didn't talk much, didn't have its amazing PS3 Grunge aesthetic paired with the Heaven setting, and didn't have a soundtrack made by Machine Girl. That's what Platform Gun feels like.
I know Neon White had funding and multiple people working on the project, but my point is that you could have spent more time trying to make your game stand out, and have its own identity, aesthetics, characters and memorable moments that make the game feel more special besides the gameplay ideas. You as a person working alone, doesn't have the obligation to make a game as cool as Neon White, but you could definitely try to put as much personality in your games as you can handle on your own.
I don't know if you're even interested in revisiting this idea anytime soon, but my final suggestions for Platform Gun would be as it follows:
For the player, make their movement speed faster, their air physics less floaty, make so you can jump out of the platforms and maintain their fast momentum in mid-air, and allow them to crouch, so they can shoot platforms that are closer to the ground for fast travelling.
For the game's level design, I frankly believe this game should've been a puzzle game; you should probably toss away the entire combat altogether (with the exception of boss fights) and instead focus on making puzzles that take advantage of the platform gun mechanics. You could use the "timed power switches" to force the player to find the most optimized way possible to travel the area's geometry. You could still have enemies in your game, but they would probably fit better as obstacles you're unable to kill, and instead have to find a way around. Bosses could still be pretty fun if they're made to be more puzzle-focused instead of combat-focused.
(Edit: I just noticed you did describe your game as a "puzzle platform game". When I played it, it just came across as a regular platformer with puzzle elements - it didn't feel committed to puzzles. And I think puzzles are exactly what Platform Gun needed more of, so take that of that what you will)
And for branding, please give your game a cooler name like "Quick Steps to Outer Space" or something.
Also, I'm legally obligated to say that I'm brazilian every time I notice Brazil is mentioned
Having a good art style is essential because even if we dont want it to be true first impressions matter. Most "gamers" have more games than time to play them and being free is not enough. You need to to convince us that using our time in your game is a good idea at a glance. If you can buy an artist or learn: do it, if you cant, let a simpler style do 80% of the work for you. Look at games that use old pixel art styles: KeeperRL, The Dungeon Beneath, heroes hour. Or if you dont like pixel art, look at apotheon, the life and suffering of sir brante, world of horror,world of goo, crayon physics deluxe etc... . A strong style can mask a lot of your imperfections in perspective, proportions, color etc... .
The other things you said are important too, specially exploring in depth the interesting mechanic that makes your game unique (like in your game... what if you had other weapons? other bullet tipes and bullet effects that interact with the freeze time / plataform block idea? maybe some bullets are faster? some interact with the othe (bullet hitting a rocker?)? wont that wake up the curiosity in the player about what will find and how can he use it?) and ofc marketing your game as much as you can, specially in indie places. (you should check itchio!)
having a good art style dosent matter as much its the main gameplay loop that matters cuz even if it fails to attract people's attention as long as it gets 1 person to download it and recomend it to hes friends it can spiral this game out of control
@@commandocorp5834 I can agree, but only in gameplay loops that are amazingly fun and uncommon at the same time. Things like Minecraft or Vampire Survivors are IMHO good examples, but sadly most clones and gameplay loops wont ever scratch that kind of success. Again, IMHO, its easier to construct a decent art and gameplay than to have a unique idea polished so good that its innovative gameplay will make you spiral out of control.
@@commandocorp5834 If your game looks like shit you will never even get that first download.
@@commandocorp5834 that's naive imho, because to have that one person who'll like it you still need to find your way to that person and convince them to download. It's way easier to find your audience and people who'll like it and recommend it when it looks good. And the whole "art style" can be improved just by downloading a random color palette from the Internet and applying it. Won't be perfect but better than this youtuber had.
I agree, I’ve personally never played a game thinking it will be the same with better graphics. My game projects have always seemed more fun to me after I improve the graphics, but of course still needs to be combined with great gameplay.
the basic mechanic looks really fun and original. aside from unpopular genre as you mentioned, i think the biggest issue is it looks like a scratch game.
Shame your game didn't live up to your expectation but now that you have this experience with releasing a game, I can't wait to see what you have cooking in the future.
100% agree
This just goes to show how important it is to stay in tune and up to date with market trends. Not on the consumer end, but on the back end. Why marketing teams do what they do. How platforms pedal your content. Thanks for the video.
Good video and it seems like you've taken all the right lessons from your release. I'd add that I think people seeing an ugly game doesn't only impact their aesthetics feel, but also suggests that if there wasn't much effort put into the visuals, it might be the same case for the rest of the gameplay experience.
