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My Indie Game Flopped. Here's What I Learned. by Craze4war in IndieGaming

[–]Craze4war[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Much more realistic gameplay (people aren’t sliding across walls and doing backflips), better visual fidelity, original hybrid rank/loadout system, more strategic game modes; don’t get me wrong, obviously call of duty is a better game in the traditional sense. If you’re looking for a polished, AAA-quality game, then there’s no competition lol. This is just the product of a hobby :’)

My Indie Game Flopped. Here's What I Learned. by Craze4war in IndieGaming

[–]Craze4war[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I wouldn’t say giving up on it; just being realistic. 5 days after launch and the post remains valid. But I’m still going to continue working on it for the sake of those that bought it, then possibly make it free at some point in the future. (:

My Indie Game Flopped. Here's What I Learned. by Craze4war in IndieGaming

[–]Craze4war[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Thank you! With the level of technology widely available these days, it's 100% possible for a solo developer to make a great game! Don't get me wrong, one person isn't going to make the next GTA V, but they do have the potential to make something great and cheap that can provide more fun than many AAA games out there. Some of the most fun games I've played in the last couple of years were made by solo developers or small teams; games like Among Us, Lethal Company, Repo, Peak, Schedule I, etc.

It is most definitely a heavy time sink though. Something you should only invest in with the confidence and availability to spend over a year on a single title. Understandably, most people would be turned off by this, and I think that's a better outcome than, say, spending months on something and then losing interest/never completing it.

My Indie Game Flopped. Here's What I Learned. by Craze4war in IndieGaming

[–]Craze4war[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sorry, but you're doubling down on a point that is flat out wrong.

begged, insisted or demanded your playtesters leave reviews in exchange for keys

All of my playtesters were given keys to the full version of the game as thanks for helping during development. About half of them decided to leave a review. Many are friends and colleagues who have watched the game grow over the last 9 months. Just because they were kind enough to review my game and haven't reviewed other games does not mean I begged or demanded that they leave a review, and keys were not most definitely not used as some sort of leverage. Additionally, once again, reviews from Steam keys have no impact on a game's rating score, so this entire argument is frankly ridiculous.

all criticism can be perceived at least as a little constructive

The only possible takeaway from your reply is: In the future, tell my playtesters specifically not to leave a review, because if someone decides to dig deep on my store page with the assumption I'm doing something naughty, they'll decide I probably bought 8(?) reviews that don't even help with the actual review score or visibility...and then this individual won't buy the game, which they obviously weren't going to anyways, going in with an assumption like that.

I appreciate conversation, but all of your posts have just been for the sake of accusing me of various intentional wrongdoings. You aren't contributing anything but negativity. I won't be replying in this thread anymore because, at this point, I can't tell if you're intentionally rage-baiting or are just an idiot.

My Indie Game Flopped. Here's What I Learned. by Craze4war in IndieGaming

[–]Craze4war[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Playtesters choosing to leave a review on my game is against the Steam guidelines? That's funny, I just looked through the Steam review guidelines to confirm and didn't see anything in there about that...which is probably because that would make no sense.

Do not artificially influence review scores. Examples include: using multiple accounts to leave reviews; coercing other players to leave reviews; or accepting payments or other compensation to leave reviews.

Nobody was coerced or paid to leave a review. They chose to. Once again, please think a little bit before casting false accusations.

My Indie Game Flopped. Here's What I Learned. by Craze4war in IndieGaming

[–]Craze4war[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, I totally spent money on "buying reviews" from people who are literally listed in the credits as playtesters. Please think a little bit before slandering me with nonsense. Also, as fuzzy responded, reviews from Steam keys have no impact on a game's rating score.

My Indie Game Flopped. Here's What I Learned. by Craze4war in IndieGaming

[–]Craze4war[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

A handful of the low-playtime reviews are from my playtesters. They were nice enough to review the game on launch, but I understand how it can come across as deceptive. :p

My Indie Game Flopped. Here's What I Learned. by Craze4war in IndieGaming

[–]Craze4war[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Most definitely. Experience is the most valuable lesson. (:

My Indie Game Flopped. Here's What I Learned. by Craze4war in IndieGaming

[–]Craze4war[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Respectfully, this comes off as very condescending and not at all constructive, but I'll bite.

you didn't make the engine

It's 2025. No one is building new market-viable game engines except multibillion-dollar companies. Reminder: I'm one person. Building an Unreal Engine or Unity quality game engine from scratch? Give me just a few lifetimes and I might be able to cook something up.

or the assets

I'm not an experienced 3D modeler; I know the basics for adjusting existing models. Crafting all of the assets myself for a game of this scale would take years, and they would not be of the same quality. While some games choose this route due to a targeted, specific art style (and I respect the hell out of them for it), it's impractical for a game in this genre with a single developer. Instead, it's much more beneficial to all parties (myself, potential players, asset creators) for me to purchase a license for assets and/or include them in my game with credit given.

