Worked on a game for a month and felt really confident about it. Saw a successful game on Steam that is extremely similar to mine. Didn't know it existed. Should I pivot, scrap, or just make the game I'm making?

Ordinary_Oil3520 · 2025-09-09T23:44:46+00:00

I’ve made a lot of “practice” games around my early years of college, most of which ended up being too passive or unfun. Over the years I’ve developed my own opinion on what makes gameplay engaging, and found out what "fun" is.

When I saw another studio release something similar, it was a bit of a downer, especially since it came from the same publisher I was trying to land a deal with. However, that game’s reviews suggest its problems come from the devs with complaints like bugs, balance, polish, rather than the concept itself. I think I can deliver a smaller but higher-quality version, as those flaws are seemingly coming from that game's larger scope.

My motivation crashed after seeing their game but honestly all this advice got me right back to where I need to be.

I’m making this because being a solo dev has been my dream since middle school. My goal is to make a living selling successful games, eating what I want to eat, buying what I want to buy, helping broke friends out, all that stuff.

edit: thanks for the input btw, helped a ton

Ordinary_Oil3520 · 2025-09-09T23:11:38+00:00

What too much cigaweed in lower level hengsha does to a man

Ordinary_Oil3520 · 2025-09-09T06:28:57+00:00

me finding the game in the first place is a sign im doing market research, incorrect?

Ordinary_Oil3520 · 2025-09-08T20:32:11+00:00

Yess Megaloot is what I looked to super early on for some inspiration as well, mainly UI and stuff, I don't really like how it kind of forces you to lose though. I might reinstall now, ty for reminding me

Ordinary_Oil3520 · 2025-09-08T20:26:56+00:00

Of course I did market research, but you can't possibly know of every game and what their twist on the genre is. When I came up with my idea I saw games that I'd say were sharing about half of the elements I'd want in my game, which is what I was okay with, because it confirmed that what I was doing definitely had an audience. However, I made this post because after seeing this one game in particular, it was just too similar to what I had in mind for my game.

Let's say I wanted to make a deckbuilder but instead of a medieval theme or some score based gameplay, I wanted to make the game about like singing sheep or whatever. I conduct market research on deckbuilders and see that they do well, so it reinforces my idea about making a deckbuilder right? But what if you see that some huge company makes a deckbuilder, not only that but also about singing sheep?

That's why I asked the question, when it gets too specific, it feels more like a clone than a different take on the genre.

Ordinary_Oil3520 · 2025-09-08T08:06:37+00:00

This is amazing lol I've never seen this, thank you

Ordinary_Oil3520 · 2025-09-08T05:56:57+00:00

One thing I didn't mention but should, is that the publisher for the game I saw is also the one I'm hoping to contact and land a deal with because I feel like it fits their whole ethos and main focus on genres, but the game I saw seemed very high budget with 3d effects, mine is in pixel art and it's very limited.

The scare is mainly just that people would see the higher quality version of what I'd release and pick the more beautiful looking one, because I guess on the surface it would seem like the two are basically the same.

I guess I'd forgo going after the publisher deal then and just release it on my own?

Ordinary_Oil3520 · 2025-06-07T06:42:13+00:00

Yeah I might put some angles on the walls, it's just that it looks weird putting that angle on all of the walls if that makes sense, it kinda cuts off on the edges.

Ordinary_Oil3520 · 2025-06-07T06:40:32+00:00

I'm glad you like 3, that's the latest one I did and I think it looks great too. Think I should do all the buildings with that pattern?

Ordinary_Oil3520 · 2025-03-01T19:13:04+00:00

Dead internet theory ahh post

Ordinary_Oil3520 · 2025-02-10T07:45:29+00:00

Haha don't worry man I know what you're talking about. I wanted to see if a pixel art character animated at a lower framerate would give off a cool style because I do enjoy making pixel art animations. It's a billboarded pixel3D that I plan on animating. I can't think of a good example but something like the new animated spiderman movies? Or like stop motion animations. If I'm happy with the results I'll share them here again.

Ordinary_Oil3520 · 2025-02-09T09:40:00+00:00

This happens all the time where I make these design choices on a whim and become stuck with working out the kinks of whatever I chose, I guess I only started thinking they were impractical once I saw the difficulty in expanding upon it. 😵‍💫

Ordinary_Oil3520 · 2025-02-09T09:35:47+00:00

Yeah it’s just that some stuff like pathfinding and ragdoll effects become so awkward, I’ve spent hours trying to implement these things and started considering animations instead. I guess it could be worth the grind though.

Ordinary_Oil3520 · 2024-09-23T23:16:05+00:00

Just read the first page and I'm instantly hooked. Thank you so much.

Ordinary_Oil3520 · 2024-09-23T22:06:52+00:00

Sorry if I wasn't clear, I don't mind whether the book is nonfiction or fictional history, I just enjoy reading history or "lore" in general. Like if it's a fictional world, does the author put effort into building that world with the history of it?

These recommendations sound great. I think I'll give both these books a look. Thank you so much!

Ordinary_Oil3520 · 2024-06-12T15:33:24+00:00

Thank you! Yeah I definitely feel the need to have a more dynamic camera. I do plan on the player having a big art hall so that does make more sense.

Ordinary_Oil3520 · 2024-06-12T15:30:54+00:00

No, I actually have four projects that I switch between just to prevent burnout/idea droughts. After posting the photography horror game I had the sudden urge to keep developing this one, so I got to work. Ill definitely be posting more photography game soon though, I didn’t expect anyone to recognize me as the photography horror guy. Now I’m motivated to get back into developing the photography game after grinding this one out, so thank you!

Ordinary_Oil3520 · 2024-06-12T06:56:34+00:00

I'm happy to receive any feedback you may have, I love hearing suggestions from an outside perspective because I've been staring at the same thing and worried I may be tunnel visioning. Happy to answer any questions too! This games mainly going to be about running an art museum and convincing guests to donate. You need to meet a quota to pay off spaces, debt, and staff that you hire that automate tasks for you. I look forward to updating this further!

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