Honestly, just develop what you're interested in without focusing too much on marketing dos and don'ts. I feel like you enjoy your journey much more and if you're lucky and work well, then you'll perhaps get rewarded at some point. I've developed a 2D cyberpunk VN with a couple of other devs, published it on Steam and approached loads of publishers to ask for marketing support. Never got a YES, until... one publisher contacted us (not one of those we contacted before) and they offered to publish our game on two consoles!
So as I said, if this is not your 9 to 5 job and it's just a hobby, try to keep it that way: Fun! Whatever comes along the way is a bonus
I agree, this is in line with the business. We’re not wall street looking for our next high off big money, you should be dreaming about that awesome game you’ll produce or move onto something else. I’d add to this that the enjoyment should include players playing your game. What you’re doing should be smart work to achieve high player counts all enjoying what you built, and then you’ll truly also enjoy what you’ve done.
4:07
Its this part that really irks me as a gamedev and always makes me hesitate on projects since I'm not much of an artist. Even then, though, there are ways to make a game look clean and "good" with lighting/shadows and solidly colored vector shapes, and you can see something like that in 'Thomas was alone.'
BUT I think it is very VERY important to find an artstyle thats lends itself to the gameplay or story elements of your project
Honestly, his game could have had perfect gameplay, but with that art no one would pick it up. It's a harsh reality, but people care about visuals. A lot. Some games sell on almost nothing else but their (art) style.
Art ooogly ma man. A free asset pack wuda made this way more interesting to look at
I played your game and thought it was fairly good. I can relate a lot to your marketing issues. Making a game almost seems easy when compared to selling it. I've ran into a lot of these things when releasing my game (The Silicon Shadow) on Steam. My last project had a bigger scope than expected and I decided to do a six-month development plan. I've also been realizing the true importance of art just because gameplay is king doesn’t mean art doesn’t deserve your full attention. Lastly, I also found out Steam doesn’t have the built in audience it used to.
I think the biggest mistake was probably that the game looks like shit. Like i'd excpect to see this on an old adobe flash games website, and not even a popular one. Next time, I HIGHLY recommend putitng some more time into art, UI, UX, and a lot more time polishing + working on good sound effects. Besides that, good job with the release! Although my comment is very critical, you've done so much more than most aspiring game-devs and I salute your hard work.
Yeah, it starts with genre, title, "box" art and graphical feel. If it doesn't feel right, gameplay and story might be amazing but I am not going into it. It needs to be decent/stylish and consistent along the way. I usually decide if I will play something based on screens/trailer first, then check price, read description and hit buy/play. Price tag is also important as I didn't think twice playing Among Us, Stardew Valley, Undertale but I am usually waiting for 50-90% discounts on most games so they feel affordable based on how many games I have in Steam library. It's better to sell cheaper but more than not too many games but more expensive. Even as artist/designer you would want more people to experience your game. I also take into account how good hardware game needs as I didn't upgrade my setup yet, still having low hardware requirement games in my library to finish. So generally you will have both audiences, ones with best setup available to run anything and those who have weaker PC and play less demanding, cheaper games. I believe expensive, more demanding is best left for AAA studios and indies should make smaller, cheaper games for older PCs.
My game launches in two days and this video just popped up on on my recommendations... 😅
Great content, very relatable. I also started with the gameplay of my game and had a free playtest/demo version on steam so people could try it while in development, but no one plays them. Participating in topical steam fests (VR fest, Strategy fest) did give a big boost in impressions, it also showed a very low click through rate. Just before strategy fest I hired an artist to redo my steam capsules, but I don't know if the capsule or the trailer/screenshots on hover were the issue for the low click through rate. I am now redoing all the art, so the screenshots trailer will look better... no point in improving the gameplay if no one gets to playing it. This also made me understand why there are so many games with great trailer/screenshots but completely disappoint when you play them, because it is the marketing that is the most important for financial success. Good luck on your next games!
Fortunately, not really. Steam lets you return game that is short and disappointing so even if art and trailer baits you into mediocre/bad game, you can return it in during first two hours.
The best I have done is 8k free installs for freight hopper. But the point wasn't really to succeed, was more for learning and for fun. 2d platformer though in 2023 is pretty brutal
This "Healer Roguelite" is a very appealing mechanic! I will be excited to try it.
Don't be afraid to outsource parts of the project, a single man can't move a mountain. Or something like that
Cool, I'll be looking forward for your journey with the art for the next game
That was a good topic - I love so many things just about games and gaming - even just topics discussed and this was cool - very fresh and a good idea to cover this
dude, get a couple graphic asset packs and just beautify your visuals. In fact, you can even use 3D models.
