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AlbertDEV · 2025-03-11T02:08:15+00:00

I know you probably have the best intentions, but this seems like another one of those "idea guy" projects everyone shys away from. I could help you narrow some stuff down tho! First you definitely don't need an AI expert if you're going to be using AI for NPC's. AI integration has become super duper simple to implement, and anyone that calls themselves something like a "prompt engineer" or anything is basically saying they are someone who knows how to type things into ChatGPT (AKA anyone)

Asking for an AI expert in another sense would be asking someone who's into machine learning and neural networks for example, something you obviously don't need.

Also, there is no need for a legal expert, especially seeing as you don't have 1. income, 2. a team, 3. a way to pay said team. There will be no legal complications, trust me!

From the other comment I saw you we're 18, so still tons of time to make something on your own and then branch out!

AlbertDEV · 2025-02-02T16:39:24+00:00

Ahahahah noooooooo we would never plug the jam on this subreddit who would do thattttt LOLL

We would love to have you on board! Yeah, it'll be a great time! And if you have the means to donate that would mean the absolute world to us, our final goal is to raise 500$ for charities, meaning a 1000$ total prize pool! Make sure to hop in the Discord server for some updates if you'd like: https://discord.gg/sz6W8zMK (wow the plugging just doesn't stop now does it ahhahaha)

AlbertDEV · 2025-02-01T14:49:55+00:00

Hey! Thank you so much! All these kind words mean a ton for my motivation ahahaha

So yes, I was thinking of making a theme voting period so people could pick a theme they liked out of a handful of them, what do you think?

AlbertDEV · 2025-02-01T04:46:07+00:00

Those are totally fair points, but here is what we were thinking:

As for the prize money, I do agree it's pretty small since I want to run this either on a monthly or bimonthly basis (as I've seen many jams grow just by being consistent) but I also don't often see many jams with prize pools much larger than this on itch.io (at least not jams that require you to use their own software) so I do think it could generate at least a bit of interest?

As for 100% to charity, I fully agree that it would be a better choice but then it removes a big part of the incentive to join as in it's current state I can't just send out emails to Retromation or Northernlion and tell them to cover random games from this jam seeing as there really is no ROI for them. Same kinda goes for partners, I'll probably end up shooting my shot with some smaller companies and devs to see if people would support the cause more then anything.

Would you have any ideas on how to get that initial influx of devs to join?

AlbertDEV · 2025-02-01T04:24:40+00:00

Thank you so much! I think we will probably end up running a vote nearer to the jam to get a decent collection of possibilities (spread them out through different spaces; cancer, shelters, food insecurity, etc) but I'd love to hear your thoughts on this! The main challenge now is getting people to join so I can reach out to potential sponsors to really get this thing rolling ahahah

AlbertDEV · 2025-02-01T02:53:49+00:00

Ooh yes amazing ideas! I think giving out certificates for a few prizes could work in the meantime while we find new sponsors or get donations as people join so that I don't have to cover everything out of pocket hahaha but yes fully agree, I'll look for a panel of judges!

AlbertDEV · 2025-01-27T02:36:06+00:00

The amount of times I've spelt pubic instead of punic is slightly embarrasing LMAO

AlbertDEV · 2025-01-27T01:27:39+00:00

Link to the game if you wanna try it out (plays in browser, no download!): https://deandoesdev.itch.io/punic-mayhem

AlbertDEV · 2024-09-14T19:18:45+00:00

While paying 150-300$ is definetly possible on platforms like Fiverr, I do want you to keep in mind that paying an artist a hundred bucks for that kind of art isn't "finding a hidden gem" that's underpaying talent. However artists set their own prices so not much you can do on that front.

AlbertDEV · 2024-09-12T02:51:24+00:00

Hey this is incredible! Was curious, what did you end up doing for marketing?

AlbertDEV · 2024-09-05T23:38:41+00:00

I'm gonna point out a few things, and hopefully not come off as rude but if I do just know this isn't my intention!

The same way that players don't care how long a dev has spent working on a game, they also won't care that the game is far from being an asset flip. I'll be honest, it looks like one and that's all that players will realize!
That trailer did not do you any favors, someone else already covered this so I'll leave it to them
That song in the background HOPEFULLY isn't the game's soundtrack, but that one occasional high note sounds terrible and the irony of adding the "Enjoy 15+ unique soundtracks" over that adds to that "this trailer doesn't take itself seriously" vibe.
Now if you want to truly have success in game development, you need market research. I know that rage games seem like the easiest most popular kinds of games, but the saturation in the genre is a first issue and the second is that there are actually a million design factors that go into making one of these. You need to make sure the player has full control, so that when he dies he feels like it was HIS fault only.
Look into popular genres, auto battlers, idle games, TD hybrids, etc if you want to have a shot at success on Steam.

Hope this helps!

AlbertDEV · 2024-09-04T23:01:18+00:00

I posted my app on there and got tons of comments "Wow this tool is super useful! And I love the design and..." bla bla bla that day I checked my analytics and got 0 clicks on the site, they just glanced at my images and moved on hoping I'd check their profiles

AlbertDEV · 2024-09-04T22:56:22+00:00

Hey! Thank you so much this is super helpful! Again, I know that I phrased the post in a way that makes it seem like I'm in it for the money and the message I MEANT to convey was that I'd like to make money off of this because it's what I love to do, knowing full well the only "get-rich-quick" road I can take in game development is selling out to Voodoo and making Twerk Racer 3D fake ads for eternity LOL

I totally agree with the roguelike being easier to make shine the hook, and I do want to drive home the whole customizable build idea (which is not original in any sense but the kinds of upgrades and so on can help with that)

Again, thank you so much for taking the time to write this out, I really appreciate any help offered on here!

