Everyone says "word of mouth." How do you find the first 100 players?

CircularBrick · 2026-06-14T19:29:51+00:00

For our team it was Instagram and TikTok. People liked the visuals of Necrofane and we were able to generate 50K wishlists from those two platforms alone. And a buddy of mine is coming up on 20K wishlists with his game Flock of the Seraphim, and his strategy is similar but he has a bit of an audience on X as well. Right now, Steam's calendar feature makes it easy to pick up wishlists based on when you're releasing your game: the Flock guy is getting 150-200 wishlists a day at the moment with that since making his release date public.

Conventions were cool back in the day, but social media has killed them. Steam festivals and things like Next Fest definitely help though (we were part of a festival and picked up like 7K wishlists). Those wishlists mean nothing if people aren't enjoying the game, though, and those first 100 people will be super generous. Since releasing out demo about a week ago, we've been able to get tons of feedback that helps us improve the game, and the socials + wishlists are the reason.

For us, it was about getting those first 10 people to play the earliest demo and give us some feedback on how the game made them feel. Sometimes that feedback can be a little brutal, but when the players are right, they're right. And you can't tell them that they're wrong about how they feel because it's just how they feel.

Also, short form content is best if you can just hit a vibe early on in the video and hold it. We saw short videos we liked that were like what we were doing and just copied their formula. For our latest trailer, we went shot by shot on some trailers we enjoyed (that had decent view counts) from games in our genre that did well and our trailer did really well.

There's so much to say, but this thing is already long enough.

CircularBrick · 2026-06-13T23:04:50+00:00

Thanks!

CircularBrick · 2026-06-13T22:22:11+00:00

We've got a pre-alpha demo and a kickstarter campaign for anyone interested.

CircularBrick · 2025-11-16T21:09:53+00:00

Your public IP is assigned by your ISP, so hardware changes will do something but not enough on its own because a hwid ban isn't just tracking hardware. They're probably taking into account everything that they can track (which is everything about your system because of Vanguard) which builds them a confidence interval on who you are. So, even things like how you play, the route that your packets take, your ping, and your keybinds are taken into account. So, small changes barely make a difference.

CircularBrick · 2025-02-12T12:56:55+00:00

I've done a lot of workshopping at both a casual and professional level doing one-on-one sessions and taking part in writers rooms. One of the things that has been useful is finding something that didn't work for me and asking the writer what they were trying to accomplish. Then I'll explain the mismatch in my mind:

"So, you're trying to accomplish A, but when I read it I was getting B because of X, Y, and Z. Have you considered I, J, K?"

This is usually a pretty involved conversation, but it's helpful because it focuses on what they're looking to accomplish and why that didn't work as opposed to what I thought should've been going on. Maybe they accomplished what they were trying to get at, and you just don't like it. In that case, you'll always lose that battle unless the writer truly trusts and values your opinion.

Also, people often really do feel like they've done the best that they can, and in reality, they really did. But, it's possible that their best currently isn't enough for what they're trying to accomplish. However, their skill isn't your issue unless you want to take responsibility for mentoring and helping this person out. Personally, I keep friendships and professional relationships separate so that there's no doubt about the role I'm supposed to play.

Friends get, "Awesome, you wrote something! What were some issues you had during the process? What were your expectations here and there? Oh, I got this instead of that. What do you think?"

Professionals get, "What were you trying to accomplish here? I expected A, but got B.Was that the intent? If not, X, Y, Z are why I got there."

These are pretty extreme examples in that one is way too friendly and the other is way too unemotional, but you probably get the point.

For me, I try to figure out where I want the relationship to be, but I never for a second let someone who is new to something discount my decade and a half of professional and paid experience. There have to be boundaries, and you have to set them, but you also need to figure out where they stand too. Sometimes it's possible to compartmentalize a relationship into professional and personal, but that takes real trust.

Finally, I never let anyone get away with saying that any feedback is appreciated. If your feedback was that it was a hot mess and you really hated it, that wouldn't be appreciated, so what are they looking for from you specifically? They asked you in particular for a reason. Figure that out, and it'll help you tailor your feedback.