A lot of people talk about your game not having "good art", including yourself
However, marketing aside, I don't think there's another problem
Look at "Thomas was Alone", which is also a 2D platformer without any "art"
I think your game lacks juiciness, there are no appealing special effects ; for example, in "Thomas was Alone", when the cube jumps, it stretches itself ; it's that kind of little thing that can make the game a whole lot better
Ive been following your channel for a little while, did a couple of the Vampire survival tuts, and have been waiting to try out PG, I had no idea it was listed on steam until this video.
Ive just played it for the first time, and I liked it,
will be going back to it again.. :-)
Seriously you achieved more than me so far. Thank you for sharing you knowledge with us. I'm sure if you keep studying and improve your skills a great and inspiring GAME will be made!
Good Insight in a nice package 👍
super informational vid. much appreciated
If you're going to do simplistic art style in 2D, it's probably best to learn pixel art. Simplistic art can work, but it has to be made in a charming style (ala Undertale) in order to draw in potential players. Granted this advice won't help with your current 3D project (unless you use pixel art billboarding etc).
For 3D there is good low poly.
There is a "genre" of games that is far from oversaturated. It's not actually a genre, but rather games that have one thing in common - they are exploration first and everything else second. Make one of those, and you'll have my interest.
Games with metroidvania elements tend to be this way, only because you need to search and explore for the next power up. So Metroid and older Zelda games fall into this category.
Other fantastic games are Subnautica and Outer Wilds. Both require exploration to progress. Outer Wilds gives you clues, information and story as rewards for exploration. Subnautica gives blueprints for new tech, in order to get farther away, which
is a touch of metroidvania.
Immersive sims have a tendency towards this too. Especially the classic System Shock (and now the remake).
Congrats on getting the game out! Thats all that matters right now!
Though, if you want my two cents, even if the game is free why would anybody play it? There's so many options, paid or free, you really need a good reason for people to play it.
For example, the free game Moonring just came out on Steam which people are enjoying, even as a free game that's what you're competing with for people's time.
You could throw all the marketing you want at a game, but if it isn't appealing, there won't be any success.
You're right that you need to show something that looks good as soon as possible, and that could mean working with an artist from the getgo. Or heck, learning simple art styles which you can make look really good with a bit of post processing. Since you seem to be more of a programmer than an artist, I'd say it's worth looking into shaders and post-processing effects like bloom. If you're bad at art, don't try to draw. Practice abstract but simple art styles like flat cubism.Then throw post-processing on top of it, It will look so much more appealing.
Programmers make the game. Artists sell the game. So much so that you can sell a game with ZERO CODE if you've got impressive art and a mockup that makes it look like you have some code written . I AM LOOKING AT YOU KICKSTARTER !
you need 3 skills like the platform laser, like the liquidizer disolver, and the rocket teleporter.
the art style is what most games would start off and would have a discussion about art style, what art style you have and what you want, this was a major turning point for the Five Nights at Freddy's turning his christian cgi into mascot horror.
and you could always just make a multiplayer, and now it's a perfectly balanced and unique game. Mario started off as a multiplayer game that was converted into a platformer, pong was one of the first games ever and it was multiplayer. It adds a lot.
Hadn't heard about you or your game, but interesting retrospective and most of all "healer roguelite" sounds really interesting. If you'd already have a steam page for it I'd probably click follow on it :)
Thanks man for your advise
Current trend top down shooter with tetris style inventory :)
I loved platform gun! The boss was a bit annoying and it was kind of short, but overall it was fun to play!
It’s easy to learn and follow some marketing strategies, but extremely difficult to make a fantastic game that will sell well.
I really have a problem with this philosophy of "gameplay is the most important part of any game" in indie game development.
I know it might have started as a sort of counter-culture to the AAA industry and its focus on HD graphics and photorealism, but it's just wrong.
The artistic direction is just as important, if not more, in establishing your game's identity. If you treat the art of your game as an afterthought, it's going to show in the end product.
Just curious, how long does it normally take steam to approve a game?
I know they say leave at least 5 business days but does it usually take longer?
It took me 3 business days to get a review.
I'll give you a Pity Purchase, much like how a drunk cheerleader feels bad for a nerd and helps him out.
Edit: Nvm its free, much like how nerds are every Friday night.
Chris is a goldmine, 10/10 recommend him as well.
the bullet as a platform idea is a good one the art dosent perticularly matter but heres the downsides of the game from what i see the player character moves too damn slowly and the things you shoot and die dont feel like enemies they feel like they were just put there for the sake of being there and have something to shoot the platforming side is boring because again slow movement and thats about it
I left a review saying where I got stuck in that game, can you reply how to get past it so I can try to finish the game?
You need to get the keypass for standard permissions. If you go upwards to the top of the level and then to the left you will find new areas to go though.
Well, you got more sales than I did with my retro-FPS / Roguelike hybrid.
