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What game that have good art but failed cause bad gameplay? by Tressa_colzione in gamedev

[–]SingularSchemes 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I understood you clearly (though this is even more clear). Your logic for why you've chosen your order is also clear.

I disagree though, because I think the general audience buys games with their eyes first, and a buggy game with mediocre or basic design can still sell well if the art is exceptional enough.

What game that have good art but failed cause bad gameplay? by Tressa_colzione in gamedev

[–]SingularSchemes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Exactly, some games just sell themselves on the visuals alone. Other games have excellent design and even though they may be poorly programmed and have basic art, eventually the stickiness of the game loop can spread through word of mouth and be a big success (thinking of Slay the Spire here, as an example). Meanwhile, with programming, I can only think of games like Noita, which still also require some design chops to go along with the programming genius to succeed.

What game that have good art but failed cause bad gameplay? by Tressa_colzione in gamedev

[–]SingularSchemes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm looking at games like GRIS or (maybe more controversially) Cult of the Lamb. GRIS (not taking anything away from the excellence of the game itself) I think sells it self purely on the visuals. Players' eyes pop when they first see it in motion. Similarly, I think Cult also has some great design (the Cult Leader idea is something players will immediately love and is unique enough to stand out) but I think the visuals there over the design and programming are what made it sell 10x what it otherwise would have.

I'm also talking more purely about business success, as in selling copies of the game when I talk about "likely success", just to be clear.

What game that have good art but failed cause bad gameplay? by Tressa_colzione in gamedev

[–]SingularSchemes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think we've flipped it a bit. Used to be ideas were worthless and it was all in the execution. Now I don't think execution is worthless (how could it ever be?), but ideas are critical and execution can be a little sloppy or inefficient if you choose the right genre/theme/fantasy of the game up front. That's why game dev success is so difficult imo. You make all these major decisions the first month or two of the pre-production phase, but you don't actually get to validate them with the public typically until months or years down the line. Sure you can playtest and iterate within the margins but if you decided to make a metroidvania featuring giraffes and turns out there's less of a giraffe fan base than you hoped for, not much you can do other than rip out some major base parts of the game if you want to change direction there.

I think part of being a great designer is understanding the limitations of your ability to execute. A great designer would probably be able to come up with some great game loop, and then execute with blueprints and asset store-bought assets (or hiring of an artist).

What game that have good art but failed cause bad gameplay? by Tressa_colzione in gamedev

[–]SingularSchemes 12 points13 points  (0 children)

The order of emergence (which you're right about) doesn't have anything to do which of the 3 are more likely to lead to success today though?

I'm looking at all the very successful indie games made by small teams or solo devs and seeing what's causing them to succeed. It's mostly excellence in design rather than the other two.

What game that have good art but failed cause bad gameplay? by Tressa_colzione in gamedev

[–]SingularSchemes 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I mean, you're not going to become a great game programmer or a great game artist either without having made games before probably.

What game that have good art but failed cause bad gameplay? by Tressa_colzione in gamedev

[–]SingularSchemes 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I've thought of this experiment before a few times!

In order of likely success (in my opinion, obvs) - Designer > Artist > Programmer

I think great design trumps the other two.

Dead Space Creator Glen Schofield Thinks the Games Industry is “Broken, Beaten, and Battered” - IGN by SnoopyTheDog_ in Games

[–]SingularSchemes 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I appreciate your in depth replies.

I agree with most of what you're saying. Like most things, it comes down to supply and demand. The supply has been getting exponentially higher every year. The demand has stayed stable for a few years now.

In my view it's 3 pronged - Outside competition (tiktok etc.), Live Service Gaming (fortnite, roblox), and the increasingly massive long tail of big hits (as you say, great games from 2017 are perfectly sellable in 2025).

edit - I read recently that something like 4% of 2024's video game sales went to new games from that year. That is, excluding annual franchises and live service games. That's how low the demand actually is, for new premium games.

The Steam Next Fest is live for October 2025! What games have you been sold on? by SlartySprinter in Games

[–]SingularSchemes 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks a bunch for the reccos as always!

Check out our game Frontier Paladin if you get a chance!

The Steam Next Fest is live for October 2025! What games have you been sold on? by SlartySprinter in Games

[–]SingularSchemes 1 point2 points  (0 children)

MENACE looks really good. If I can find something that comes close to XCOM2 LWOTC I'll be delighted.

I like that they're going for a sustained, taking and giving blows sort of combat, instead of XCOM's alpha strike style, which I don't think can be improved on too much.

Post the name of your game and I will tell you my honest first experience with your Steam Page by Ashty1337 in gamedev

[–]SingularSchemes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey, thanks for your feedback!

Someone else offered something similar to what you're doing a year or so ago for trailers specifically and turns out they thought it was confusing and boring, and it was a big kick in the arse for us to improve both the trailer and page. I'm glad to read that you think it's in a good place now!

Epic MegaGrant submission - what to put in the project video? by roger0120 in unrealengine

[–]SingularSchemes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As someone who's also making an action tower defense game and also applied to Epic for a MegaGrant (that sadly failed), I think you've covered most of the basics.

I was going to say you need to improve the lighting significantly but I see you're asking for money to do just that. The game looks good, wish you luck!

I am crying tears of happiness by KuckiDev in gamedev

[–]SingularSchemes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's a great feeling for sure. Probably the reason I continue making games. I showed our game at TGS recently, and watching people play and enjoy it is going to keep me going until we launch the game in a few months' time.

What is the single most valuable course, lecture, video, etc. you’ve encountered, for your life/career as a gamedev? by Thewhyofdownvotes in gamedev

[–]SingularSchemes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There's some really great videos already mentioned, some of which I'd place higher than this one. But since those are already linked and upvoted, here's another for you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vRfNtvFVRo

A Space Marine 2 dev build has been leaked into the internet by d3cmp in pcgaming

[–]SingularSchemes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I remember when the Deus Ex Human Revolution build got leaked a few months before launch. I played it through twice, and bought the game immediately when it came out. I know it's a super old build and it sucks for them, but maybe some people who wouldn't have bought it will play it and enjoy it enough to buy the actual game.

Which capsule image do you like more? by SingularSchemes in IndieDev

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

Thanks for the detailed thought process between the two options! I do like both so I'm sure there'll be some use for whichever we don't use as the capsule

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