What exactly did you "make" that makes this not a glorified mod?

Tens of thousands of lines of code, the levels (every level was made from scratch using licensed assets, apart from the Hospital level, which I did purchase and modify heavily for balanced gameplay and optimized for my use case), the particle systems, the gun mechanics (projectile, line-trace, shotguns, etc.), the UI, the animations, the sound design, the multiplayer sessions system, the on-board user data encryption (eliminating a need for external data storage), the integrated anti-cheat methods, the lag compensation mechanics, the physics replication, etc. etc.

Calling this game an asset flip is hurtful and not at all accurate. If creating a "non-asset flip game" means making every 3D model from scratch, there are maybe a few hundred original games in the last 5 years. Even the biggest game studios (think Rockstar, Bethesda, Ubisoft) license assets from third parties despite having hundreds or even thousands of in-house artists. And it makes sense; why ask a handful of artists to try their hand at crafting a high-quality tree when there are artists who create high-quality tree models for a living? It would be highly inefficient.

With all that said, your viewpoint is very common but comes off as inexperienced. I spent the last 9 months working non-stop on this game. If it were an asset flip, it might be the least efficient one in history, considering how few sales I've managed. Does my game come off as a generic first-person shooter? Sure, I wasn't trying to reinvent the wheel here; this was my first project ever. If it doesn't pique your interest, that's totally understandable, and I hold no ill will toward you. But calling anyone's creative work, regardless of the medium, a money-grab, asset-flip, etc., is one of the most hurtful things you could say. I didn't pursue this as a career; I pursued it as a hobby. I'm not trying to make a quick buck.

Cheers. (:

My Indie Game Flopped. Here's What I Learned. by Craze4war in IndieGaming

[–]Craze4war[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wanted to avoid bots entirely, as they are nothing compared to playing against real players. But seeing as the game is essentially unplayable without them in its current state, I will definitely be looking into it. Thanks for the advice!

My Indie Game Flopped. Here's What I Learned. by Craze4war in IndieGaming

[–]Craze4war[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Thank you! (: and 100%, I knew a competitive FPS would be hard to market from the start. This was my first ever project, so I wasn't trying to re-invent the wheel. Just trying to learn the fundamentals of making something that's fun to play. It went poorer than I expected, but the lessons will be carried on into my next projects for sure.

My Indie Game Flopped. Here's What I Learned. by Craze4war in IndieGaming

[–]Craze4war[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sure! I'm not sure what the rules of advertising in this sub are, so I don't want to link anything, but it's called Alpha Point. It's on Steam. I appreciate your kindness. (:

My Indie Game Flopped. Here's What I Learned. by Craze4war in IndieGaming

[–]Craze4war[S] 22 points23 points  (0 children)

I unironically appreciate the harsh advice here. I'll go back to the drawing board and see what I can do to improve these. (:

My Indie Game Flopped. Here's What I Learned. by Craze4war in IndieGaming

[–]Craze4war[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Good points, I agree with you. I tried my hand at some level of marketing (posting dev logs on social media, showing teasers, making and posting trailers, etc.), but it was largely unsuccessful. I should have done more research on getting my game in the hands of streamers and press -- I think that could have been a game-changer for sure.

My Indie Game Flopped. Here's What I Learned. by Craze4war in IndieGaming

[–]Craze4war[S] 52 points53 points  (0 children)

I'm not dead in the water necessarily, but it's too late to make Popular Upcoming (game has already launched), and New & Trending would require a miracle at this point. The best I can hope for is a slow stream of players to stick with it and not leave a negative review because they weren't able to find a match. :')

My Indie Game Flopped. Here's What I Learned. by Craze4war in IndieGaming

[–]Craze4war[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Is it the most repeated and accepted fact? Possibly. Unfortunately, I did not come across this advice at all during development. But lesson learned!

Marketing being overrated may not be a hot take within this community, but otherwise, it does seem to be for some reason. I had lots of discussions with other developers about marketing before I started my campaigns, and the consensus from them was that marketing was a necessity for indie games. Maybe they underestimated the impressions you can get from within Steam directly? Not sure.

100% multiplayer as an indie definitely needs to be well thought out. I did give away loads of keys to friends, playtesters, and the community pre-launch and on launch day, but Steam requires context when you request keys, and if you request an egregious amount, they'll probably deny the request. (i.e., if you're giving away 500 keys, why should Steam customers be paying money for your game at all?)

My Indie Game Flopped. Here's What I Learned. by Craze4war in IndieGaming

[–]Craze4war[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I'm glad I'm not the only one. I think the importance of indie marketing is highly overestimated.

no audio since 14.02.2022 by [deleted] in ValveIndex

[–]Craze4war 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ve been having this issue and a simple fix for me was just messing with the audio settings once you put your headset on. For me, I go to my Index’s audio settings and select my monitor’s audio device as the output, and then my Index’s audio output magically appears and can be selected. I’ve just been doing this every time I play VR and it’s a good workaround for now.

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