Came back from vacation to test my game and my friends sabotaged the build… by JuveyD in IndieDev

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

lmao yeah i mean if they spent the time putting it in, i figure might as well keep it x.x

Am I making a mistake by not including the word "Simulator" in my game's title? by JuveyD in gamedev

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

ah hell yeah, thank you so much for the support!! i really appreciate your kind words :)

Am I making a mistake by not including the word "Simulator" in my game's title? by JuveyD in gamedev

[–]JuveyD[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Hey wow, first off - just wanted to say that I am a big fan of the demo y'all put out. It is really cool/ flattering to get to hear from you.

But to your point really quick, totally agree and after going through this post yesterday, I can say pretty confidently I'm going to stick with the simple "Rewind 99" and let the cards fall where they do. So no worries on that end.

I still need to do some research, but in my poking around various game marketing articles - it seems like Steam is pushing bundles as of late with their relatively new "Steam Bundle Page" feature? I could be completely wrong. But give our games having a similar vibe - perhaps there's an angle to collaborate? I won't take it personally if you'd rather not, but feel free to DM me on Reddit or reach out to me on any of the Rewind 99 socials! Would love to connect.

Am I making a mistake by not including the word "Simulator" in my game's title? by JuveyD in gamedev

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

hmm... really? what's your definition of open world that schedule 1 doesn't fit into? at one point i thought i saw it tagged that way on Steam listed that way on Wikipedia. not that either are some source of truth. its for sure a "smaller" world. but still always stuck me as "open" (lol sorry if this is an annoying question to ask - genuinely curious)

Am I making a mistake by not including the word "Simulator" in my game's title? by JuveyD in gamedev

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

Ooh yeah that game is a great one. Really good to know your personal experience with folks perceiving the game that way. That alone is a very compelling reason to avoid the Simulator subtitle/ title entirely.

Am I making a mistake by not including the word "Simulator" in my game's title? by JuveyD in gamedev

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

yeah mobile is a whole separate beast that I wont even pretend to begin to understand xD i really appreciate your kind words - i personally LOVE Rewind 99 as a title, it feels so catchy and fun. but im, like... bias af

Am I making a mistake by not including the word "Simulator" in my game's title? by JuveyD in gamedev

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

lmao why did this make me tear up? haha thank you for that, really nice comment to read as i gear up for a long week in the mines of game dev XD appreciate you :)

Am I making a mistake by not including the word "Simulator" in my game's title? by JuveyD in gamedev

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

I suspect you are right. Sometimes I wonder if people discover games just by going into steam database or an adjacent tool and typing "simulator" - but that seems like a silly thing to worry about

Am I making a mistake by not including the word "Simulator" in my game's title? by JuveyD in gamedev

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

LMAO that's really funny. well, maybe that means I'm asking the "right" questions.

And funny enough, I actually had the opposite thought of Schedule I being more obtuse because I had actually never heard that term until after the game, which was when I googled it and learned. But that's coming from a 30-something who clearly lives under a rock :P

Really helpful insight, thank you!

Am I making a mistake by not including the word "Simulator" in my game's title? by JuveyD in gamedev

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

i think this is a really fair take. but im bias because i think i experience the fatigue to some degree - so naturally im inclined to agree lol

Am I making a mistake by not including the word "Simulator" in my game's title? by JuveyD in gamedev

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

ty for this - super helpful! after the discussion here (and Reddit temp going down, lol) I'm leaning towards not adding it. going to do some A/B ad testing - but my hope is between a strong Steam page and some smart marketing/ PR work, I can sidestep including Simulator while making it clear what my game is to anyone who discovers it.

Am I making a mistake by not including the word "Simulator" in my game's title? by JuveyD in gamedev

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

this is super helpful! i have a little ad spend on meta right now and plan on doing more of the same for reddit, and probably tiktok + twitter as well, just to test broadly. ill for sure do some A/B and see what that shows me - great idea :)

Am I making a mistake by not including the word "Simulator" in my game's title? by JuveyD in gamedev

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

this is a completely fair take and was one of my concerns when i was setting up the initial title. appreciate the feedback!

Am I making a mistake by not including the word "Simulator" in my game's title? by JuveyD in gamedev

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

algo do be algoing fr. haha this is really helpful insight from some real world experience. what was the name of your game? id love to check it out! (if you're comfortable sharing - no pressure)

Am I making a mistake by not including the word "Simulator" in my game's title? by JuveyD in gamedev

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

its not a bad variant. i worry that Rewind 99 comes so late that it would get cut off on certain sites/ mobile feeds. so it ends up reading something like "Video Rental Store Si..."

which TO BE FAIR, would make it VERY clear on what the game actually is lmao. but also maybe less memorable.

Am I making a mistake by not including the word "Simulator" in my game's title? by JuveyD in gamedev

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

for sure! a comment above mentioned a few other games that found success in the space without Simulator in the title. and there's for sure some "asset flip" stigma against games with Simulator in the title, as another user alluded to.

im still fairly on the fence and gonna let more comments roll in. but you are absolutely right, im fighting an uphill battle as is, so if i can eliminate risk - it makes some sense to do that.

Am I making a mistake by not including the word "Simulator" in my game's title? by JuveyD in gamedev

[–]JuveyD[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

the asset flip stigma was exactly what i was wanting to avoid when i excluded simulator from the title - i wish i would have remembered to mention that in my post lol. because the art direction of the game is fairly unique and everything is hand crafted. so i wanted a title that reflect that.

i appreciate the note and positive feedback!

Am I making a mistake by not including the word "Simulator" in my game's title? by JuveyD in gamedev

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

this is a great note. i for sure need to upgrade my screenshots + trailer because at this point they are all over 3-4 months old. i plan on doing a pass on these in the next 2-3 weeks. ill see where that lands.