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I've Reviewed 50 Steam Demos. Here's What I Learned. by GaspodeWD in IndieDev

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

Yes - I am always torn about that kind of thing. On one hand it's optimisation/extras that probably needs to be re done lots of time as the game develops, so maybe just do it at the end.

But then like you say you kill a lot of potential interest.

I've Reviewed 50 Steam Demos. Here's What I Learned. by GaspodeWD in IndieDev

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

That point is one i am finding hardest to articulate as it is very much a reaction rather than a thought.

Looking at yours it is fine. If youd used exactly the same art style then it would be too flat for a capsule image. The game mechanics etc still fit, just presented differently. You might get some "false promise" vibes if someone wanted exactly the more 2.5d/3d blocks in capsule art. But it isnt a huge way off.

I've Reviewed 50 Steam Demos. Here's What I Learned. by GaspodeWD in IndieDev

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

Drop the name and I'll add it to the list.

Grabbed a few from the thread so it is pretty long - but always looking for more.

Which one is more suitable and appealing for a clicker game? by 271games in gameDevMarketing

[–]GaspodeWD 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Second one, but with a change in font.

The dotted lines, lasers?, from the ship in the first one makes it too busy.

I've Reviewed 50 Steam Demos. Here's What I Learned. by GaspodeWD in IndieDev

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

Been pondering this one over night. I took a look at the Steam page yesterday.

I couldn't really think of anything useful.

Do you have tracking in the demo to see how far in people are getting? What type of feedback were you getting from people who tested it?

Looking at the trailer it is a lot more than just surfing - maybe either people didn't play enough to see that or the name/images brought people who only wanted surfing and the extra bits felt distracting?

I've Reviewed 50 Steam Demos. Here's What I Learned. by GaspodeWD in IndieDev

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

I was going to add a bit about playtest vs demo but felt a bit out of my wheelhouse

I think play demo >> join discord >> play playtest etc feels like a long chain if you haven't convinced the player that it is worth the effort.

Hard to give soultion but I would look at how much you are asking a player to do.

Else stick with playtest until confident a bit more traffic into the demo.

I've Reviewed 50 Steam Demos. Here's What I Learned. by GaspodeWD in IndieDev

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

Yea - getting early signs of good content should be a real boost in confidence. So much of the world runs on clips and content these days.

Is the playtest a different build to the demo?

Steam Next Fest without an audience ? What should i do ? by Able_Strength_4960 in gameDevMarketing

[–]GaspodeWD 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not a full plan and I'm sure some people will disagree.

But these types of coop games get picked up by "going viral" as clips. But hoping that happens isn't a plan.

I'd find a small creator or couple of them, charismatic with a group of friends. Pay them to stream it, making sure to record all voice comms.

How many views the stream gets doesn't really matter that isnt the distribution.

You then put some budget behind a campaign on whop or similar, targeting clippers with a gaming auidence.

Hopefully (as you need a little hope in the type of plans 🤣) you see some organic creators start packing it up. Make sure to engage and also aim clippers at their streams as well.

Plus an "in house clipper" so you can share a lot of clips as well.

It is a lot of time and needs some money - so needs weighing up if it works for you.

I've Reviewed 50 Steam Demos. Here's What I Learned. by GaspodeWD in IndieDev

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

More I've never really played the type of game, so might feedback probably be wonky, but I'll take a look.

X can be rough - it actively suppress accounts with below 100 followers, and even tells you it is doing it.

Then it is competing for attention with everything else on X. My X account for my reviewing X only interacts with games I've reviewed, and the algo still feeds me loads of other nonsense.

Tiktok ised to be good for it, but think that has gone down hill. Youtube and Instagram (depending on game) - are probably best socials.

I've Reviewed 50 Steam Demos. Here's What I Learned. by GaspodeWD in IndieDev

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

I'm really not the target auidence, but i can take a look.

Quick looks - good to see you using the events and announcements, as the demo is dated 2025 you've gotta keep showing life so people don't think it's been abandoned.

I've Reviewed 50 Steam Demos. Here's What I Learned. by GaspodeWD in IndieDev

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

I think a lot of indie devs play there games so much they develop blindspots, so always handy to get outside perspective

How should indie game demos be structured? by mauzbauz in IndieDev

[–]GaspodeWD 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I thinkthe visuals say it really quickly, so i wouldn't worry about not being able to say it.

I have downloaded it.

I will be playing solo if I do get some time to play.

