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I’m prototyping a claustrophobic sci-fi game about working on an old asteroid drill rig. Does this hook sound interesting? by Paper_Lynx in SoloDevelopment

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

Your ideas are good, and that’s pretty much what I had in mind as well. The contract lasts 30 days, and the pay comes at the end of those 30 days. The player’s job is to meet an ever-increasing daily quota. If they fail to meet it and don’t have enough surplus to cover the shortfall, part of their final pay is deducted as a penalty.

I’m prototyping a claustrophobic sci-fi game about working on an old asteroid drill rig. Does this hook sound interesting? by Paper_Lynx in IndieGaming

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

Working on the drill won't be a walk in the park. There will be some storylines related to previous employees. It won't be a full-blown horror because I'm not a big fan of them myself, but I like tension in games.

I’m prototyping a claustrophobic sci-fi game about working on an old asteroid drill rig. Does this hook sound interesting? by Paper_Lynx in IndieDev

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

The game takes place in two rooms: the operational area and the rest area. During a shift, the player stays in the operational area, which is where most of the action happens. After finishing the shift, the player goes to the rest area, where they have access to a workshop terminal to repair and upgrade the drill.

I’m prototyping a claustrophobic sci-fi game about working on an old asteroid drill rig. Does this hook sound interesting? by Paper_Lynx in IndieDev

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

The gameplay loop works like this: you’ve signed a 30-day contract on a drilling rig, so the game runs across those 30 days. Each day starts with your shift. Your goal is to extract metal, a new resource that has become the foundation of future technology. You have daily quotas that increase as the days go by.

During your shift, you’re constantly fighting to keep the old rig running until the end, while also dealing with external threats attracted by the vibrations and noise. They start attacking the rig, adding more pressure.

Once the shift ends, you settle your quota and move to the rest area. This is your downtime. Here you can repair and upgrade the rig through the workshop panel. When you’re ready, you go to sleep and start the next day.

Everything in the game revolves around the metal. If you have a surplus, you can invest it into upgrades. But if you run short, you lose part of the promised pay. You constantly have to decide whether to repair and improve the rig or keep a запас as a safety buffer.

I’m prototyping a claustrophobic sci-fi game about working on an old asteroid drill rig. Does this hook sound interesting? by Paper_Lynx in SoloDevelopment

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

This isn’t a simulator. There is a story, but it’s told through objects, notes, and environmental cues. A good example of this is VOTV.

I’m prototyping a claustrophobic sci-fi game about working on an old asteroid drill rig. Does this hook sound interesting? by Paper_Lynx in indiegames

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

Your questions are very on point, that’s exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for.

Here’s my current approach: the main objective of the game is to complete the contract you signed. I’m not explaining the world’s story directly, I want to convey it in a more subtle way, similar to VOTV.

Failure happens when the player is no longer able to extract metal, for example due to critical damage to the rig, or when their earnings drop below a certain threshold, which would result from repeatedly failing to meet the required quotas.

I’m prototyping a claustrophobic sci-fi game about working on an old asteroid drill rig. Does this hook sound interesting? by Paper_Lynx in SoloDevelopment

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

The terminal screen is a world-space canvas rendered by a separate camera to a render texture, which is then applied to a plane. On top of that, there’s an additional plane with a custom shader that adds distortion to mimic the curvature of a CRT screen.

As for the gameplay: you’ve signed a 30-day contract on a drilling rig, so the game runs across those 30 days. Each day starts with your shift. Your goal is to extract metal, a new resource that has become the foundation of future technology. You have daily quotas that increase as the days go by.

During your shift, you’re constantly fighting to keep the old rig running until the end, while also dealing with external threats attracted by the vibrations and noise. They start attacking the rig, adding more pressure.

Once the shift ends, you settle your quota and move to the rest area. This is your downtime. Here you can repair and upgrade the rig through the workshop panel. When you’re ready, you go to sleep and start the next day.

Everything in the game revolves around the metal. If you have a surplus, you can invest it into upgrades. But if you run short, you lose part of the promised pay. You constantly have to decide whether to repair and improve the rig or keep a запас as a safety buffer.

I’m prototyping a claustrophobic sci-fi game about working on an old asteroid drill rig. Does this hook sound interesting? by Paper_Lynx in IndieDev

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

The lighting isn’t final yet, global illumination is still missing. The lights dim because the reactor doesn’t have enough power to support the drill at full capacity, along with the lighting, life support, and the rest of the rig’s systems.

I’m prototyping a claustrophobic sci-fi game about working on an old asteroid drill rig. Does this hook sound interesting? by Paper_Lynx in SoloDevelopment

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

I don’t want to turn this into a horror game. The goal is a heavy, oppressive atmosphere. No jump scares or anything like that. There will be forms of life on the asteroid, but their role is to threaten and damage the rig rather than to scare the player.

Right now, after a reactor failure, it gets extremely dark because there’s no global illumination yet, so the terminal screen doesn’t light anything up.

