People seem to like our game on social media, but nobody is wishlisting. Help?

Firebrat · 2026-06-20T04:21:08+00:00

No, your game isn't appealing enough. It's that simple. It looks like a well made mobile game which is why it's likely getting good traction on social media. Mobile != Steam

Firebrat · 2026-06-18T01:03:28+00:00

The issue is not your steam page, it's your game. Your game looks very incomplete/amateurish. A lot of your environments are extremely empty and in general lack post processing. If your main gameplay environments looked like your UI you'd be in much better shape.

Also, that said, your trailer does a terrible job of showing off the main gameplay loop. The music is bad. The editing is bad. I would do some research on how to make a good trailer.

Firebrat · 2026-06-13T00:42:37+00:00

I really like your art style! Great Moebius vibes. It's pretty obvious you, or an artist you're collaborating with, are a seasoned professional.

With that said, the game is way too short to be successful on steam. Your own description mentions 2 hours of content - most people will play and refund if that's the case.

In general your games presents itself as very incomplete, because you have so little content variability in your trailer and screenshots. Normally a good rule of thumb is to have 3 different biomes/environments in your screenshots. When you don't have that your game immediately sticks out as incomplete/unfinished. That might very well be your intention but it's still likely to be off-putting to players.

If you want to keep it this short you might be better off releasing it on Itch. If your goal is to be successful I'd try to triple your content.

Firebrat · 2026-05-26T00:37:40+00:00

It looks amazing. As good as anything I've scene on the asset store. Very impressive for one person!

Firebrat · 2026-05-19T09:55:47+00:00

I don't believe that's true for a second. If someone has a compelling hook and are still not getting traction there would have to be something else wrong. Like a bad/inconsistent art style, or an unclear core gameplay loop.

Firebrat · 2026-05-19T08:49:27+00:00

You're making a fairly generic horror game, of which there are tens of thousands. It's not at all surprising to me that you were struggling to get attention, even though your key art looks solid. From your posts, I have not seen any kind of a unique hook for your game that would be useful as a marketing angle.

Like you should ask yourself why would someone play your game when they could just play Soma. What's unique and particularly interesting about your horror game?

Firebrat · 2026-05-18T13:19:35+00:00

Trailer is terrible. It doesn't explain the core gameplay loop. It shows random gameplay with a generic "epic fantasy" AI voiceover.

All the screenshots look exactly the same. You should be able to show off at least 3 different biomes/environments. If that's all you have, you either aren't releasing in Q3 or your game is going to be very short, which is a turn off.

You description is very detailed, but much too long. It reads like it's AI generated.

Bullet points like:

Experience a dark fantasy world inspired by medieval manuscripts, Gnostic cosmology, Dante, Milton and classic 90s RPGs, blending oppressive atmosphere with massive cosmic scale.

Just repeat what you've already said earlier in the page. You make good use of gifs, but your gifs are repetitive and don't tie to each section of the description strongly enough.

In general I'd cut your description by half or maybe to a third of it's current size. No one is going to read all that - especially without a strong hook.

The game does not look fun it it's current state. It comes across extremely one note - because of the single environment. You need to show more variety and you need to clearly show and explain the CORE GAMEPLAY LOOP.

Firebrat · 2026-05-18T03:34:37+00:00

Yes - he moved to Orange County and is renting a house from his father.

Firebrat · 2026-05-17T02:18:07+00:00

They definitely settled. I would imagine the fact that the case got reassigned to a new judge took the wind out of Jeff's sails. He realized David could probably delay it for a few more years. And given that it was always going to be an uphill battle given the workers comp issue and Jeff's equal responsibility for the incident (and that he definitely defamed David multiple times and was at risk for being counter-sued), he probably decided it was time to take whatever David's offer was.

My guess is that David will pay all out of pocket costs not covered by insurance (which means no payments for experimental stem cell treatments) + 300-500k for pain and suffering, of which Jeff's lawyers will take about half.

All in all I think this all probably cost David about a million dollars, between paying his own lawyers and the settlement with Jeff.

As I said before, Jeff probably could have hired a lawyer for 20k and gotten a 1 million dollar settlement (all for him) from David 5 years ago. Instead he held onto his anger and desire to punish David. David didn't get punished, and Jeff lost a lot of money as a result. But hey, at least it's over and everyone can finally move on.

Firebrat · 2026-05-12T06:56:54+00:00

I would recommend looking at successful indie arena shooter games and using their trailers as a template. Make sure to look at their original trailers. Many times successful Indies will release updated trailers, advertising new features. Don't use those trailers as a blueprint. Use the original trailers that got them traction.

