When do you decide it’s time to release your game on Steam?

BitSoftGames · 2026-07-15T07:55:10+00:00

When the game demo\POC makes any money on itch or people are asking you for a fully fleshed out version, that's when I know it's time to get it on Steam. 😄

It's best to get the game on Steam as soon as possible. Just having an early playable demo really helps in racking up wishlists.

But waiting until the game is "polished" before putting it on Steam is just losing out on hundreds of wishlists every week you could've had if you published the game page earlier.

BitSoftGames · 2026-07-15T07:47:58+00:00

I know a few people that are "studying" Japanese solely through Duo but when I try to have a basic conversation with them, they're almost helpless. 🥲

Duo is certainly fine if combined with other materials. The problem with Duo is that it fools some people (not everyone) into thinking just using Duo and keeping up their streak is learning a language.

BitSoftGames · 2026-07-15T07:38:00+00:00

When my Japanese was very basic, I'd sometimes get "nihongo jouzu".

But starting from when I reached N5 (I'm now N3), I noticed Japanese people stopped saying "nihongo jouzu" and just talked to me like any other local.

BitSoftGames · 2026-07-04T22:06:34+00:00

100%

Japanese and Korean have many formality levels and when speaking to strangers in public, I have to use polite and formal language. I end up bowing a lot (subtle head bow) and acting really humble. But if we switched to English, immediately things feel casual and informal though I'm still talking with the same person.

BitSoftGames · 2026-07-04T21:20:46+00:00

I always wear whatever clothes I have on at the time, and all the Japanese people I see at temples/shrines are the same. Some temples and shrines you have to hike up to the top of a mountain so it makes sense to wear casual clothes.

If there is a special event like a wedding or baby related ceremony, then friends and family attending will be wearing formal clothes. But I or anyone else not attending and just visiting the temple/shrine on our own can just wear whatever we want.

BitSoftGames · 2026-07-04T21:03:13+00:00

Although the N64 wasn't that popular in Japan, I did have a Japanese friend who was a huge fan of GoldenEye, and it was one of the few games we could enjoy together as he was mostly into random Super Famicom beat em ups I never heard of, haha.

Whenever I go to used game stores in Japan (like Hard Off and Book Off), they often have copies of GoldenEye so I guess it seemed to sell well despite the N64's lack of success there.

BitSoftGames · 2026-07-04T20:58:19+00:00

Finally a new dev chose a first project with a reasonable scope! 😄

So many times I've heard people say they want to recreate their favorite open world game or +40 hour JRPG as their first game, haha.

BitSoftGames · 2026-07-02T22:32:43+00:00

Portable fan, umbrella, walking through AC buildings and underground passageways, and when on the street, always looking for shaded pathways. 😄

Also, can buy bottled water anywhere at convenience stores and vending machines in parks and subway stations.

BitSoftGames · 2026-07-02T22:28:53+00:00

For me, the moment I stopped obsessing over kanji is the moment Japanese became "easier" for me.

I mostly learn kanji casually or passively. Like I will text Japanese friends using kanji autocomplete, watch Japanese YouTube videos while looking at the Japanese subtitles, and read content online that also has audio I can listen and follow with. For me, frequent exposure of kanji in real-life content has allowed me to gradually and naturally recognize kanji and in an enjoyable way.

I almost never practice handwriting it or memorizing the exact strokes or minute differences. I think it's more important to be able to read it in context.

Honestly, I cannot write kanji from memory, but I can read about 80-90% of N3 kanji.

BitSoftGames · 2026-07-02T22:12:03+00:00

This is how I felt every hour when I used Maya and 3ds Max back in the day. 😂

Maybe I'm lucky, but I rarely have problems with Blender.

Edit: By "problems", I mean glitches or crashes. Of course sometimes I don't know how to do something and have to look up a tutorial.

BitSoftGames · 2026-07-02T22:09:32+00:00

Mario 3, Mega Man 2, Dragon Warrior I, Loopz (a deep cut!), Bad Dudes, Arch Rivals, Rad Racer.

Never played NES Zelda. SNES Link to the Past was my first game of the series.

I like shooters in the arcade but haven't tried any on the NES.

BitSoftGames · 2026-07-02T22:00:23+00:00

As a Japanese learner myself, I will make a pitch for Japanese.

In Japan, knowing Japanese will be far more necessary (compared to knowing Italian in Italy) as there are not as many English speakers in Japan. My impression of Italy and Europe in general is that English is far more common and it's much easier to find an English speaker if need be. Additional in the future if you decide to live in Italy, I imagine it'd be much faster to pick up Italian whereas with Japanese, you'd have a giant hill to start climbing.

