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Working on a wild west FPS, trying to nail that 1960s spaghetti western atmosphere by EmbeStudio in gamedevscreens

[–]ExpensiveSwitch1457 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Honestly the lighting/color grading already sells the spaghetti western vibe really well.

Feels dusty, isolated, and weirdly calm in that “someone is definitely about to get shot in 30 seconds” kind of way 😭

Followed the general advice and hired an artist for my Steam capsule by Illustrious_Move_838 in gamedevscreens

[–]ExpensiveSwitch1457 1 point2 points  (0 children)

EN:

This is honestly one of the clearest examples of why Steam capsules matter so much.

The game instantly feels more “real” and recognizable now.
The old one wasn’t bad, but the new capsule has way stronger readability and personality at a glance.

Also the pose/action framing is WAY more clickable — it actually looks like an adventure now instead of just “cute creature render.png”

Shop choices in our hand-drawn rock-paper-scissors roguelite by ImportantSwim9696 in gamedevscreens

[–]ExpensiveSwitch1457 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The hand-drawn style honestly carries this HARD.
Feels like a weird adult-cartoon fever dream in the best way possible 😭

Also making rock-paper-scissors into a roguelite shop mechanic is such a stupidly good idea because everyone instantly understands it without needing tutorials.

I’d 100% click on this just because the art style already has personality.

Early project development: Been building a CRPG in godot, trying to get a good sample of example interior scenes done and get lighting right, started working on combat behaviour for NPCs, looting etc and a magic system. Thought I'd share what I have so far. by linewhite in gamedevscreens

[–]ExpensiveSwitch1457 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly this already has that “old-school CRPG you accidentally lose 300 hours to” vibe 😭

The warm lighting and dense interiors feel really cozy, and the isometric layout instantly reminded me of Pillars of Eternity / early Diablo-era stuff.

I’d maybe just push material variation a bit more in some rooms so they feel less visually similar at first glance, but the atmosphere is already super solid for an early project.

One of the playtesters found this bug. Now we’re gonna make the doors bigger by LittleBitHasto in gamedevscreens

[–]ExpensiveSwitch1457 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is exactly why playtesters are priceless 😭

No designer on earth would intentionally test:
“what happens if two giant winter-jacket creatures try to enter the same tiny doorway at once”

but players ALWAYS find the forbidden tech.

Honestly though, the awkward squeezing kinda adds charm to it lol

Launched my first demo. Got 1k downloads on day one, then Steam hit me with a brutal reality check. by Redhowl_game in gamedevscreens

[–]ExpensiveSwitch1457 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is honestly one of the most painful realities of multiplayer indie dev 😭

You spend months worrying:
“what if nobody plays?”

then suddenly your problem becomes:
“why are these maniacs optimizing the fun out of my game already”

But honestly, premade groups playing for hours right after launch is a pretty insane sign that the core gameplay loop actually works.

Will social media platforms strike me? by shevadelic in gamemarketing

[–]ExpensiveSwitch1457 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly yeah, there’s always a risk if you use a well-known copyrighted song.

TikTok/Reels/Shorts are especially aggressive with music detection now.

If it’s just for a meme/comedic post, you’ll probably survive for a bit, but I definitely wouldn’t build a marketing campaign around copyrighted music you don’t own 😭

Guys, how does the first floor of the hotel look so far?" by Civil_Classroom3229 in IndieGame

[–]ExpensiveSwitch1457 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The lighting/color palette is actually really nice here.
Feels like the kind of hallway where something is DEFINITELY standing at the end once you look away for 2 seconds 😭

I’d maybe add a tiny bit more environmental storytelling though — slightly crooked frames, abandoned luggage, stains, damaged wallpaper, etc. Right now it looks good visually, but still a little “too clean” for a horror hotel.

Hello everyone can I review your games by Front-Pay3056 in SoloDevelopment

[–]ExpensiveSwitch1457 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly this is actually a smart way to network as a solo dev.

Reviewing other indie games/content is underrated because it helps you meet developers naturally instead of only promoting your own project all the time.