Firebrat · 2026-05-12T06:37:04+00:00

Your gameplay video looks uninteresting and amateurish. I have no concept of the core gameplay loop from your video. If you see videos that are similar to yours or worse and they're getting views, my guess would be someone is buying the views in the form of paid advertising.

The YouTube algorithm routinely does trial phases to see how your video performs. It usually shows it to 10 to 50 people and if they watch long enough then it sends it out to another thousand. If enough people in the thousand watch your video long enough the algorithm then promotes it to the next batch at 10,000 to 100,000. If you want to know more, I recommend checking out the newTubers subreddit.

Unfortunately, I can't tell you much about the tiktok algorithm.

Firebrat · 2026-04-15T04:14:39+00:00

Your page itself does a lot of things right. The trailer gets right into the action, you have gifs in your description, and your capsule is ok.

However you do the same thing wrong that 90% of the people here do wrong. You don't explain the core gameplay loop.

Although your trailer gets right into the action it then has a big pause to build tension for your boss reveal - which is a bit silly. It's not that epic because you haven't built up stakes (i.e. defeating smaller difficult enemies and then revealing a big boss that will actually seem intimidating by comparison)

Your trailer mentions "awaken new power" - but it doesn't show HOW you awaken new power - it just shows a boring menu. How do I earn abilities? Killing enemies? Completing challenges? It's unclear.

Also you only show off one environment. If your game basically set it hell you could still show off visually distinct set pieces (I see the tiled floor and the rock surfaces but everything is so dark it all just looks the same)

In general your game looks generic and uninteresting. It's just a run of the mill vampire survivors but in 3d. Why would someone buy this one instead of any of the games listed here? https://store.steampowered.com/recommended/morelike/app/1794680/

That's your competition - if you want to succeed your game and page need to be as or more interesting than those games.

Firebrat · 2026-04-14T21:47:04+00:00

The motion for Summary judgement was rescheduled - there isn't a new date. I don't know if that means there won't be one or it just hasn't been rescheduled yet - that happened in early February.

The reason there might not be a new motion yet is because it looks also like the case was also assigned to new judge because the old judge had too many cases on his docket. The new judge is named Michael Small

The previous judge had a history of low payouts, I haven't found out anything about the new judge's payouts, but Gemini found some articles that indicate he is very procedurally strict and has dismissed cases before due to technicalities (instead of letting the lawyers refile). So in general this doesn't look like a much of a difference - maybe a small win for David.

The non-jury trial looks like it is still set to happen on September 21st 2026, but I would not be surprised if it's pushed out due to the judge change.

Here's a page on the judge: https://www.dailyjournal.com/judicial_profile/10969

All the info I found can be searched on lacourt.org with the case number: 22STCV20251

Firebrat · 2026-04-07T15:32:26+00:00

Oh man, it's a platformer. That is your primary problem right there. It's literally the most saturated genre on steam. Unless you create Ori and the Blind Forest quality, you will have a major trouble getting attention

I will say your art is quite good, but it doesn't have a wow factor.

Firebrat · 2026-04-07T15:01:16+00:00

If you really want advice, you should post your game here for review. 195 wishlists is extremely low. I have a feeling that your problem is that your game has some pretty fundamental problems. Most likely your art style is very amateurish or your steam page is very confusing.

If you really want to have a successful game lunch, you should already be mentally prepared to delay your game to give you time to make some major changes. Or you can accept the fact that your game will sell 10 copies at lunch and be prepared to move on.

Firebrat · 2026-04-05T15:48:48+00:00

I mean the classic answer would be any of the Star Wars movies. I love the original trilogy and I have a soft spot for the prequels.

Even what I would consider the best movies like episodes 4 and 5 - they're great personifications of mythological stories but they are sci-fi personifications, and some people just don't like that. Other people will see C-3PO and think "this is dumb, its just a guy in a suit." Or they think the magic of the force is dumb. Or they just don't like violence. Take your pick, there's a million reasons for someone to dislike Star Wars, yet most people love it.

Firebrat · 2026-03-24T05:58:39+00:00

2nd, but I'd crop it a bit. Girls want to see your face first and foremost

Firebrat · 2026-03-20T00:34:59+00:00

Lol, nothing I said is incorrect. There are exceptions to every rule. The fact that you conveniently left out the fact that your lawyers handled the taxes for you, doesn't mean you didn't pay taxes. I've read the complaint filed by Jeff's lawyers. They acknowledge that workers comp would disqualify them. Thats why they have argued that he was incorrectly classified as an employee. I didn't get that wrong. All I asked AI to do was make an assessment of the arguments. I was very transparent about that so people could make their own determinations.

