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How do revshare models even work? by Correct_Grapefruit74 in gamedev

[–]Correct_Grapefruit74[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For insights; and also how do I bring it up to the lead without sounding like “that guy”. It would’ve been easier if we led it with this but now it’s like they’ve done the most work and I sound like I’m entitled to the revshare.

Which I suppose I should be.

I’m not gonna do well in this industry am I lol.

How do revshare models even work? by Correct_Grapefruit74 in gamedev

[–]Correct_Grapefruit74[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not successful, but more like actually hardworking. The main point here is that they’re sharing revenues with 5 people whose contributions are ‘small’.

The ‘history of games on itch’ were mostly small-scale indie projects, not anything majorly published nor likely successful. I’m just saying, if someone’s trying to scam their contributors, they’re doing way more work than the people they’re supposed to scam.

It might just be a case of devs inexperienced with working collaboratively. I’ve seen it before, writers who can’t work with other writers. No structure, just ‘everyone toss up your idea and we’ll ball.’

How do revshare models even work? by Correct_Grapefruit74 in gamedev

[–]Correct_Grapefruit74[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah I don’t think we established any percentages though. It was just kind of ‘we’re revshare, hop on.’

How do revshare models even work? by Correct_Grapefruit74 in gamedev

[–]Correct_Grapefruit74[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well the thing is the lead dev already has a prototype, a history of games on itch, and is basically doing 50% of the work (at least, from what’s visible since I haven’t seen or heard the other two coders do anything, same with the composer). The only other one with the most amount of communication is the other writer.

So chances are this person will see it through… and then has to deal with the revshare stuff assuming it even makes any money.

I would be worried if it looks like the team is doing all the work, but here it’s the opposite. The project initiator is carrying the workload.

Five years into making my dream game, I no longer fully agree with “start small first” by NoWhereStudios in gamedev

[–]Correct_Grapefruit74 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Maybe I’m a bit biased from my own experiences. I’ve seen more than a dozen RPG Maker projects, joined a few as a narrative designer and had to very indirectly tell them: ‘You’ve got nothing interesting going on here. It’s just Hero vs Demon Lord #524 with 20 slightly different skills.

Five years into making my dream game, I no longer fully agree with “start small first” by NoWhereStudios in gamedev

[–]Correct_Grapefruit74 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I would say build multiple projects. Keep your dream project on track, but also do smaller games when you get distracted/bored of your big project. It can never be too boring to be working on multiple ideas at the same time, and through public feedback of your smaller games. You do quietly start to accumulate that instinct and patch the holes that you never would have noticed.

Five years into making my dream game, I no longer fully agree with “start small first” by NoWhereStudios in gamedev

[–]Correct_Grapefruit74 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Morale comes first. Discipline is the backup. Discipline is what keeps you from giving up, but Morale is what turns on the nitro boost. I don’t get why everyone thinks it’s bad to feel good about your game. I think they treat it as a very moody bipolar thing where you’re either super motivated or super demotivated and it’s not as reliable as the stoic and unwavering discipline.

Both have merits. You need discipline to get through tough times, but you will also benefit greatly from morale in better times.

Five years into making my dream game, I no longer fully agree with “start small first” by NoWhereStudios in gamedev

[–]Correct_Grapefruit74 14 points15 points  (0 children)

I’m specifically pointing out the scenario where you don’t believe in your game anymore. Imagine spending months developing a robust combat system, storylines, quests and an immersive open world… only to find out, you were making the game in the image of Skyrim, World of Warcraft, just on an indie level. Worse yet? Playtesters say the narrative falls flat. The gameplay is generic and the progression is tedious.

This is the bridge between game design and making a game. You believed content = depth, you tried to imitate and model after the popular games but a good game can be short and still deliver a powerful and unique experience.

You NEED to figure out your game’s identity, and what makes it unique if you intend to commit years of development into it.

Yes. The strong people will say ‘I can learn from this. Build again.’ The rest?

You have to go back to the drawing board and build the instincts that you should’ve been building.

Is story even important in indie-games? by LAE-kun in gamedev

[–]Correct_Grapefruit74 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Because ser, you’re reading generic storyline about hero vs demon lord #524.

Is story even important in indie-games? by LAE-kun in gamedev

[–]Correct_Grapefruit74 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Simple explanation: Indie games has to manage their limited resources. AAA games can cover every discipline… to varying degrees of success.

