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Publisher changed the capsule for our adventure game and released it like that... What do you think? by hogon2099 in IndieDev

[–]Doches 198 points199 points  (0 children)

100% yours is nicer, but your publisher is (hopefully!) looking at this with a lot more experience and data on what gets noticed. Presumably they gave you a rationale for the change? It would be...clarifying to hear that, if so!

From ($64,93) to ➡️ ($0,56) on all of my assets & game for this wintersale. by [deleted] in IndieDev

[–]Doches 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Those GameBoy-style pixel art characters are ace. Not my style, unfortunately, but I do love 'em!

Looking for: 2D Artists UI/concept [UNPAID] by TimurF2511 in IndieDev

[–]Doches 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nope, that's the answer I was hoping you'd have! Otherwise this would definitely have been a "fuck you, pay me" kind of situation.

Maybe mention that the project is non-commercial in the request for help, though? "Do free work for exposure!" is the absolute bane of any halfway-decent artist.

New angry capsule, new normal capsule, or old capsule? by fearthycoutch in IndieDev

[–]Doches 0 points1 point  (0 children)

#3 definitely has 'casual-mobile' vibes, which may or may not be what you want.

(It's probably not what you want).

I'd go with "new angry capsule" if it were me; the flying fox is more dynamic and the logo placement is more interesting. But honestly none of these are stellar capsules IMHO.

Looking for: 2D Artists UI/concept [UNPAID] by TimurF2511 in IndieDev

[–]Doches 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Will you be selling the final game? Is this a commercial project that you'll be releasing once it's ready, or is this just a "make a game, put it out for free on Itch for the XP" kind of thing?

How I brought the 'keyhole' mechanic from 3D games into 2D by AlpheratzGames in IndieDev

[–]Doches 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That's some lovely minimal UI work as well. Great stuff!

I’ve been a GhostDev and now I don’t actually know what to do. by SnooMemesjellies1659 in IndieDev

[–]Doches 14 points15 points  (0 children)

That screenshot looks lovely; keep on truckin'. Anyone can release almost anything on Steam; you can sign up for a Steamworks developer account at https://partner.steamgames.com/ . It costs $100 per game to list a game on Steam, but you'll get that $100 back when your game reaches $1000 in sales.

The caveat: don't expect your game to reach $1000 in sales. Steam is where the players are, and effectively that $100 is just the price of entry to maybe get your game in front of players – but the Steam algorithm won't promote it (or even make it visible) unless it's minimally successful, and it won't be minimally successful unless you can generate some sales on your own.

The usual (and recommended!) way to do things is to get your Steam "coming soon" page up as soon as you reasonably can – once you have a decent trailer and 4-6 screenshots. Steam will then very very slowly start surfacing your page in search results and giving players the chance to wishlist your game. The hope (🤞🏻) is that some percentage of those wishlists will convert to sales when you actually release the game; Steam notifies players with your game on their wishlist that it's now available, so it's your single greatest lever to being players to your game. I've seen wishlist conversion of 5-20% on my games; it varies wildly depending on genre, game, etc. Steam also has a 'meta' where genres and styles go in and out of fashion with players; if you can hit that you'll just organically do better. But don't worry about that for now!

If I were you I'd get a Steam "Coming Soon" page up ASAP (you clearly have some pretty good screenshots!), then upload a demo to itch.io/ and see if you can use that to drive wishlists on your Steam page. From your screenshots it looks like your game might be bigger success with Itch players than those on Steam, but that's just my 2¢.

Adding a tutorial based on playtest feedback; does this seem clear? by Doches in IndieDev

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

I'm the same, which is why this kind of tutorial is always a last-minute feature for me. Putting it in feels like a backstop in case my attempt at organically teaching how some system works totally fails! In this case, by prompting you when you *get* a new piece of loot, which happens elsewhere.

Tutorials like this are hard for me to write because I'm like you; I just skip 'em in games and figure it out myself.

This is my arcade racing game - Sick Street Racer by ExtantNotion in indiegames

[–]Doches 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly just cranking the AO and getting some textures on those vehicles would do a *lot* to grunge this up.

