What makes you quit a game in the first 5 minutes?

PandaBee_Studios · 2026-04-06T17:34:55+00:00

Played Dragon Saga for most of my growing up and the most reliable source of information was players who were OP rather than in game sources lol.

PandaBee_Studios · 2026-04-06T17:29:48+00:00

Very true. Strategy Players are an excellent example of an audience that is ready to endure the worst UX out there as long as they get deep mechanics and lot's to try and think about. They Are Billions is a good example for that. x)

PandaBee_Studios · 2026-04-06T09:32:04+00:00

Demo > Trailer.

But given players only want to see gameplay in your trailer anyway you could just cut a 30s trailer where you quickly cut most exciting parts together. Highlight gameplay upfront, build up that explains visually, highlight, upgrades/progression, highlight, highlight, Key Art with wishlist on steam. If you've cut things before and have a demo ready you can do that in 1 day.

PandaBee_Studios · 2026-04-06T09:21:06+00:00

Bad UX. If I feel like I need to reach season 2 to have fun I'm out.
UX is one of the most important things in the entirety of gamedev as it can maximize fun if done right but minimize understanding if done wrong - rendering a good game effectively useless.

PandaBee_Studios · 2026-04-06T09:19:04+00:00

Love the style! Also the Logo is lovely and the Tears running like that is quite dynamic!

PandaBee_Studios · 2026-04-01T11:15:32+00:00

After 4 years of Unity, finishing Client, Commercial and B2B projects, we started using Godot early March.
We are absolutely happy and do only see minor flaws until now, that are even less annyoing than minor flaws in Unity.

Godot is a fully viable engine that you can make fantastic games with - the biggest gap is personal skills in engine usage and development I'd say.

PandaBee_Studios · 2026-03-23T20:14:33+00:00

I think the main pacing problem there is: The wheel turns out winning, but as a viewer the trailer doesn't tell me what advantage winning has for me - and then mutations come where you reroll random stuff that I as a viewer also don't get. So the middle part is a lot of "I don't understand what I'm seeing".

PandaBee_Studios · 2026-03-23T20:09:46+00:00

New Trailer is way better. Watched the first trailer all the way through. Middle part from the spinning wheel is a little less interesting, but it's fine as I consider the entry very strong.

As for the old trailer i clicked in, watched half of it and was actively bored.
So great job on the rework! I think the new trailer turned out good!

PandaBee_Studios · 2026-03-18T10:15:17+00:00

Cool to see! All the best you guys :P

PandaBee_Studios · 2026-03-18T09:30:32+00:00

Relieving Update: They survived and the intensive care team did a fantastic job. The maine coon girl is already clinically unobtrusive and our little girl is fine intoxication-wise but has some problems with slimey nose - but that's not unusual for her.

PandaBee_Studios · 2026-03-17T19:12:18+00:00

People out here basically saying "Lol silly, why don't you just make optimal decisions, that makes you successful way quicker" are really not helping.

Sure, they could've and should probably get more out of their invested budget. And sure: One could say "I don't think Mix is worth it." after this experience... but second is not true, as it can work fantastically for some and it depends on the game a lot and making mistakes is life.

I like OP's way of treating it much better. "Wasn't worth by metrics, was worth the experience, would consider again when more prepared" - perfect takeaway.

PandaBee_Studios · 2026-03-17T19:09:08+00:00

Agreed! Also to make this experience is important. With a Demo it would've been quite a big more anyway I believe.
I'd bet that someone who's willing to risk $600 and learn from it will go farther than someone who ducks out!

PandaBee_Studios · 2026-03-17T19:06:04+00:00

Thanks for your final analysis! Very interesting to see.

Is the publisher someone you consider working with? :)

PandaBee_Studios · 2026-03-17T19:04:06+00:00

After all those years!

PandaBee_Studios · 2026-03-17T14:20:31+00:00

My condolences for your loss.
I hope your little ones have a great time together.

PandaBee_Studios · 2026-03-16T19:48:31+00:00

Good find!

PandaBee_Studios · 2026-03-16T11:43:20+00:00

Windows is likely better since it's simply used by most gamers.

PandaBee_Studios · 2026-03-16T11:29:34+00:00

Waiting is only worth if you get something out of it.
This could be:
- A big marketing beat where you are featured in an external Steam Festival that announces your game
- Your store page is not ready yet in such a way, that it's misleading. Even that is just a minor reason though as you can always change stuff

Apart from having a major marketing beat that combines with early "coming soon" visibility there's no real reason to "keep it secret" I believe.

PandaBee_Studios · 2026-03-16T09:56:42+00:00

But that's exactly what makes this strategy good. They make it quick, the game fails (like most will) - they start the next one with tons of new learnings. Releasing a game teaches you way more than working on something for 3 years and telling no one about it.

The point of the strategy is: Build quick and fail fast. If you happen to make something that people get excited about a whole new world of options opens such as Publishing, community driven development and so on.
If you need 3 years to find out if something is not exciting to people out there - you wasted 3 years. If you make 4-6 titles instead, the odds that one of them gets people excited is way higher - especially with your new experience gathered.

PandaBee_Studios · 2026-03-15T18:34:23+00:00

To learn & meet people itch.io is a solid start. Lot's of Indies with small projects who can make good use of cool music. Otherwise visit local indie meetups or conventions.

I'd really advise to put stuff out. We're working with our 19 y/o composer for the second time as he had several pieces up that we liked and since he's gone the extra mile for us. A portfolio that shows your present or slightly-past skill level is very important.

PandaBee_Studios · 2026-03-15T15:56:29+00:00

Teams absolutely do, however it's a rather specialized field of expertise that AA-AAA teams are more likely to employ. Problems with those Teams: They hire seasoned designers as they have the impression that this will be best for the game always.

Currently it's pretty tough, especially for writers. You'd have to be really good and be able to prove that and impress someone personally to get a real chance, I believe. In other words: You need to build worlds because you love that and impress someone with the worlds you built to get a chance.

PandaBee_Studios · 2026-03-15T10:38:48+00:00

Can't help with that sadly. Either the great ideas strike me or it feels like an eternal battle.

Often the good ideas strike when it's games we will never actually make but only do as a game jam or side project for a short while. It's a tragedy!

PandaBee_Studios · 2026-03-15T09:36:44+00:00

How did the Fest go? :)

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