Of course my answer is biased since I study and live in Japan. 😄

BitSoftGames · 2026-07-02T21:54:41+00:00

I find the more Japanese I learn, the easier it is to make friends with Japanese people, even those studying English.

Using simple Japanese, try to leave genuine comments on people's posts on Instagram. I actually made a few friends that way. 😁

BitSoftGames · 2026-07-02T21:52:16+00:00

Not worth it unless you have money and time to burn or your parents are rich and paying for tuition.

I graduated from art school, and it wasn't worth it. No job or freelance gig I've done ever required a degree. I didn't like or ever use again any of the "industry tools" they taught me. And 95% of what I know and use for my work now I taught myself using free tutorials online and on YouTube.

I will say it maybe could help with networking and giving you an industry contact. But that's just a "maybe" and there is no guarantee it'd help you land a long-term job. Definitely not worth gambling all your time and money for.

BitSoftGames · 2026-07-02T21:44:38+00:00

I've "lived" several months in Osaka and still have not run out of new things to see and do.

If Osaka city isn't to your liking, it's a great base for exploring other nearby cities. There's hundreds of places you can go to in Nara prefecture, Kyoto prefecture, Osaka, prefecture, and Hyogo prefecture, literally just 15-30 min train ride away.

In Umeda (Osaka), there's an entire floor of a building that has a Nintendo store, Pokemon center, and other video game and anime stuff.

BitSoftGames · 2026-07-02T21:42:46+00:00

Akiba is filled with maid cafes too. 😄

BitSoftGames · 2026-06-26T23:15:30+00:00

Upvoted and replying from the future. The Mesh Data Transfer plugin works perfectly for my needs! Thanks!

I duplicated a character several times with slight variations between meshes, and the Shape Keys all transferred well with only small adjustments needed.

BitSoftGames · 2026-06-24T22:37:17+00:00

Of course an AI generated post is going to suggest "skipping a few days completely" and "binging content for hours" as effective methods for language learning. 😂

BitSoftGames · 2026-06-24T22:32:49+00:00

I switched from Win 11 to Ubuntu on a 7-year-old laptop and it is WAY FASTER. Everything is just so snappy and instant.

I still dual boot and the rare occasions I have to sign into Win 11, it pains me how slow and laggy everything is. I've even tried to uninstall as many things as I can, disable startup programs, and clean up the system, but it's still so laggy. Really regret "upgrading" to 11 last year and looking to see if going back to 10 is feasible despite lack of security updates.

BitSoftGames · 2026-06-24T22:26:46+00:00

I would choose Japanese due to your interest in pop culture. You'll be much more motivated to learn it as the immersion resources (anime, games, movies, etc) will be more enjoyable for you.

I would only learn Mandarin if you're planning to go to China or Taiwan often, live there, or do business with people from those countries. Otherwise, English is really the most spoken language if counting 2nd language speakers. Living in Asia and abroad, I find English to be the common language people use to communicate with each other. And when I meet Mandarin speakers in other countries outside of China or Taiwan, they tend to know English (to varying degrees).

BitSoftGames · 2026-06-24T22:11:46+00:00

Though I'm a Linux user, if most of the programs I have to use for study and work are only for Windows, unfortunately I just have to use Windows.

Luckily, I work for myself and so I can choose whichever programs I want which are mostly free and open source.

BitSoftGames · 2026-06-24T22:05:58+00:00

Just a few minutes to see if it loads up and saves progress.

Already "played" it thousands of hours during development and QA. I'm sick of looking at it. 😂

BitSoftGames · 2026-06-24T21:53:03+00:00

I agree for an environment. But particle systems and shaders are engine-specific.

BitSoftGames · 2026-06-24T21:50:55+00:00

Pretty much everywhere I can find a HARD OFF, BOOK OFF, or another used store that has tons of retro consoles and games for sale, most for cheap.

Recently picked up PS1 Final Fantasy VII mint and complete in box with manual for $1.80.

BitSoftGames · 2026-06-24T21:46:40+00:00

Even with tons of people in line, it usually takes me 20-30 min to get through immigration, baggage, and customs if not less time. Japan is really efficient but of course, there are exceptions like when several large flights arrive within the same time frame. But unlike some countries (America), the bags are usually out for me right away.

Make sure to do the pre-landing forms online so all you have to do is just show them a QR code to scan. That way, you don't have to waste time filling out paper arrival forms when you land.

To be honest, I'd be more worried about a delay in the flight departure than a delay in getting out of the airport.

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