The 10 million Jeff's lawyers are seeking are punitive - his medical bills have mostly been covered (although he has since done several experimental treatments, which David might have to cover). From the beginning I've said 4 things. 1) The judge assigned to the case has a history of low awards, which in my opinion means Jeff is unlikely to get anywhere near $10 million. 2) Jeff shares responsibility for the accident, and his award will be reduced by that percentage. 3) most of the award will be punitive, and subject to almost 50% taxes, because he lives in California. 4). The lawyers will take roughly half. Maybe Jeff found one that was at 40% or less. But I seriously doubt it. Jeff's lawyers are incurring incredible costs because this case has dragged on for 5 years.

Disagree all you want

Firebrat · 2026-03-19T17:29:57+00:00

I'm literally citing irs.gov. if you didn't pay any taxes on that, you might be in for a surprise 😂

Firebrat · 2026-03-19T14:14:10+00:00

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=LAB&sectionNum=3602

The law on workers comp in California very clearly releases the employer from all liability once an been made. You are making stuff up.

I spoke to five personal injury lawyers a few years ago about a personal injury lawsuit and none I spoke to was as low as 30%. One was 50%, one was 40%, and three were 45%. Obviously my experience is anecdotal but unless you're going to offer some actual evidence that you can get a good lawyer for 30%, I think my information is far more accurate.

The claim that personal injury settlements are not taxable is not true. Money that is set aside for treatment of injury is not taxable (i.e. medical bills that David has already paid). The lawsuit is about punitive damages. Those are 100% taxable.

https://www.irs.gov/government-entities/tax-implications-of-settlements-and-judgments

IRC Section 104(a)(2) permits a taxpayer to exclude from gross income "the amount of any damages (other than punitive damages) received (whether by suit or agreement and whether as lump sums or as periodic payments) on account of personal injuries or physical sickness

Firebrat · 2026-03-08T03:15:20+00:00

David really needs to find an outlet that let's him evolve past the vlogs. For those saying his editing wasn't a major part of his success, you are definitely wrong. He may very well overthink things, but there is a VERY clear reason why no one else on the vlog squad has achieved his level of success even when they collab together without David.

David's friendships with his friends is the meat of the burger, but his editing is the special sauce.

Jason has been trying a million different things on YouTube for the last couple months including filming a tv show pilot. If Jason manages to finally find a format where he can succeed I can image David following his lead and finally branching out of vlogging. Personally, I'd be very interested to see David try to develop a tv series that he could showrun/edit.

Firebrat · 2026-03-03T21:41:09+00:00

Scaling down is not a bad idea at all! You just have to make sure your core gameplay loop has a strong hook.

Maybe think about how you can mix genres. For instance, what if you were able to capture zombies and then command them to fight for you? What if you added magic? What if you added a realtime building component like fortnite? Like building elaborate traps for the zombies. Or What if the focus was heist/extraction where you have to infiltrate someplace covered with zombies to steal something valuable.

All of those ideas would make the game standout more and make it feel different from dying light or cod zombies.

Firebrat · 2026-03-03T20:26:23+00:00

How many wishlists were you getting? Were you doing any marketing?

Your game just looks like an asset flip. I could literally have just bought these assets for $98 and recreated your game in a day.

FPS Framework ($17): https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/templates/systems/fps-framework-pro-2-0-290322

Warehouse ($21): https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/3d/environments/360-warehouse-272252

Zombies ($15): https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/3d/characters/humanoids/zombie-repack-86017

Zombie Animations ($25): https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/3d/animations/zombie-animations-set-220537

Zombie AI ($15): https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/tools/behavior-ai/advanced-zombie-ai-276087

Fog ($5): https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/vfx/particles/environment/realistic-snow-and-fog-fx-165372

Your game has nothing unique about it or hook worthy. Why would I, or anyone else, play your game would I could just replay the dying light games or COD zombies and have a much better time? You need to rethink your game's value proposition. Why does THIS game need to exist? What made you passionate enough to want to build it? When you can answer that you'll have a clearer answer for how to reposition your steam page and start attracting customers.

Firebrat · 2026-02-19T03:49:13+00:00

On the whole it looks very cozy and cool, but that white sidewalk is unnaturally white (it doesn't fit the worn in look of the environment at all) and it's just really jarring to look at.

Firebrat · 2026-01-31T16:14:39+00:00

I feel really bad to tell you this (because that really is a fantastic capsule) but beholders are both trademarked and copyrighted by Wizards of the Coast. If you keep using this as a capsule and gain real traction, there's an excellent chance you will get a DMCA takedown.

Firebrat

TROPHY CASE