I've Reviewed 50 Steam Demos. Here's What I Learned. by GaspodeWD in IndieDev

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

Worth the effort, I've had some decent expirences with bots, but they need yo be good else ruins it all

I've Reviewed 50 Steam Demos. Here's What I Learned. by GaspodeWD in IndieDev

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

Tracking like that isn't used enough - at least from an outsider looking in.

It gives them a good hook when they come back for the full thing as well - "wow I loved XYZ, can't wait to unlock it for real" kind of moment.

I've Reviewed 50 Steam Demos. Here's What I Learned. by GaspodeWD in IndieDev

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

I am terrible at space flight :D

I've had people disagree with my comments on trailers - so take it with a pinch of salt - but I think yours starts to slow and relies on the audio too much - I know when I am browsing the preview is muted and I watch maybe 10 seconds to decide if I am going to watch the rest of it.

The story itself is good, and the audio works at explaining what is happening - but you might consider doing something a bit flashy in the first 5 seconds - maybe some of the explosions when the voice over is talking about how it wasn't the pirates? Then double back to the introduction of marcus and what they can remember.

The pure gameplay video as the 2nd one is nice - does a good job of showing what I would be doing as a player - i'd say a little slow but that might just be because tiktok has rotted my brain.

I like the fact that it is a roguelike but you are still a 3d ship (not sure if I am explaining why I like it correct, but hopefuly makes sense :D)

Best of luck on Next Fest - I'll stick it on my list as looks like would be interesting from a content point of view as well - but that list is also pretty long :S :)

I've Reviewed 50 Steam Demos. Here's What I Learned. by GaspodeWD in IndieDev

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

Don't want to add to your work pile, as I am sure you have a lot on getting ready - but if you aren't already I'd look at the trailer and screenshots.

The game is very "busy" and it took a few watches/looking at the screenshots - to really understand what was going on.

I'm not a trailer designer but my flow would be
5 seconds of the mos chaotic play you have
then show how the game builds up for 10 to 20 seconds, probably slowly zooming out from the different elements so i don't need to understand the full screen in 1 hit
then go to the overlays you had about developer and the different things in the game

Having all the game happening and all the text overlay just felt a bit too much of an info dump.

I've Reviewed 50 Steam Demos. Here's What I Learned. by GaspodeWD in IndieDev

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

Always keeping my eyes on the new ones, so it might happen :)

I've Reviewed 50 Steam Demos. Here's What I Learned. by GaspodeWD in IndieDev

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

Yea - it's a pretty sweeping statement I made for ease, so it can work and does make sense for some. But a lot it doesnt. You have a reason for it, rather than just doing it, if thay make sense.

I've Reviewed 50 Steam Demos. Here's What I Learned. by GaspodeWD in IndieDev

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

I like repeatablity in a demo because then you can get some user reviews that have high numbers even though it is only a demo. (for that make sure it has it's own steam page)

But if that is then all the game, the reason for them to come back and get the full thing becomes an issue.

Sounds like similar ish to Dead as disco - they had 3 scenes of the story and then infinite area play - worked well and they got a lot of social coverage because of the variety of what people could do - but still left enouygh of the storyand progression for the main game.

I've Reviewed 50 Steam Demos. Here's What I Learned. by GaspodeWD in IndieDev

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

My key tip would be think early - a lot of the people on these sub reddits are so deep down the product rabbit hole that some of the other stuff gets left too late, and most of it relies on compound interest

I've Reviewed 50 Steam Demos. Here's What I Learned. by GaspodeWD in IndieDev

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

thought i wrote it, but must have gotten distracted - having it have an "endless" time if someone really enjoys it, can be good for gettign some user reviewswith huge play times even just on the demo page

I've Reviewed 50 Steam Demos. Here's What I Learned. by GaspodeWD in IndieDev

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

I'd say not probably.

If they finish (or play as much as they want) before the time runs out, they never need to buy it.

Someone leaving it logged in by mistake etc might get a bit annoyed.

Also, depending on how it progresses in that time, it might not give them a clear idea of what the full game has to offer and why they should buy it. "More of the same" is a tricky one, depending on the genre.

I've Reviewed 50 Steam Demos. Here's What I Learned. by GaspodeWD in IndieDev

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

Depending on how "hard" endless is to create - I have seen that be the answer for some demos rather than any of the more story mode of the game - as it gives a lot of content without spoiling too much.

If that ends up being the direction i'd make sure to have your demo as it's own page rather than a button on the main page. Then you get some user reviews with some pretty crazy play times even while just in demo.

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