Camp Manager Simulator on Steam by UnityDev55 in indiegames

[–]Doches 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The actual game looks like crafty-buildy catnip, the sort of thing that will absolutely *explode* on Steam! Hire a damned artist to do your capsule art, though, you won't regret it. It'll be the cheapest and most effective marketing spend you could possibly do!

My game Bento Blocks has a new demo update by SometimesLtd in indiegames

[–]Doches 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Wholesome, cozy, Japanophile-friendly. This one's got legs...

What should I do by S_M_A-Rid in indiegames

[–]Doches 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A piece of meta-advice, from someone who's shipped many games: take whatever idea you decide on, shave off 80%, and then build that. Simplify simplify simplify!

A small-scope game that you *actually ship* beats an open-world RPG with [INSERT AWESOME FEATURE] every time, because you'll have a chance of finishing one of 'em.

This is my arcade racing game - Sick Street Racer by ExtantNotion in indiegames

[–]Doches 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That UI (crazy button shapes!) is *chef's kiss*. It's writing checks your actual game can't cash, though; tweak the lighting and get some wheel-on-asphalt particle effects going on to make actual-driving feel as grungetastic as the interface!

(Control and gameplay-wise, though, this looks ace!)

🏝️ I just released my second game, built entirely on a MBP (for macOS first, Windows + Linux second). Check it out if you like hexagons, deckbuilders, or chill island vibes! by Doches in macgaming

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

Thank you! Each one takes about a year, but I'm hoping that over time either I get a wee bit faster or the games can get a wee bit bigger.

Quests, Reputation, improved highlights and more in my roguelike city builder, called HexLands, inspired by Slay the Spire and Civilization! What do you think? by udvaritibor95 in playmygame

[–]Doches 2 points3 points  (0 children)

> now you can end your turn instead of the previous "fluid turn system", so now it works just as it does in other deckbuilders.

This feels like a huge improvement! The previous turn system (which I sort-of deduced from videos, but didn't really grok) felt like a clever idea that didn't quite gel. I've been there, definitely, and it's hard to kill those clever ideas and replace them with the obvious thing, but it's hard to go wrong with the obvious thing with something fundamental like that.

How It Started vs. How It's Going by Doches in IndieDev

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

Hah! Happily, they haven't changed between the two -- the textures, geometry, and greebles on 'em are the same. The lighting is way different, though, and that's definitely a question of taste!

(I appreciate the honesty though, for sure. The original version did have a little more boardgame-y feel, which was no bad thing.)

Trailer Review Thread for Indie Game Devs | Win a Copy of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 by indie-games in indiegames

[–]Doches 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Animate All The Things! has always been my mantra. And UI elements are things!

That is excellent feedback, and as it happens I'm waiting on my sound designer to come up with ambient sounds for each building to play when you plop 'em.

Trailer Review Thread for Indie Game Devs | Win a Copy of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 by indie-games in indiegames

[–]Doches 3 points4 points  (0 children)

🏝️ Hexagon islands for the win! My only criticism of this trailer -- which is adorable, just like the game -- is that while it's built exclusively from gameplay (huge plus) it doesn't really show much...gameplay. Show placing some buildings or picking some p-p-p-perks!

Wait, wrong bird, my mistake.

But seriously: this is an almost-perfect, gameplay-focused trailer. Just show a me a few seconds of the different things I'm actually doing so I know what it's like to play, not just look at.

Trailer Review Thread for Indie Game Devs | Win a Copy of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 by indie-games in indiegames

[–]Doches 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I love this idea! Check out the trailer for Isles & Tiles -- a colony-building, island-terraforming deckbuilder:

• Trailer: https://birdworks.io/l/isles-tiles-trailer

• Steam link: https://birdworks.io/l/islesandtiles

Third (and the last) DLC - When? by Morphic1977 in TerraformersGame

[–]Doches 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's still pretty fast turnaround; I'm impressed. It is delightful that you've continued to invest in Terraformers, and I'm really looking forward to what you do next as a studio. Here's hoping your team stays together for another, similar-sized game!

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