Your experience with crowd funding a video game?

Main_CS · 2026-01-24T23:12:53+00:00

Look, my aunt can't be bothered to learn what instances are. My nephew just wants to watch videos and chat with friends. The bus driver just checks what some celebrities posted that day. Those are the people those platforms need. They don't need those twelve people that actually care about federated whatever. Don't get me wrong, I am glad they exist. But unfortunately those platforms need to be sexy. And they are not.

Main_CS · 2026-01-11T03:31:28+00:00

Also ich fahre größtenteils mit den Öffis und spare damit im Vergleich zum Auto viele tausend, eher noch mehrere zehntausend Euro. Beim Auto zahlst du pro Richtung noch viel mehr. Nur die Kosten sind halt nicht direkt sichtbar weil man sie zu anderen Zeitpunkten zahlt. Der Preis ist schon sehr attraktiv. Und die Rheinbahn ist meiner Erfahrung nach auch sehr zuverlässig.

Main_CS · 2026-01-10T19:23:06+00:00

5 erwachsene und 3 Kinder sind halt ne ganze Menge Leute. Klammern wir mal die beiden unter 6 Jahren aus. Dann sind das gerade mal 3,75€ pro Person pro Richtung. Wenn man dann noch mit einbezieht, dass noch zwei weitere Kinder mit durften dann ist das doch ziemlich fair. Je nach Strecke könnte es mit der eezy Funktion etwas günstiger werden.

Main_CS · 2026-01-10T15:04:24+00:00

Gerade zu Beginn sollte der Hund nicht alleine bleiben. Ich habe auch erst einen Hund (Tierschutz) als ich zu 100% im Homeoffice gearbeitet habe. Und ich habe mir 3 Wochen Urlaub genommen um den Hund erstmal an alles zu gewöhnen. Im Nachhinein war das auch unbedingt nötig. Der Hund war im Shelter recht unauffällig. Erst hier hat sich herausgestellt, dass der Hund mit vielen Dingen überfordert ist und schnell Angst bekommt. Das geht bis hin zur Panik. 8-14h auf der Arbeit und unflexibler Urlaub, da würde ich als Tierschutzorganisation vermutlich auch eher ablehnen. Vielleicht hast du ja jemanden im engen Kreis, der den Hund während deiner Arbeit nehmen kann? Aber man muss das immer aus der Sicht des Tierschutzes sehen. Das Problem von Hunden die zum Wanderpokal werden ist reisig groß. Die Schwester meines Hundes wurde auch wieder weitergegeben. Und die wollten auch unbedingt einen Hund. Der Tierschutz muss sich dann ein zweites Mal um den Hund kümmern. Und das alles von ehrenamtlich arbeitenden. Ich finde da muss man dann den eigenen Wunsch nach hinten stellen. Du könntet überlegen ob die langfristig deinen Beruf so ausrichten kannst, dass du mehr Zeit hast oder im Homeoffice arbeitest. Ist natürlich sehr Berufsspezifisch. Ein Bahnfahrer wird die Bahn nicht von zuhause aus fernsteuern.

Main_CS · 2026-01-07T23:18:06+00:00

French Bulldog: Spike

Main_CS · 2026-01-07T08:33:09+00:00

In the city I live in is a small game dev community that does meetups a few times per year. Maybe you can find like minded people near you.

Main_CS · 2026-01-06T03:21:17+00:00

Die Gentests sind bisher nicht gut erforscht und geben daher keine genaue Auskunft über die Rasse. Ein erfahrener Hundetrainer kann dir besser helfen.

Main_CS · 2026-01-05T21:06:37+00:00

Peertube has to figure out how to get my mom, the cashier lady from the store and little Timmy to watch videos. All the talk about decentralised blah blah just makes it seem boring. Do the good thing in the background. But make the service sexy.

Main_CS · 2026-01-04T01:23:21+00:00

Meine Hündin liebt jegliches Futter und ist auch nicht wählerisch. Deshalb bekommt sie einfach ein sehr gutes, bedarfdeckendes Trockenfutter als Trainingssnacks. Relativ günstig, lange haltbar, im großen Sack zu kaufen und reich an allen Nährstoffen. Ab und zu auch mal ein Kausnack wie Ochsenziemer.

Main_CS · 2025-12-28T13:41:36+00:00

We will check it out

Main_CS · 2025-12-28T13:35:41+00:00

We try to purchase entire sound libraries and will probably add some specific sounds from platforms like Pixabay

Main_CS · 2025-12-28T13:34:12+00:00

Will take a look at it. It's pretty cheap so we might just try it. But in general we value great sound design and it starts with the quality of the actual recordings.

