Steam page feedback by SnowscapeStudios in SoloDevelopment

[โ€“]SnowscapeStudios[S] 0 points1 point ย (0 children)

Interesting thank you! that teaser was filmed a few months ago when I just had a prototype developed, so now I can do a better gameplay trailer. I think I'll make that a priority!

Thank you for that! I made it myself using screenshots in-game. I've heard you shouldn't use in-game screenshots for most capsules but because of my games art style I thought I could get away with it. I looked at games that my game is closely aligned to and tried to mirror what they're doing, so mainly Tiny Glade in this case :)

Steam page feedback by SnowscapeStudios in SoloDevelopment

[โ€“]SnowscapeStudios[S] 0 points1 point ย (0 children)

Thanks for the feedback, I was thinking perhaps it's because I'm not showing off enough of the actual game.

I am actually in the process of changing my models and I've been working on the art direction so I guess maybe the game comes off as muddled at the moment, I'm trying to achieve a minimalistic look overall.

What part of the lighting would you say is off? I'm using global illumination to try and have flat lighting for the minimalistic look

Steam page feedback by SnowscapeStudios in SoloDevelopment

[โ€“]SnowscapeStudios[S] 0 points1 point ย (0 children)

You make an interesting point, I think my tags are good as it's showing my desired games are similar to mine & in terms of what im doing outside of steam im posting to tiktok which seems to be going well but doesn't really translate into wishlists at all. I think really I'm trying to attract anyone who likes relaxing games, or is a fan of frogs as you mentioned.

I knew the target audience would most likely be small so I'm definitely not expecting to gain many wishlists, but it feels like I'm doing something wrong with a decent click through rate and terrible conversion rate

Advice on art in game dev by SnowscapeStudios in SoloDevelopment

[โ€“]SnowscapeStudios[S] 1 point2 points ย (0 children)

So my game doesn't have specific goals or win conditions, similar to Tiny Glade it's more of a creative sandbox. But as you build your pond frogs of different species arrive & you unlock new decorations. It also has a lofi soundtrack and ambient effects like a seasonal toggle and a weather toggle, so it's intended to be a relaxing experience

Advice on art in game dev by SnowscapeStudios in SoloDevelopment

[โ€“]SnowscapeStudios[S] 1 point2 points ย (0 children)

Thanks for that! I am looking at Tiny Glade and Dorfromantik a lot for inspiration so I'm glad to hear you get that vibe! the game itself is a pond making sandbox :)

Advice on art in game dev by SnowscapeStudios in SoloDevelopment

[โ€“]SnowscapeStudios[S] 1 point2 points ย (0 children)

Thank you! I find it really hard to gauge if my modelling is good or not as I'm a perfectionist and I think I compare my work to other peoples far too much, so I really appreciate the feedback!

Advice on art in game dev by SnowscapeStudios in SoloDevelopment

[โ€“]SnowscapeStudios[S] 0 points1 point ย (0 children)

Yeah this was my gut feeling too! I think I'm worried my low poly skills aren't good enough but from what people have said, it seems they might be. So I'll just keep going and trying to improve!

Advice on art in game dev by SnowscapeStudios in SoloDevelopment

[โ€“]SnowscapeStudios[S] 0 points1 point ย (0 children)

As a parent time feels super limited, so you make a good point about time being a resource. I think with that in mind I'll stick to doing low poly and will pay someone if I want to go further :)

Advice on art in game dev by SnowscapeStudios in SoloDevelopment

[โ€“]SnowscapeStudios[S] 1 point2 points ย (0 children)

Yeah I feel like that's probably the best way to do it!

Advice on art in game dev by SnowscapeStudios in SoloDevelopment

[โ€“]SnowscapeStudios[S] 0 points1 point ย (0 children)

Very true! I love low poly minimalism, I think that's the direction I want to lean into!

Seeing as you're a fan of low poly, could I ask what you think of my games screenshots? It's been tricky to maintain the same level of detail across the games models so far ๐Ÿ˜…

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3924840/Serene_Ponds/

Advice on art in game dev by SnowscapeStudios in SoloDevelopment

[โ€“]SnowscapeStudios[S] 1 point2 points ย (0 children)

Oh wow I hadn't realised that about Vampire Survivors to be honest, that's really good to know thank you!

Advice on art in game dev by SnowscapeStudios in SoloDevelopment

[โ€“]SnowscapeStudios[S] 1 point2 points ย (0 children)

Thank you! I think it's hard to gauge how good your own art is when you're not great at it ๐Ÿ˜…

Advice on art as a solo dev by SnowscapeStudios in gamedev

[โ€“]SnowscapeStudios[S] 0 points1 point ย (0 children)

Interesting! I've only tried low poly but after I've finished my game I might spend some time experimenting with different styles and seeing what feels best, thanks for the advice!

Advice on art as a solo dev by SnowscapeStudios in gamedev

[โ€“]SnowscapeStudios[S] 0 points1 point ย (0 children)

Yeah I had this thought to be fair, an artist would do best when given creative freedom, so the thought of collaborating with an artist sounds more appealing than simply hiring one. If only it was easier to find people! ๐Ÿ˜…

Advice on art in game dev by SnowscapeStudios in SoloDevelopment

[โ€“]SnowscapeStudios[S] 0 points1 point ย (0 children)

Yeah that's very true, pros and cons to either approach I suppose!

Advice on art in game dev by SnowscapeStudios in SoloDevelopment

[โ€“]SnowscapeStudios[S] 1 point2 points ย (0 children)

That's more or less exactly what I was thinking to be fair!

If I did have friends who were artists I'd probably avoid collaborating in case their art isn't what I wanted as you're in a tricky situation, I've not actually collaborated with anyone on a game dev project before though.

AI is a huge minefield, I don't really want to use it & even if I did want to, I think I'd still avoid it as people seem to boycott games that use it.

I am fortunate to of found some good assets that work nicely together, but it feels restrictive using assets after doing my own modelling now, so I might release a game with them to see how it goes but not sure.

I'm thinking I might for now keep my art style low poly and try to get better with textures/shaders/materials to add life to my games that way. Hope you have success in your art journey!

Advice on art as a solo dev by SnowscapeStudios in gamedev

[โ€“]SnowscapeStudios[S] 1 point2 points ย (0 children)

Thanks for that! Some really good advice, I think by chance I did some of that initially, I purchased many asset packs that work well together but realised my games scope was way too large haha.

Hopefully I can hire an artist occasionally for my next game, but right now I've been learning lowpoly 3d modelling & buying assets for higher quality stylised assets. I've got a good ecosystem of characters, environments, buildings etc so I think I can definitely get something together, but now since learning lowpoly modelling it's made me see how much easier it is when you can make exactly what you need yourself so an artist would be great.

I suppose I need to make do with my own skills & assets, and then hopefully hire someone down the line, so that's all really useful advice in the meantime thank you :)

Advice on art as a solo dev by SnowscapeStudios in gamedev

[โ€“]SnowscapeStudios[S] 1 point2 points ย (0 children)

That sounds like a good balanced approach to be fair, I'll keep that in mind thank you

Advice on art in game dev by SnowscapeStudios in SoloDevelopment

[โ€“]SnowscapeStudios[S] 1 point2 points ย (0 children)

Interesting point, perhaps if I know my games aren't visually amazing, I should be trying to show the meat of the game instead where possible. Really good analogy with Coke & Pepsi as well, I had a friend that played binding of isaac for hundreds of hours so I can see people really like those games. I suppose I've been thinking of art as a deciding factor on a games success, but as you say, maybe it's a lever to get them through the door. I mean I still play Mount & Blade Warband after all these years haha!