My big question I don't know how answer now is: If should I leave it around, or cancel my own game for fear someone might someday it crashed and caused some problem, or it might be hit by some license change from Unity? (Or should I worry about being hit by lightening or a meteor instead.)
honestly the goal with my game is just to finish it. Game Dev is hard...
You're that guy in agdg?
I think without art, you only impress other programmers. Which isn't going to get you that far.
You mentioned the 6 months development cycle. Let's be real, most indie developers work for companies that have a lot of resources to get the game done faster. I would recommend you to either work for one of these companies or try to start your own.
I'll be honest chief, a 30 minute minute puzzle platforming game does sound boring. If I were a kid and your game was on a DS cartridge, it'd need to be hours longer and then my childhood self might enjoy it. That or you'd be relegated to the try it and toss it flash game pile.
What kind of games do you actually enjoy playing? Why not make those, even if you have to drastically reduce the scope?
When you're a kid you go more for the art and the initial rush.
Casual usually works.
Something you can pick up 10 minutes then put down.
PLAY once and put down is not good at creating a Habit.
If the game is casual and let's you create a habit (meaning days or weeks).
The game should be random or long enough.
Also progression. Getting better or unlocking stuff adds to the experience and excitement to continue picking it up 🎉
Yo Branno can we get in touch? I wanna play test the new game and give feedback!
I'll have a very very early prototype available on my itch in early November
@@BrannoDev Cool! Thanks
@@kardrasa I got the first prototype available now. Only lasts around 5 minutes but enough to get feedback on the controls. brannotaylor.itch.io/healed-to-death
@@BrannoDev I like it a lot! I think it can be a really cool game. It does start off a lil complex so easing people in with 2-3 spells to deal with first would be nice. But yeah in general I think this can be a sick-ass game! Add some cool bosses with interesting mechanics and some interesting looking environments, maybe inject some humor, could be really cool. Also would be nice to have jumping in the game, when I saw the barrels at the start I wanted to jump on em right away. Could also be a part of boss mechanics where u gotta jump over an attack or something. Maybe that's making it too complex, but overall this was really cool! I didn't like the fact that it judged me based on speed. afterall what makes a good healer is if no one dies and the boss is defeated!
Had no idea platformdev and healerdev were the same person. I assumed you just died after releasing Platform Gun.
Oh it simple game is good.
I guess you could say your game didnt pLATform as well as you expected
Sorry, but with graphics like potato, you got 30+ reviews, that is not a failure.
Keep going 👍👍
You game didn't fail, though.
You made and entire game, assets by yourself and everything then even released it on a popular store platform. You only failed to sell the game, not the game itself
problems: 1. half hour length.. dl and install and first set up takes longer than comparing the entire game. 2. ancient technology.. game looks like an amiga game. 3. 6 month development time.. this is literally the overarching, main, most important complaint against EVERY SINGLE MAJOR STUDIO.. are you even a gamer? take star citizen for example: it's finished when it's finished, and that's a long way off.. yet, the game has already made half a billion dollars. and related to this: stop listening to the "data driven" guy. stop concerning yourself with any and all "analytics". just make a good game. that's it. that's really the actual secret sauce. just make a good game, and it'll make you rich. you should take about a decade as a single person making an entire game. 6 months is laughable in today's development environment. maybe in the future with ai help it'll take less time to four a single person make a real valuable game, but not today.
Put some anime girls as characters and your game would explode of downloads what sells a game is the visuals first
As long as you like the game when you play it then who cares about what anyone else thinks of it? The only time you should worry about whether or not other people like your game is if you're trying to sell it and make money off it. But if you're not looking to make money then it's their loss if they pass over your game.
what i'm gonna say isn't out of evil and i'm not trying to berate you or anything like that, just being honest as someone who also does games
-
the issue with indie goobers is that they almost always never bother to actually make it look good.
your issue was because you have no clue how to do game design which is a general issue with indie developers.
if you dont know how to do design ask someone to help or cope and learn yourself.
all im saying is that you blindly made the game with no direction, analogous to half-assing a project to get that passing grade
moral of the story?
just because you can make a game doesn’t mean you should.
The algorithm is not the problem though. I mean, come on. Also, people really should stop spreading the wishlist numbers nonsense. It's not how Steam works. Otherwise any new game would have virtually no chance of selling any copies. Any random month can also have stronger or less strong competition for the type of game you release. So unless you have a crystal ball to predict the future, it is very hard to do any real predictions of what a game should do in terms of sales. Not to mention how most games that underperform, do so for obvious (or less obvious) reasons. No end consumer will deliberately ignore a good game. It's not all about a lucky draw of the algorithm. And most games do not 'go viral'.
Hey Branno, how are you doing?
Do you have a discord to contact you?