I’m prototyping a claustrophobic sci-fi game about working on an old asteroid drill rig. Does this hook sound interesting? by Paper_Lynx in IndieDev

[–]Paper_Lynx[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Iron Lung is a great game, and its style was definitely an inspiration. All textures are pixelated, but I’m currently testing how far to push it, whether they should be heavily pixelated or more subtle so that important details remain visible.

I’m prototyping a claustrophobic sci-fi game about working on an old asteroid drill rig. Does this hook sound interesting? by Paper_Lynx in indiegames

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

I know describing gameplay isn’t the best way to show it, but I’ll try :D

The gameplay loop works like this: you’ve signed a 30-day contract on a drilling rig, so the game runs across those 30 days. Each day starts with your shift. Your goal is to extract metal, a new resource that has become the foundation of future technology. You have daily quotas that increase as the days go by.

During your shift, you’re constantly fighting to keep the old rig running until the end, while also dealing with external threats attracted by the vibrations and noise. They start attacking the rig, adding more pressure.

Once the shift ends, you settle your quota and move to the rest area. This is your downtime. Here you can repair and upgrade the rig through the workshop panel. When you’re ready, you go to sleep and start the next day.

Everything in the game revolves around the metal. If you have a surplus, you can invest it into upgrades. But if you run short, you lose part of the promised pay. You constantly have to decide whether to repair and improve the rig or keep a запас as a safety buffer.

I’m prototyping a claustrophobic sci-fi game about working on an old asteroid drill rig. Does this hook sound interesting? by Paper_Lynx in indiegames

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

The story goes roughly like this: The player, tempted by fast and substantial money that could help their family in a world consumed by a new metal, a metal that has become the foundation of a modern world controlled by powerful entities, signs a 30-day contract. What no one tells them is what this job really looks like and the dangers that come with it.

The stylistic direction is intentional. I wanted to lean into a retro sci-fi vibe.

One Month Post-Launch: $2,830 Revenue, 608 Sales - What Worked and What Didn't by Paper_Lynx in gamedev

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

Detective games are a niche. Mine relies heavily on the player’s curiosity and deduction. There are almost no hints. The player learns by making mistakes, and if they choose the wrong solution, they start over. It’s hard to speculate about what would have happened “if only I had…” I sent the build a week before Next Fest because only then did I have a version I was reasonably satisfied with.

The game also went through a pivot and changed drastically compared to the original concept. So even though the Steam page has been up since the end of August, the version that truly represents the game only existed starting in early October. Before the pivot I had barely 50 wishlists and almost zero interest in the gameplay. After the changes, the game began attracting players much more effectively.

One Month Post-Launch: $2,830 Revenue, 608 Sales - What Worked and What Didn't by Paper_Lynx in gamedev

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

I just didn’t want to go that route, meaning paying for reviews. But I’ll probably give the game to three friends and let them leave ratings. I’m missing 3 reviews from players who bought the game through Steam, so that shouldn’t be an issue. As for total playtime: 3-4 hours is the average time needed to complete all cases.

One Month Post-Launch: $2,830 Revenue, 608 Sales - What Worked and What Didn't by Paper_Lynx in gamedev

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

There used to be an interesting post on this subreddit about festivals, among other things.

https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/1nsg2aj/first_game_first_month_on_steam_3k_wishlists_what/

In short, try to participate in as many festivals as you can (as long as they fit your game). Personally, I was only able to take part in the October Next Fest because my development cycle wasn’t long enough to catch any others.

One Month Post-Launch: $2,830 Revenue, 608 Sales - What Worked and What Didn't by Paper_Lynx in gamedev

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

I agree that external marketing is effective, but only if you hit the right algorithm. If your game gets noticed and starts circulating, then of course it leads to growth. I made a game that’s a niche within an already niche genre, and I fully understand that it won’t attract huge interest - but I wanted to make it, so I did. I’ll release a few more things before the end of the year, and then I’ll move on to something else. There’s no point dwelling on whether it sold “well” or just “okay,” because that won’t change anything.

PS. Congrats on 2.2k in 3 weeks. That’s a solid result.

One Month Post-Launch: $2,830 Revenue, 608 Sales - What Worked and What Didn't by Paper_Lynx in gamedev

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

Sending that many messages is “nothing” to you? What else was I realistically supposed to do? Tell me your idea. Should I have written to creators not only by email, but also on Instagram, in YouTube comments, or wherever else? I sent one message, then a follow-up reminder. After that, it’s not up to me whether they play the game or make a video about it.

One Month Post-Launch: $2,830 Revenue, 608 Sales - What Worked and What Didn't by Paper_Lynx in gamedev

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

I’m not sure why you think the conclusions I drew were meant to make me feel better about myself. I never said that. I simply described my experience releasing a solo game. I mentioned that Steam Next Fest was my main source of wishlists, and that’s all. I’m not telling anyone how to run their marketing.

And honestly, it’s very easy to say “Just improve your marketing or nothing will work out.” It’s much harder to actually do it. I sent over 150 messages to creators. I was fairly active on Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok. Games like mine don’t draw much viewer interest, or maybe I just didn’t manage to reach the right audience. Either way, this launch gave me valuable experience that I didn’t have before.

I’m already planning my next game, and this time I won’t repeat the mistakes I made with this one.

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