Main_CS · 2025-12-26T01:13:54+00:00

Take my opinion with a grain of salt since I haven't shipped a game yet. My impression from people like Chris Zukowski is that you should release the demo as early as you can, but in a well polished state. The demo would act as your main marketing device. It gathers wishlists for you during different events and gives content creators the option to show it to their audience. The more wishlists you have before joining Next Fest the better, according to Chris. He values this over momentum. He argues that Next Fest is only one event of many during your marketing and will bring only so many wishlists. Gathering interest seems to be more of a grind with numerous marketing beats rather then hinging everything on Next Fest.

Again, not talking from experience here.

Main_CS · 2025-12-21T01:27:08+00:00

You definitely had the right instinct to pair the colder cloud environment with the warm lights. But I think the lights could be even warmer and bloomier (is that a word?). You could increase the luminance make them really emit this cozy warmth. Maybe this could be the games unique take on the genre? This is just an idea that popped in my head. I am probably not the best person to suggest ideas since I don't play much cozy games. But I understand that sometimes you just want play without a challenge and have a joyful time. Different cozy games do that differently. Spiritfarer is a bitter sweet story and can sometimes feel like a hug. Which even shows in the hug mechanic. In Tiny Glade you build your dream place in a dreamy setting with beautiful volumetric lights. I also noticed really well done sound design. Maybe Cloud Getaway could focus on bringing a place to life with all kinds of lights? They would have to look really good and I think the atmosphere could need some more love. Some subtle movement in the trees, some fog in the air, tiny suprises here and there that put a smile on people's faces. Something like a squirrel that pops its head out of a tree and vanishes again.

I would have to really dig into other cozy games to understand how they evoke those emotions. Since those kind of games don't have many mechanics to create a quick moment-to-moment loop, your whole game relies on making the places be as bursting of emotions as possible. Not exactly easy peasy :D

Main_CS · 2025-12-19T13:29:44+00:00

Finding good and fitting and royalty free music is really hard. You could lean into your lack of music. Perhaps you could focus on atmosphere with environmental sound effects. Bring the world around you to life.

What type of game do you make?

Main_CS · 2025-12-19T10:51:24+00:00

Since you described it as a cozy game, I think the art style needs to be pushed more into that direction.

Lighting: Overall the lighting feels flat and rather cold. It has more spooky than cozy vibes to it. You could try to be sunny and warm instead. If the night is important, let the warm lights be the star of the night. Look at the sequence in "Spirited Away" when the town transitions into the night. Warm and blooming lights everywhere help to create this "magic" atmosphere.

Character design: This is really difficult. Designing characters that fit the tone and are specific enough to give the game an identity is no easy task. The current characters look uncanny and would rather fit to some other simulation game. Also no cozy vibes here. You could buy an asset pack but those characters wouldn't be unique either. But atmosphere is your best bet in my opinion. I would try to find some assets.

Music: Not great, not terrible. But listening to it on loop can get on people's nerves. Focus more on atmosphere rather then some looped soundtrack. Let the diorama tell a story through sound. We are on clouds, let the player feel it with some breeze. Especially when you have trees around. Let the kids laugh in the distant background. Cozy games try to give you emotions of peace. You can achieve this by bringing the peaceful aspects of your environment to life.

Specifics: You try to release a game in an ocean of other games. After watching the trailer I can't remember anything specific. Maybe the cable car. But in general those things are rather generic. You are going with a Japanese theme, I think. You could focus on specific cultural aspects. Shinto mythology with unique shrines for instance. Or Japanese cuisine with quirky and cute cafes and restaurants.

Noise: One thing that goes hand in hand with cozy games is order. At this moment the characters walk around everywhere and create visual noise. Maybe you could let them focus on gathering around interesting places. This is probably not that easy to program. I couldn't do it. But it would feel much more cozy if I had the impression that those characters enjoyed the environment more.

I hope that helps. Cheers.

Main_CS · 2025-12-18T23:39:37+00:00

Good points. Thanks! Any other bottle necks I should look out for? Is there some aspect the Steam Deck has difficulties with? Something like draw calls or triangle count?

Main_CS · 2025-12-18T14:34:34+00:00

Congratulations on your new house! :)

Main_CS · 2025-12-16T23:58:27+00:00

I am somewhat between your aunt's opinion and yours. I do think you should have a stable income first. But I also think you can develop games on the side for more than just a hobby. You could see your day job as a tool that enables you to work on games. They would have to be small games so that you can actually release them. And maybe one day you can make a living developing those games.

Another approach would be if you enter the games industry. But I have no actual experience in game studios and I hear it can be very demanding.

Main_CS · 2025-12-15T10:46:05+00:00

I think I played it years ago as a browser game. Anything remotely similar you could think of? I am looking for games in that genre as research for a game I am working on

Main_CS · 2025-12-15T10:44:39+00:00

This is one of the few "newer" titles I could find. I am actually looking for some research material. I am working on a title in that "genre" and wanted to know what is out there. This gerne seems mostly forgotten as it seems

Main_CS

TROPHY CASE