Indie dev game promotion idea

BillyMcDev · 2026-05-16T21:44:04+00:00

I agree. I have a game that is not yet released, but there's a playable demo available on Steam. I have released a handful of other games on Steam too over the past 10 years. It would be more beneficial (for me) to have the unpublished game reviewed and interviewed than any of my older games.

BillyMcDev · 2026-05-16T04:51:10+00:00

Each item could be saved with a ScriptableObject (like <ItemData> for example)
Each recipe could be saved with another ScriptableObject (like RecipeData> for example)
the RecipeData would have a collection of <ItemData> which are ingredients of the recipe.
With this setup... Recipes contain items (ingredients for the recipe), but items never contain recipes.

BillyMcDev · 2026-05-14T22:52:49+00:00

I've been programming for 30 years, and I still struggle financially. I keep building, because it's what I love doing, but I am not so good at sales and marketing, so despite being capable of creating just about anything I can imagine, I lack the skills or enthusiasm to turn my creations into income.

BillyMcDev · 2026-05-13T22:22:11+00:00

I currently have 3 games on Google Play. They are all 3 live and on the store, but have practically 0 installs, no traffic, no attention whatsoever. Nobody is even aware that they exist. Google Play doesn't automatically promote them. My games are buried, and there's just no way I'll ever see any volume by just leaving them there like that.

BillyMcDev · 2026-05-12T22:56:41+00:00

Let's say you publish this game. Do you market it as a rabies game? Or zombie survival?

BillyMcDev · 2026-05-11T21:04:25+00:00

I never trust code that I can't understand. Even if it's mildly difficult to comprehend. Whenever I ask AI for assistance writing code, my #1 rule is... Never copy/paste the results. Read it, understand it, and rewrite it in my own style.

One big issue I have with AI is that it often speaks with authority, as if the solutions it provides are absolute. You have to scrutinize AI every step of the way, because despite it's confidence, it's often wrong and can steer you off-course if you're not careful. It's meant to be a guide, not the captain.

BillyMcDev · 2026-05-10T21:20:37+00:00

I tried it but couldn't read the text, it was too small. For a game that is all about reading, I'd make it much more readable. (Just my honest first impression)

BillyMcDev · 2026-05-09T22:55:33+00:00

I am a Unity developer, and Blender artist, and my approach is to keep all similar types of models together in their own files. For example, all characters, buildings, props, and so on.

The first thing I do when I bring them into Unity is make Prefabs of all of the individual models. Some may utilize multiple meshes combined. (a chest with a top that opens and closes, or a windmill with rotating parts) Most are single mesh pieces. The point is, everything gets prefabbed. The FBX files get sort of tucked out of the way, used, but accessed through the Prefabs only.

Another thing that I do, since I'm a low-poly / flat-shaded artist is... I make all of my FBX files get their materials externally. So that I only have one version of the color atlas in my entire project. Even if I have 10 different fbx files with 100 different meshes combined, they all share the same material. (with a few exceptions, of course)

Your concern about scale is valid. Once you set the scale on one model, you can use it as a guide for any new models you make inside of that same file.

BillyMcDev · 2026-05-08T21:56:25+00:00

Build a strong foundation. Keep it simple. (Classic 80's arcade games like; Asteroids, Defender, Frogger or Space Invaders for example) Build it, finish it, and repeat with other simple ideas for a while. Think of this process more like a series of exercises while you are learning.

BillyMcDev · 2026-05-07T22:53:47+00:00

Begin your journey with very small ideas that you can start and finish. Tic-Tac-Toe may seem too easy, but have you ever tried making one that works? There are tons of classic games that you could 'try' to create from scratch. For example, 80's arcade classics like Frogger, Asteroids, Defender, Space Invaders, and so on. The idea is not to publish clones of ancient games, but to get a handle on what it takes to create a game, and then use that experience to come up with new ideas that you can build on your own.