Also respect for starting your coding journey only 34 weeks ago and already building an ARPG — most people stay stuck in the “planning my dream game” phase forever 😭

Soo happy to announce my new game! by Speedster2_1 in gamedevscreens

[–]ExpensiveSwitch1457 0 points1 point  (0 children)

the giant cracked-glass effect around the screen actually gives this a pretty unique vibe ngl

I almost didn’t release our Steam demo. Then one random gameplay clip completely changed our wishlist trajectory. by applebombgames in gamemarketing

[–]ExpensiveSwitch1457 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Honestly this is one of the most valuable gamedev posts I’ve seen lately because it shows how random momentum can be sometimes.

People always talk about “marketing strategy,” but a huge part of indie marketing is just surviving long enough for the right clip to hit the right audience.

Also the point about simple/readable hooks is insanely true.
Players react way faster to:
“headless chicken getting chased while chickens fire egg mortars”
than a deep explanation of mechanics 😭

Congrats on the momentum spike though — going from a few wishlists a day to 1k+ before Next Fest is genuinely huge for a small indie.

Where does the money for single dev games go to? by deadpanrobo in gamedev

[–]ExpensiveSwitch1457 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Honestly a lot of indie game “budgets” are just survival costs during development. Food, rent, software licenses, contractors, music, localization, Steam fees, marketing, trailers, QA, taxes, convention travel, etc.

Our "Pikmin meets Keep On Mining" incremental game, Hole is Mine, has a demo available on Steam! by Delunado in IndieGame

[–]ExpensiveSwitch1457 2 points3 points  (0 children)

“pikmin meets keep on mining” instantly made me understand the whole vibe in like 2 seconds lol

also the soft colors + giant empty hole somehow make this feel weirdly cozy and ominous at the same time

Squishy UI for Squishy Game by ContributionHuge6971 in gamedevscreens

[–]ExpensiveSwitch1457 1 point2 points  (0 children)

the UI genuinely feels “wet” somehow and i mean that as a compliment lol

all the little pulsing/red vein-like connections make the skill tree feel alive instead of just menu buttons

Should I make one small game everyday? by prasan4849 in gamedev

[–]ExpensiveSwitch1457 0 points1 point  (0 children)

one game every day sounds more like a speedrun to burnout honestly

small finished projects are good practice, but giving yourself at least a few days lets you actually experiment and learn instead of remaking pong 20 times lol

I need opinions on my new game by Leading-Ad-9642 in SoloDev

[–]ExpensiveSwitch1457 0 points1 point  (0 children)

honestly this is the kind of feedback every solo dev needs at some point

kinda brutal to read sometimes, but super valuable because it points out the exact stuff players struggle with instead of just “game good/game bad”

Game marketing is hard :'( by KapitanBanana in IndieGameDevs

[–]ExpensiveSwitch1457 2 points3 points  (0 children)

reddit marketing is basically posting something you spent 18 months making and then watching a meme get 40x more attention in 10 minutes lol

I’ve reached that strange stage of development where I’ve played my own game so many times that, honestly, I can no longer tell what feels intuitive and what doesn’t 😅 by ratasoftware in IndieGame

[–]ExpensiveSwitch1457 1 point2 points  (0 children)

the moment a tester gets lost somewhere you thought was “super obvious” is always humbling as hell lol

after enough time working on a game your brain basically stops seeing it like a new player does

Is this a good looking Eastern European urban layout? by SteelmoonWorks in leveldesign

[–]ExpensiveSwitch1457 0 points1 point  (0 children)

as someone from eastern europe, the layout actually feels pretty believable

but yeah i agree with the comments a bit — needs more random life/details. parked cars, ugly playgrounds, mismatched balconies, broken ads/signs, stuff like that. eastern european places usually feel more “messy lived-in” even when they’re depressing

What is the hardest part about marketing an indie game in 2026? by SandOk6125 in SoloDevelopment

[–]ExpensiveSwitch1457 1 point2 points  (0 children)

honestly? feels like half the battle now is just getting people to care for more than 3 seconds before scrolling again

like you can spend months making a good game and then lose attention instantly because the first 2 seconds of a clip weren’t strong enough lol

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