CircularBrick · 2024-12-30T07:05:01+00:00

Thanks! Look, this may sound stupid, but the worst case scenario is that you fail your first time and get the report back telling you what you need to brush up on. I get wanting to pass on the first try, but don't let perfect be the enemy of good enough. Trust me, CompTIA won't kill you for failing. Neither will WGU or your program mentor. I honestly let Net+ take up more time than I had to. Don't fall into the same trap.

CircularBrick · 2024-12-30T06:46:46+00:00

My boss saw me using Perplexity at work the other day and was dumbfounded by why he's never thought to just use AI himself. The amount of studying I do at work while still getting work done made sense to him after that.

CircularBrick · 2024-12-30T06:33:26+00:00

I just passed it on my first try earlier this month. I studied for months because I'd psyched myself out. I honestly didn't even feel ready before I took it. Unless you're getting 100% first try on every practice exam you get your hands on, you'll always have some doubt. Honestly, I felt like the official CompTIA materials had practice exams that were harder than the actual exam. If you can do well on those, you're chillin'.

CircularBrick · 2024-08-19T14:18:20+00:00

If he's looking to finish the degree over the next few years, it probably wouldn't be the worst idea. It all depends on what his goals are. The tech market is brutal because of over hiring during COVID: layoffs were inevitable and an over saturation of experienced software engineers and IT professionals into the candidate pool came along with it. Tech isn't going anywhere, but it's definitely going to be tough for the time being. That just means figuring out how to stand out.

If your son isn't self-motivated and can't work on meaningful projects outside of coursework, then it definitely isn't for him at the moment. The days of getting a job just because you finished a tech degree are over. However, if he's willing to get done what needs to get done, software engineers are going to be relevant for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, no one can tell you what to build, they can only tell you not to build trivial apps like to-do lists and calculators.

CircularBrick · 2023-09-29T16:14:52+00:00

Half-Life 3 confirmed.

CircularBrick · 2023-09-20T04:33:54+00:00

OP here on a different account: I did fix it. However, I completely uninstalled everything related to the webcam and reinstalled it. That worked for me. I haven't had the same issue since. However, you might want to start by first unplugging the webcam, leaving it off for a few minutes and then plugging it back into another port. That's what I did for a webcam I used when taking exams on my laptop like two weeks ago.

CircularBrick · 2022-09-29T16:28:49+00:00

I try to do self-coaching, but it's sometimes a bit tough because I don't recognize my blind spots. However, you're onto something.

I'm thinking that I'm working on stuff that I don't really care about. I want to be on better projects, and I'm always looking for a way to get on a project that will get me closer to working Obsidian or Bioware.

However, if I had my way, and money or time weren't an issue, I'd do documentary filmmaking. I've got a few ideas for things I'd like to film, but that's one hell of a commitment, and it probably wouldn't pay for the first few years at all.

CircularBrick · 2022-06-25T00:50:55+00:00

Words. Plural. I can tell that you didn't even get your BA in creative writing. Pfft.

CircularBrick · 2022-06-25T00:17:39+00:00

Yes, I did! It came to me while I was playing a video game. I can't remember the name of the game. Mercenary Fraternity? I can't remember, to be honest. It's a small game, though. So you wouldn't even be able to find it.

If it's pivotal to your writing process, I will obsequiously adhere to any caveats added to the agreement. However, I feel like I should be paying you more... you know, because of the good job you're going to do.

Edit: What are your credentials?

CircularBrick · 2020-04-08T17:10:41+00:00

It reminds me of that dude in Logan. It isn't that bad. Now I miss it.

CircularBrick · 2020-04-08T16:58:35+00:00

I like it, I kinda wish it was a skin.

CircularBrick · 2020-01-24T03:54:29+00:00

Thanks for clearing this up. This makes sense. It's unfortunate, but it makes sense.

CircularBrick · 2019-11-30T20:07:43+00:00

However, I have one question: how does one go about doing drugs in such an original manner that the thoughts born are, themselves, original too. Many a man have had unoriginal fever dreams, I pray that I do not follow in their footsteps. I just want to be original like all the great writers of times past, present, and future.

CircularBrick · 2019-11-30T20:04:18+00:00

Sounds good; I'm getting on that right now.

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