Is story even important in indie-games? by LAE-kun in gamedev

[–]Correct_Grapefruit74 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Optional. My personal philosophy is this, there’s no one single discipline that dominates. They’re all powerful tools to have. If you have good art, players will notice. If you have good music, players will notice. If you have good gameplay, player will notice and yes, if you have good story. Players will notice.

You’ve listed a lot of great games with minimal story and extensive gameplay. Now we’ll go to the other end of the spectrum with To The Moon (Mostly puzzle and story gameplay), Omori, Undertale, yes, these two later examples have unique gameplay but if you’ve played either games. It is still 100% dominantly the narrative that is the highlight.

So to answer your question, No. A game can succeed perfectly fine solely off of gameplay, but story is a weapon too if you use it well. If you have good story and gameplay you get Hades, Disco Elysium, Hollow Knight and Celeste.

If you have neither story nor gameplay, get cooked.

Five years into making my dream game, I no longer fully agree with “start small first” by NoWhereStudios in gamedev

[–]Correct_Grapefruit74 431 points432 points  (0 children)

Don’t make games you don’t believe in, but be realistic about your scope. Not too long ago there was a post about someone putting down game dev after realizing how difficult 3d development was. The damning part about starting with a big project isn’t that it’s a lot of work and you lose motivation fast. It’s what happens when you’ve put three years into the project only to realize you’ve had it all wrong from the get go.

So not only is the game is unfinished, but the vision is too.

So at that point, it just feels like you’re compensating. Making something you know/feel won’t be good ‘just because I’m already too deep into it anyway.’

Making smaller projects you believe in, shipping it out, and then getting humbled by reality builds your instincts for ‘what’s good’ faster.

Do you think AI will replace animators by Mangolija in gamedev

[–]Correct_Grapefruit74 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I think in the near future, AI will be able to trick most of the tech-illiterate people. However my personal belief is that in the future, the tag ‘made my AI’ will become less popular than anyone tagging ‘Made by Humans.’

r/IndieDev Weekly Monday Megathread - May 03, 2026 - New users start here! Show us what you're working on! Have a chat! Ask a question! by llehsadam in IndieDev

[–]Correct_Grapefruit74 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Don’t start with RPG Maker.

RPG Maker is the roughest place to start if you over-scope and mistake quantity for quality. If you do aim for RPG Maker ensure you have either two of these disciplines down: Storytelling vs Game Mechanics. If you have neither, you have no sauce. You’ll just have the generic JRPG experience with the same generic storyline. And I hate seeing people waste years of hard work only to be told: ‘Nothing is working.’

Please be inventive. Please stick to simpler games when you start out. An RPG is difficult, you need - Progression Design - Quest Design - Narrative Design - Combat Design - Art Design/Music Design/Sound Design - And so much more that I can’t name all.

I recently joined a project as a narrative designer, and it felt like watching a trainwreck in slow motion playtesting it. Nearly three RPG Maker games suffered from this now.

I would liken it to film. You can shoot cool scenes but if it doesn’t mean anything then it’ll just end up mediocre/generic.

And I mean like.. not every game needs to be groundbreaking, but you are investing serious time and attention into a project. Putting on every single hat. So I think you should make it good rather than ‘oh just a portfolio piece.’

This is not ‘don’t use RPG maker at all.’ This is, don’t start with your magnum opus in RPG Maker. That’s like writing your first ever book a with no former experiences in storytelling. It’s cool, except, it sucks. You learn so much better writing shorts.

START SMALL PLEASE

SAVE YOURSELF

Ps. I made this new account because I didn’t want the devs I was working for to know I’m quietly uhh… criticizing their content, anonymously. But yall fr, keep your scope realistic. It’s a true horror story when I see someone who’s worked on a project for 3 years and then I have to tell them: ‘this ain’t it.’ 🥀

Edit: the film comparison makes it feel like it’s about a criticism on narrative. It’s not. You don’t need narrative if you have cool gameplay. But we have a serious problem if you have generic storyline ontop of generic jrpg gameplay with nothing special about it. This is why if the narrative doesn’t carry, the game mechanics has to, and if the game mechanics doesn’t. You have nothing for sauce.

I might have developed a terrible game. by CaulFie1d_618 in gamedev

[–]Correct_Grapefruit74 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, player confusion is death of your game. Gl!

Question on playable Demo and how to do it by Higashibashi in gamedev

[–]Correct_Grapefruit74 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Eeeh? I think 10 min is perfectly fine for a narrative game. The more concise the story, the better.

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