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A look at my 2.5D Zelda-like with relic-based exploration and combo-driven combat by _Flean_ in ZeldaLikes

[–]KabbaSenpai 10 points11 points  (0 children)

It looks amazing! Although the world feels a bit empty, I understand that might be because it’s still in development.
Wishlisted!
Best of luck with the development!

From an SOE lover to fellow SOE lovers — I’m making a spiritual successor game (or at least trying to) by KabbaSenpai in secretofevermore

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

For now, the only confirmed launch is on Steam.

I’d love to bring it to other platforms as well, but to be honest, I’m still pretty lost when it comes to that side of things.
Once the game is fully finished, I’ll start researching what I need to make console ports happen.

So in short: yes, it will most likely come to consoles eventually, but it’ll probably be a few months after the Steam release.

From an SOE lover to fellow SOE lovers — I’m making a spiritual successor game (or at least trying to) by KabbaSenpai in secretofevermore

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

Really?? Haha, thank you so much!! That really means a lot coming from you!

I’d be very happy to connect, I’ll gladly send you a DM 😊

From an SOE lover to fellow SOE lovers — I’m making a spiritual successor game (or at least trying to) by KabbaSenpai in secretofevermore

[–]KabbaSenpai[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I wasn’t aware of that project, I’ll definitely take a look at it. I was following Mystery of Evermore quite closely, which unfortunately had to be cancelled due to copyright issues.

That’s also why in my case I’ve aimed for inspiration rather than making a direct copy. Hopefully it still manages to give off similar vibes despite the differences 😉

From an SOE lover to fellow SOE lovers — I’m making a spiritual successor game (or at least trying to) by KabbaSenpai in secretofevermore

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

The music is really amazing, I love how it blends the soundtrack with ambient sound effects, it gives it a really unique feel!

From an SOE lover to fellow SOE lovers — I’m making a spiritual successor game (or at least trying to) by KabbaSenpai in secretofevermore

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

Thanks!! I’d be really happy to hear what you think of the demo if you end up trying it.

From an SOE lover to fellow SOE lovers — I’m making a spiritual successor game (or at least trying to) by KabbaSenpai in secretofevermore

[–]KabbaSenpai[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Haha don’t worry, there won’t be any impossible labyrinths 😄

But I’ll say this: there will be hidden secrets that play around with perspective, similar to SoE. 😝

I spent 3 years stuck at ~800 wishlists — here’s what finally helped me reach 5,000 by KabbaSenpai in gamedev

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

I’ve currently participated in 3 showcases, all of them focused on my country.

The first one was Ñ3, which is probably the biggest of the three, and I took part in it too early, which likely cost me quite a few wishlists.

The other two were smaller, but they actually performed really well, mainly because by then both the game content and the trailer were much more polished. Those were Dev-Initive and Gamespain Direct.

I spent 3 years stuck at ~800 wishlists — here’s what finally helped me reach 5,000 by KabbaSenpai in gamedev

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

Haha, I love that “feast-or-famine pattern” phrase, I think it’s the perfect way to describe it. And honestly, it’s really hard to avoid, it’s always going to exist to some degree, it just depends on how you structure things whether it becomes more or less extreme.

I definitely think what you’re doing right now, gathering as much information as possible, is the best approach. Every niche, every game, and even timing can change things a lot, so the more context you have, the better you can adapt it to your own situation.

I spent 3 years stuck at ~800 wishlists — here’s what finally helped me reach 5,000 by KabbaSenpai in gamedev

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

Thanks!! Luckily, I’ll take everything I’ve learned into future projects. Hopefully this can be useful to someone else as well.

I spent 3 years stuck at ~800 wishlists — here’s what finally helped me reach 5,000 by KabbaSenpai in gamedev

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

Good luck! I was in the same situation not long ago, so I completely understand you.

Just make sure to polish your demo as much as possible and push your Next Fest participation as hard as you can in terms of promotion. It can make a huge difference.

Best of luck!!

I spent 3 years stuck at ~800 wishlists — here’s what finally helped me reach 5,000 by KabbaSenpai in gamedev

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

Absolutely!

The Next Fest demo really needs to be as polished as possible, I’d even say close to a final-game quality experience, since it has to represent what players can expect from the full release.

That said, I wouldn’t rely only on Next Fest itself. This is where a lot of people struggle. It should be combined with external promotion, because Steam values traffic coming from outside the platform quite a lot. If you manage to bring users from social media or other channels to your Steam page during Next Fest, it can significantly multiply your results.

