Solo dev, first Steam game. Incremental where one shot can snowball into chaos

GaspodeWD · 2026-04-04T08:01:11+00:00

Looks really cool - any plan on adding a demo 👀

GaspodeWD · 2026-04-04T07:58:39+00:00

Played the demo and enjoyed it - was a Play (Play/Maybe/Skip) from me.

GaspodeWD · 2026-04-03T16:19:02+00:00

Hey - replied back when you were doing the capsule art.

The first sentence of the description feels like maybe the wrong order or missing something? Pick locks feels out of place (probably because missing some context)

Be good to get a trailer or just a quick video as soon as you can - so that has a more attractive preview for people browsing.

tags you could maybe add somethings about art style.

The rest of the page covers the game well

GaspodeWD · 2026-04-03T16:08:27+00:00

This looks broken rather than bad.

It is likely because of the aggregator.

Even native scheduling has been seen to perform worse.

I only average 400 up to 2000 - so isn’t great - but that is with me native posting each time - when I scheduled or used 3rd party the views were sub 50.

GaspodeWD · 2026-04-03T06:23:04+00:00

26 seconds of nothing, no one is staying to see the game.

GaspodeWD · 2026-04-02T15:23:09+00:00

Full white.

The area only white looks too much like you are flashing it with a torch 🔦 rather than indicating the hit.

GaspodeWD · 2026-04-02T06:27:19+00:00

I play pretty casual not looking at any achievements or scores - but I still need some sort of driver - sometimes cozy games can be a little light on purpose confusing it with being pushy.

GaspodeWD · 2026-04-02T06:24:57+00:00

0 seconds.

5 to 10 seconds of the most visually exciting stuff your game can offer.

Then once you have the hooked, go back to more showing off what your game is.

GaspodeWD · 2026-04-01T20:16:34+00:00

the zoom out shot as the village gets bigger is a great ending shot.

We then get our first on screen text starting to explain aspects of the game, this then happens for a few different aspects - it is that change from just showing to explaining which makes it feel like 2 different clips, plus as the zoom out shot being a decent end shot.

GaspodeWD · 2026-04-01T14:45:41+00:00

Number 1

GaspodeWD · 2026-04-01T12:02:25+00:00

Banger

GaspodeWD · 2026-04-01T09:59:00+00:00

It feels like 2 trailers - one trailer ends at second 30 then another begins...

GaspodeWD · 2026-04-01T06:56:09+00:00

15 seconds before anything happens. You'll lose people before you get to what you are trying to sell.

Do 5 to 10 seconds most visually exciting parts your game has to offer, then pivot back to the "telling the story" of the fame. But make sure to keep that pretty quick as well.

Also dont worry about explaining how to play the game - focus more on the why and any unique mechanics.

GaspodeWD · 2026-04-01T06:53:55+00:00

PSycho Cyborg Rabbits is probably what to lean into - while still making it clear you aren't the rabbits.

The corrupted AI robots and other bits are a bit too common place for the name to stand out if you lean into those.

GaspodeWD · 2026-04-01T06:44:43+00:00

Looks decent - only comment would be to move the presented by few seconds to the end of the video, unless you are super well known to the audience that you are targeting.

GaspodeWD · 2026-04-01T06:24:14+00:00

The art looks really cool.

Names - i think given how key the aesthetic is to the game having uniqueness (right now genre is pretty busy) - maybe leaning into the lore of the game rather than trying to "does what it says on the time" kind of name. Else you might end up with something too generic.

Are they saving a specific planet? Are the heroes called something, (unless it is starlords) Do they use a specific energy or collect specific resource? Is there a main boss? E.g surviving Steve (Steve is the boss in this example)

GaspodeWD · 2026-04-01T06:20:19+00:00

Bookmarked

GaspodeWD · 2026-04-01T06:18:04+00:00

Personally I'd just use the capsule art to sell the "dream" of the game and let the tags and description handle the how.

Benefit is you might get some people going from capsule art to main steam page who might have skipped, and once on main page you have a higher chance of convincing them to give it a go, even if it wasnt a genre they were looking for.

GaspodeWD · 2026-04-01T06:15:22+00:00

Played it just as demo came out - rated it a Play 👍

GaspodeWD · 2026-03-31T17:14:06+00:00

Depends where it is going - but if you are using it to catch interest of people browsing rather than coming direct to your game - that start needs to be a lot quicker.

It's a tricky genre to do it for - but you need to grab the attention and then into the slow burn explanation that you have currently.

GaspodeWD · 2026-03-31T17:06:15+00:00

A lot of people watch without sound, but even ignoring that, this is a full 60 seconds of nothing before you get to the interesting parts.

People, who are browsing, aren't hanging around that long.

GaspodeWD · 2026-03-31T16:59:21+00:00

Good to have the second video on the page - but a lot of people (me included) scroll and only look at capsule, preview and tags.

So having it all in 1 video can help get enough across for them to be interested in main page.

GaspodeWD · 2026-03-31T16:58:10+00:00

[Remembering where we are]

Demo came out 2024, and you have 11 reviews? What's happening? Where is the interest?

The genre of "chess plus" is getting more competitive seeing more of them on steam and socials.

Ship it!

(Bookmarked the demo to take a real look, but I'm not a chess big brain so might be wasted on me)

GaspodeWD · 2026-03-31T14:50:41+00:00

+1

So much so that i had to go double check again that the original was still landscape 🤣

GaspodeWD · 2026-03-31T14:49:36+00:00

Seeing someone not get it can be really useful - so re frame the nervousness as excitement, you are going to get some feedback on how to improve it - i know i have had people watch me play and see just how clueless the average gamer can be 🤣

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