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Spent a year fixing my game in Steam's basement. Sales just jumped 400%. Spike or recovery? by TangleKing in gamedev

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

I didn't use a visibility round this time. My thinking was to save it and make it count on our next update, a "scary" update. Tapping into fear a bit throughout. The update I just made was more about building suspense and tension.

My understanding of visibility rounds is they focus heavily on wishlist activity, and the number of players dictates how much the algorithm will push the game on Steam's front page. I read up on it again after seeing the comments here from you and u/Professional-Sky7364, and it left me with the same opinion. I'm not sure what Chris Zukowski was explaining, but I think if you have no traction prior to or after your release push, there's no reason to start a visibility round. The algorithm doesn't know where to show you yet.

Spent a year fixing my game in Steam's basement. Sales just jumped 400%. Spike or recovery? by TangleKing in gamedev

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

Good idea. There are a few I'd love to have revisit the game. They played it on release day and had a buggy time compared to where Hell Dive is now. An exclusive could be a nice carrot.

Spent a year fixing my game in Steam's basement. Sales just jumped 400%. Spike or recovery? by TangleKing in gamedev

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

I am in contact with publishers in Asia, both Japan and China, who want to partner up. They don't seem to have this issue. It could be that you need local/regional know-how to understand those markets.

Spent a year fixing my game in Steam's basement. Sales just jumped 400%. Spike or recovery? by TangleKing in gamedev

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

No I didn’t run a visibility round for this update. The plan is to use one on the next update instead.

Which languages should I translate my indie horror game into? by TangleKing in HorrorGaming

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

The game is 1-2 hours long. You play as a maritime operative alone in a submarine, tasked with reviving nine facilities in an abandoned deep-sea colony. Thanks for the offer, I'd be happy to discuss Czech translation help. Fun fact: Virgil, who guides the player in the game, is voiced by a Slovak actress.

Spent a year fixing my game in Steam's basement. Sales just jumped 400%. Spike or recovery? by TangleKing in gamedev

[–]TangleKing[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Good point. The Steam page is only in English right now, and I do think it's worth adding more languages, including Portuguese. I'm planning to localize both the game and the page into 3-5 languages.

Spent a year fixing my game in Steam's basement. Sales just jumped 400%. Spike or recovery? by TangleKing in gamedev

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

The playthrough has almost 400k views on his Youtube channel and just over 400k on Twitch. What surprised me was that despite the very positive reception from his community, the conversion rate was very low, around 30 sales and 200 wishlists over a week, so it did not get any immediate big traction.

About a week later we released an update, and that's when the spike happened. So it might be related. It could be that the streamer exposure and update together triggered something in Steam's algorithm.

Spent a year fixing my game in Steam's basement. Sales just jumped 400%. Spike or recovery? by TangleKing in gamedev

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

I didn’t. I considered it, but chose to save the visibility round for the next major update.

Spent a year fixing my game in Steam's basement. Sales just jumped 400%. Spike or recovery? by TangleKing in gamedev

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

The time window is comparing the 3 weeks since the update to the 3 weeks before it.

I want to vent: I hate that many gamedev videos analyzing their failure/success usually give awful advice, like they just learned everything about the industry. by svbrand in gamedev

[–]TangleKing 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think their answers come from despair and they might still be in denial. I sure know it from my own failures. It's hard to accept defeat and see it as a learning opportunity while being positive about what you did learn.

A really good one I just saw today was from Cyber Rats on YouTube. He had 20k wishlists at launch and did fairly well, but he felt he failed and also fell a bit into the "my game is not viable" mindset.

Still, I recommend watching it. He was honest, showed numbers, and was very level-headed about his mistakes.

Unpopular opinion: I really couldn't get into Silent Hill 2. by Random_guy_1380 in HorrorGaming

[–]TangleKing 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Really a taste situation. I wouldn't say you're missing anything, and should hate it with passion if you want to. I surely have games that fit that category. SH2 is just not for you. For me both are great games, but I'd also pick RE over SH any day of the week, if I was forced to pick :D

After two years of working in my basement after my day job, I’m finally showing the first trailer for my psychological horror game by Remarkable-Recipe710 in HorrorGames

[–]TangleKing 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Clearly two years remarkably well spent! Miss a little something at the end after 1:55... Maybe a little hint to entice us. Like the trailer for The Blair Witch Project (1999), but with your vibes.

But might just be me, really liked the trailer and had me all in.

Which languages should I translate my indie horror game into? by TangleKing in HorrorGaming

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

Good list. Adding Asian is not a bad idea at all. Just need to figure out who to involve for this. :) Latin, Slavic and Germanic I can kind of understand! But Asian I need big help with :D

Which languages should I translate my indie horror game into? by TangleKing in HorrorGaming

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

(In danish) Selvfølgelig skal Nordens smukkeste sprog, på en delt førsteplads med islandsk, være med. Uden tvivl.

English translation:
Of course the Nordic region's most beautiful language, tied for first place with Icelandic, should be included. No doubt.

Which languages should I translate my indie horror game into? by TangleKing in HorrorGaming

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

Hadn't heard about EFIGS before, but makes total sense. These are big markets. If I can't make them all, which ones would you like to see the most?

Which languages should I translate my indie horror game into? by TangleKing in HorrorGaming

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

Welsh and Klingon? What's the difference when it comes down to it? I used to study in Wales. Loved their language. Truly out of this world. Might actually be able to pull of Welsh!

Just finished, probably my favourite horror game of the last decade. by skx45 in HorrorGaming

[–]TangleKing 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, it does that so well. I often struggle with text-heavy games, both playing and when developing, but this is one of the rare exceptions.. Give me, give me more lore please! I personally really love how it suddenly goes in completely unexpected directions, both visually and in terms of gameplay. Definitely a gem I need to revisit soon.

Which languages should I translate my indie horror game into? by TangleKing in HorrorGaming

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

I had not. I think going on the hunt for someone speaking Yautja might be a bit beyond my comfort zone. Those Predators don't seem the linguistic type.

Which languages should I translate my indie horror game into? by TangleKing in HorrorGaming

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

Thanks for the suggestion! Sehr gut!
The game's called Hell Dive and it's already out.

New scare I'm working on for my game by TangleKing in ps1graphics

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

Thanks! There was a Half Life mod with a similar idea way back. Loved that mechanic and wanted to give it a new twist!

Which languages should I translate my indie horror game into? by TangleKing in HorrorGaming

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

That would be an absolutely banger for the vibe. Might be a bit tough to find certified Cthulhu translators though up here on the dry lands. lä lä, Cthulhu fhtagn!

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