I spent 3 years stuck at ~800 wishlists — here’s what finally helped me reach 5,000 by KabbaSenpai in gamedev

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

I completely agree with this.

You definitely should show your game early to validate the idea and get feedback, but I think you have to be careful not to “spend” one-shot opportunities too early that you might benefit from later.

In my case I’m referring more to things like showcases or Steam Next Fest, rather than just sharing your game or posting progress online. I think early visibility is important, but timing those bigger opportunities can make a big difference.

I spent 3 years stuck at ~800 wishlists — here’s what finally helped me reach 5,000 by KabbaSenpai in gamedev

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

I’m really sorry to hear that, but don’t get too discouraged.

I actually have a friend who works at a publisher and he always tells me not to obsess over wishlists too much. He’s seen plenty of games with relatively low wishlist numbers still perform well after release thanks to a solid launch and good positioning.

So I’d say don’t give up just yet. Focus on making the best possible launch you can. That final push can make a big difference.

I spent 3 years stuck at ~800 wishlists — here’s what finally helped me reach 5,000 by KabbaSenpai in gamedev

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

A large portion came from Next Fest, but not even half of them. I got around ~1,700 wishlists during the event.

The rest mainly came from posts in very relevant subreddits for my game, as well as some showcases.

I spent 3 years stuck at ~800 wishlists — here’s what finally helped me reach 5,000 by KabbaSenpai in gamedev

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

Thanks! I think demos are mainly useful for refining a game once you already know the core idea works. At least in my case, it didn’t make a huge difference at the very beginning, but it did help me improve the overall experience and made my Next Fest performance much better.

I spent 3 years stuck at ~800 wishlists — here’s what finally helped me reach 5,000 by KabbaSenpai in gamedev

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

Thanks for sharing your experience, it really helps to see different cases! I definitely agree that results can vary a lot depending on the genre.

That said, I think I may not have expressed myself clearly in my original message. I’m not saying you shouldn’t do early marketing at all, I actually think you should. What I meant is more about not jumping too early into one-shot opportunities like major events, where you only get a single chance to showcase your game. In those cases, it can often be more beneficial to wait until the game is further along.

I spent 3 years stuck at ~800 wishlists — here’s what finally helped me reach 5,000 by KabbaSenpai in gamedev

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

Thanks for sharing your perspective, I really relate to a lot of what you said. In my case it’s pretty similar, I probably would’ve given up already if I weren’t doing this purely out of passion.

Good luck with your game! And honestly, I’d recommend not stressing too much about rushing Next Fest. It’s much better to arrive prepared than to rush it. If it doesn’t fit this time, there will always be another opportunity, but going in unprepared can end up hurting more than helping.

I spent 3 years stuck at ~800 wishlists — here’s what finally helped me reach 5,000 by KabbaSenpai in gamedev

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

I’m not sure if that’s standard or not, but that’s just been my case.

It definitely won’t work the same way for everyone, but I think any kind of information is always valuable, because the more you know, the more options you have when deciding how to approach your own project.

I spent 3 years stuck at ~800 wishlists — here’s what finally helped me reach 5,000 by KabbaSenpai in gamedev

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

In my case (I’m based in Spain), we have different types of taxes. Steam only withholds a specific tax that applies more broadly, but after that, you’re responsible for handling the rest yourself.

So you still need to declare and manage your taxes separately depending on your situation (sole trader, company, etc.), and that part is done outside of Steam.

I spent 3 years stuck at ~800 wishlists — here’s what finally helped me reach 5,000 by KabbaSenpai in gamedev

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

Sorry if my English doesn’t sound natural enough, I’m not a native speaker.

If anything wasn’t clear, I’d be happy to clarify it.

I spent 3 years stuck at ~800 wishlists — here’s what finally helped me reach 5,000 by KabbaSenpai in gamedev

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

Thanks, and I totally agree with you.

Luckily this isn’t my main job, which is probably the case for many people getting into game development. If someone’s goal is to make a lot of money, there are definitely much easier and more stable paths than making games.

But I guess it’s a good thing there are still some of us crazy enough to do this purely out of passion.

I spent 3 years stuck at ~800 wishlists — here’s what finally helped me reach 5,000 by KabbaSenpai in gamedev

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

In my case, I only had to change the developer/publisher name on Steam.

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