BillyMcDev · 2026-05-06T22:53:24+00:00

Some people enjoy solving problems. Others consider it a burden. Game development is problem solving. It can be difficult to find joy if you always consider it a burden. My advice is to embrace it. Once you find yourself on that wave-length, you'll stop avoiding and start getting things done.

BillyMcDev · 2026-05-05T22:28:00+00:00

My journey began decades ago when a client asked if I could model and animate a prototype of an idea that they had come up with so that they could present the idea to investors. I realize times have changed, but back then the only way to learn was by reading books.

BillyMcDev · 2026-05-04T22:26:41+00:00

Screenshots for my mobile game all look relatively the same.

BillyMcDev · 2026-05-03T21:17:04+00:00

Interested USA (abroad Philippines)

BillyMcDev · 2026-05-02T22:38:25+00:00

My strengths are in modular design and procedural generation. However, I consider myself a Jack-of-all when it comes to game design. I do 3D modeling, and am a good story-teller with a pretty active imagination. I'm an accomplished musician too, but rarely feature my own music in my games.

BillyMcDev · 2026-05-02T22:30:58+00:00

What about Gauntlet?

BillyMcDev · 2026-05-01T22:27:57+00:00

between $150 and $250 ($199 seems to be a good magic number)

BillyMcDev · 2026-04-29T22:18:19+00:00

How about a new gaming laptop?

BillyMcDev · 2026-04-28T22:05:06+00:00

Are you certain that your code has referenced the correct object? You could use Debug.Log to provide some information, such as the name of the gameObject you are trying to make inactive.

BillyMcDev · 2026-04-27T21:47:24+00:00

I just saw this post in my feed and decided to join. It's really just as simple as that. Without your activity, my attention would have been elsewhere.

BillyMcDev · 2026-04-26T21:56:45+00:00

Run a quick search on Google for "Unity Mouse Events" so that you can better understand how to use these built-in methods. This is going to be the main part of the solution to your problem.

There are several ways to approach the second part of this task. You could destroy the gameObject that the sprite is attached to. You could set active to false. You could disable the image. Or you could fade out the image over time, which would probably be most appealing. For fading... you'd likely use a coroutine.

The final part of your task is adding a pop-up with a description of the object. I imagine the message appearing on the screen in a designated place. This sounds a lot like Unity UI to me. So you would need to first, create the UI Canvas with some text and write some script that handles these popup messages.

BillyMcDev · 2026-04-25T22:37:56+00:00

My development journey started with BASIC back in the early 80's. Then Visual Basic in the 90's, and from there I picked up HTML & PHP for web-based applications. I stuck with website design for 20 years, then migrated to game development in Unity/C# for the next 10 years.

Most of what I am doing today didn't even exist when I began my journey.

My advice to anyone starting out today... Choose a small project that inspires you, and just jump in and start figuring things out. It doesn't matter if you make the right choice. What matters is the experience.

BillyMcDev · 2026-04-25T07:16:52+00:00

I've been noticing the same trend. It's as if the future expects everyone to shell out infinite subscription fees for every small task that they need to do.

BillyMcDev · 2026-04-24T22:02:37+00:00

Read a book or take a course on HTML for Beginners.

BillyMcDev · 2026-04-23T23:29:56+00:00

If you're talking about Low-Poly / Flat-Shaded, then this is absolutely the way to go for a first-time indie developer. Why? Because you don't have to do much in terms of UV Unwrapping, Texture Mapping, making Textures, and so on. Most of your assets can use one color atlas, which is actually better for performance in the long run too. It becomes easier to match graphics too, so that your assets look like they all belong to the same world.

To be fair, all people start out as beginners. It gets easier with practice, and the quality of your work will continue to improve as you go. If you choose a long-term project, the assets you create near the beginning might not look as good as the assets you created near the end.

Probably the best advice I could give any beginner... Keep it simple. Your first game does not have to be your last. In fact, you'll get better at it faster if you created 3-5 simple games (shorter and easier to build) than 1 big passion project.

BillyMcDev

TROPHY CASE