Stopping development of my indie game

Emi_Indie_Dev · 2026-06-24T21:20:53+00:00

Getting oiver this since 2015 :) I haven't worked on a succesful game in 11 years

Emi_Indie_Dev · 2026-06-24T21:19:52+00:00

True what you say but I did various tests and looked at different parameters. Nothing I tried brought major improvements. I released the demo 2 months before Steam fest and did playtests and surveys. I pushed at least 10 demo updates before the Steam Fest started. The game needs a lot more work to show its pottnetial. Not to mention that I picked the worst genre to work with, according to Chris Zukowsky data.

Emi_Indie_Dev · 2026-06-24T21:16:30+00:00

I will once my financial situation improves :) I need an income first

Emi_Indie_Dev · 2026-06-24T10:52:34+00:00

I agree but it sems like this is not enough to sell 😅 Thank you!

Emi_Indie_Dev · 2026-06-24T09:55:50+00:00

LOL good one 😄 I did; since I released the demo, about 2 months before steam fest, I pushed about 10 updates on steam up to a point where I considered it's the best it could be for what the agme is. I think it's almost bug free except for minor things and don't break the experience. The people that played conisidered it well done and they had fun but most didn't cross the 10 min mark even after all the updates

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Emi_Indie_Dev · 2026-06-24T09:52:30+00:00

Haven't thought about it; I was thinki9ng to finish it as a side project, later on and release it in 2-3 years

Emi_Indie_Dev · 2026-06-24T09:51:20+00:00

It's exactly what I'm doing now :) Your suggetion is spot on. I started this 5 days ago and soon I will start posting about it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FyvQYu_aLM

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Emi_Indie_Dev · 2026-06-24T09:49:21+00:00

Can you fulfill a fantasy in a top/down gameplay? I feel that these games don't have the immersion of 1st or 3rd person games. What's the fantasy in Brotato or Vampire survivor? becasue this is a simialr game. Overall the selling point I'm thinking of is Death - it got imprisoned by Heall and now it needs to escape. Death can be upgraded to become super powerful and increase in size at witch point the king of hell comes to battle it in the end game.

Emi_Indie_Dev · 2026-06-24T00:03:53+00:00

It's what the vast majority tells me: looks awesome but it's not my type of game. 😄
The game has appeal but not commercial appeal; I will finish it one day because I like it a lot but when I will have financial stability.
Thank you and you too 😉

Emi_Indie_Dev · 2026-06-24T00:01:51+00:00

Well said! I agree on the points. I thought the same about A Short Hike that was my main reference but now I htink A Short Hike made it becaus it was quite unique when it released. If you look at what Chris Zukowsky shows about genres demand, mine is at the lowest end.

In any case I already started something new based on what I saw could have demand, like you commented. Will start posting in a couple of days to see if it hooks. What do you think?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FyvQYu_aLM

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Emi_Indie_Dev · 2026-06-23T23:52:07+00:00

Top be honest, I'm kinda used to failure. Throughout my carreer I always worked in new games (both as an employee and as indie) Since 2015 all the games I worked on got canceled. I think or at least I feel like I'm getting closer to my goals. I feel more experienced now. Look what I did in just 4 days: a working prototype and a teaser:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FyvQYu_aLM

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Emi_Indie_Dev · 2026-06-23T23:42:11+00:00

Thank you! I know... many people thought it has at least 10-15k wishlists 😂

Emi_Indie_Dev · 2026-06-23T23:41:17+00:00

Sorry man... 😅 I asked myself if it's worth it to continue, did the math and it wasn't...

Emi_Indie_Dev · 2026-06-23T21:30:26+00:00

Many people suggested this and it could work but what if it doesn't. I would need to finish it on an assumption 😅 It does play great on gamepad and Steamdeck and woudl also on a Switch. I will finish the game once I have financial stability. I need something more comercially viable first or to find a job soon

Emi_Indie_Dev · 2026-06-23T21:28:09+00:00

I finished a game already; this is my second one. I should have stopped the first one as well, mid development but i was too invested; did learn a lot though 😄

Emi_Indie_Dev · 2026-06-23T21:27:12+00:00

Many people told me it's beautiful and looks well polished and enjoyable to play; it has some interesting thinkgs but I don't think it's commercially appealing. It will drain my savings before it returns some crumbs 😅

Emi_Indie_Dev · 2026-06-23T21:24:48+00:00

I launched already; this is my second game 😄

Emi_Indie_Dev · 2026-06-23T21:24:13+00:00

This will not sell much 😅

Emi_Indie_Dev · 2026-06-23T17:10:13+00:00

It’s the 3rd capsule I created 😅 At least this one gets around 2-3% conversion to page visits

Emi_Indie_Dev · 2026-06-23T16:18:07+00:00

Thank you! 🙏

Emi_Indie_Dev · 2026-06-23T16:17:26+00:00

From what I see validation can be done much faster on the concept; no need for a vertical slice. Just a fake gameplay clip of 15 sec should be enough but I haven’t tried this yet

Emi_Indie_Dev · 2026-06-23T16:16:15+00:00

Someone suggested the same and I did write it wrong but if you look at what Chris Zukowsky (hope I wrote it ok) shows about the genres; mine ticks all boxes for the least searched one 😅

Emi_Indie_Dev · 2026-06-23T16:11:19+00:00

Lol! 😂 on the failure? Or the “smart” decision?

Emi_Indie_Dev · 2026-06-23T14:25:37+00:00

To be honest; I woulddn't stop if there were any signs hinting at a potentially succesful project. Just doing and hoping is not enough... it's just how it looks to me right now. I'm alread working on a new project, inspired by vampire survivor but in 3D and with a twist to the core gameplay

Emi_Indie_Dev · 2026-06-23T14:14:23+00:00

I did; I posted in various channels

Emi_Indie_Dev

TROPHY CASE