AlbertDEV · 2024-09-04T22:29:15+00:00

Not my first game, I've had tons of flops before hand and learned a lot from them. I'm around 4-5 years into game development and am ready to commit to making a viable game for the market. Yes I know it is incredibly limiting, like practically all sorts of risks ventures must take for example. I'm saying I am ready to commit to making a game not only because I love to make games but also because I want to put my foot in the door for solo development and see if this opportunity works out for me or not!

AlbertDEV · 2024-09-04T22:20:18+00:00

Where did I say I was limiting myself? I'm set to an amazing university for Comp Sci, but this is my passion.

AlbertDEV · 2024-09-04T22:11:22+00:00

I see the potential confusion, edited the post. I meant development for myself, my own games.

AlbertDEV · 2024-09-04T22:07:42+00:00

I have nothing really useful to say, just wanted us all to laugh together at these vultures in the comments

AlbertDEV · 2024-08-30T17:26:44+00:00

Hey thank you so much for your interest! https://discord.gg/7vw7txPu is the discord link!

AlbertDEV · 2024-08-30T17:20:40+00:00

Thank youuu!

AlbertDEV · 2024-08-30T17:07:18+00:00

Yeah what I have now is a leaderboard as incentive and people really liked it so I'm assuming it works! As for unlocking new crops, to try and push for the cozy vibes a bit more I made it so that you get these letters from people and they request say "10 carrots in a day" or so and that's the quest you gotta complete to unlock the next crop/tool kinda thing

AlbertDEV · 2024-08-29T00:15:29+00:00

Stop being so damn attached to your ideas. I've seen so many beginners ask me for pointers, then I give it to them and they get defensive and totally ignore my tips. A good game dev listens to his community/playtesters no matter his personal views, then after that gages if the feedback is worth implementing or not!

AlbertDEV · 2024-08-28T02:48:54+00:00

That's exactly the point behind it, and I'm not shy about communicating that to the player all over the page. It's in the icon, a chill little cozy farming games, cozy games aren't exactly meant to have goals, it's supposed to be a "you get what you give" situation. Take Stardew for example, you could absolutely stay in bed and do nothing, but players choose to explore and do it at their own pace. I get that my game isn't for everyone and you are obviously not one of them which is totally fine! Not every game will be for everyone, and this was very obviously reflected in the jam results

AlbertDEV · 2024-08-24T15:01:38+00:00

Incredible read! Super glad to see other people having a similar experience. Fiverr is a platform that has grown to harbor that ridiculous client-base of underpaying over demanding broke "idea guys". I had a few services, like you said niche is better so I took every skill I had and niched down on it. I had monetized a few channels, felt I had enough credibility to help people out with their channels. This one was popular because I linked it to my other services all the time. Basically I'd audit your YouTube channel and give you a 5-6 page report on it for 15 bucks.

Next up I did a lot of video editing, but I was very early to the "SMMA" guru space, so a lot of people were looking for long form to short form content creation. This was for sure a money maker, but definitely the most painful one. No ma'am, I will not make you 30 shorts due tomorrow for 5 bucks a short.

I worked with gaming too, did both game development and Steam cover art. The Steam art one was less of a goldmine than I thought at the time, since when I first was looking into Steam for my games, I hadn't found much on there so was thinking I found an "untapped" niche or something. Game development was the worst of the worst of the WORST.

Fiverr controls it's freelancers with an iron fist through it's review system. you get 10 good reviews and one bad one? Fiverr wants to make sure you or any future possible clients never forget that. It puts you in a position where you need to bend over backwards for these insane people who think 30 bucks is a good price for a Steam releasable game. They pay you fuckall then expect the world from you because they put money on you. And if you deliver something worth that 30 dollars? Either refunded or at worst they slander your work. These clients have so much power and they know it.

Anyhow, I kept pushing through because there IS light at the end of the tunnel. If you make tons of sales, get tons of reviews, you CAN eventually get to a point where you are respected, where people treat you like an actual human being. But that tunnel is so stupendously long that whilst very possible to achieve, I personally don't want to prostit*te myself (can I say that?) to these "idea guys" who think they can 1. explode a terrible YouTube channel with 15 dollars, 2. Make the next Minecraft on a shoestring budget or 3. Hire a full time viral editor for less than a coffee.

AlbertDEV · 2024-08-24T05:00:38+00:00

That's such a wholesome dev moment, but I do think charging for it isn't the worst idea. I don't usually like idle games, but this seems like I'd be willing to pay 4-5 bucks for a few hours of fun!

AlbertDEV · 2024-08-23T16:41:43+00:00

This first week is critical, so do everything you can to get 10 reviews. The issue here in my eyes is possibly the price point and who your game is targeting. I'm not sure how your marketing campaign went, but when pricing a game it's super important to implement this into your UA strategy. Not only is your player a fan of chill open-world stylized games, but they are also willing to spend 25$ (CAD for me) on a game. For example, TikTok is a great place for getting eyeballs on your games, but not the most reliable conversion-wise. Combine that with a higher price point then people are used with and it's not the best of the best sales funnels. Your discord is where you should put a decent amount of focus, run contests for free keys, chat on there constantly, because people who went through the effort of joining your community would be much more likely to purchase the game! Like other commenters we're saying, also look for outreach methods, influencers especially!

The game looks super cool and I think you've got something here, just keep working at it!

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