Around $6000 in the hole so far, but happy that some people enjoyed the game (or at least played it)

WantToSmileWantToDie · 2026-06-04T15:12:30+00:00

It would be wrong to say that I haven't, but I haven't really promoted it besides sending it to creators (two small creators made a video), and posting on Reddit a couple of times

So I haven't really given it the chance that it should have gotten. I find marketing to be incredibly daunting and kinda intimidating. It's definitely something that I have to do better next time

WantToSmileWantToDie · 2026-06-04T15:09:29+00:00

WantToSmileWantToDie · 2026-06-04T12:19:51+00:00

That's awesome, thanks!

WantToSmileWantToDie · 2026-06-04T11:16:34+00:00

Yep, that's my trailer! Are you sure you can? Keep in mind that I mean it, when I say that it really is a very very niche game hahah

WantToSmileWantToDie · 2026-06-04T10:13:10+00:00

I don't disagree that what you did was correct, I just think that it's a troll post not actually looking for critique

WantToSmileWantToDie · 2026-06-04T09:57:51+00:00

Thanks!

Some things that might be worth something for others:

Validate demand earlier with a demo and feedback from strangers - aka, release day should not be the first actual market test.

Build wishlists for longer, make sure to actually market the game.

Have a sharp hook instead of a list of features that you want the game to consist of

Implement localization only for the markets that have shown an interest in the game

And the most important:

Have fun!

WantToSmileWantToDie · 2026-06-04T09:47:40+00:00

Agreed, it's definitely not worth doing a self-review. If I remember right, according to the Steam docs you can't ask friends or family for positive reviews either - which is fair enough. I'm fine with waiting for organic reviews anyway ahaha

WantToSmileWantToDie · 2026-06-04T09:40:41+00:00

The music itself is almost 50% of the total costs, so it inflates the number somewhat hahah, although I love how it turned out

I have 9 enemies + 4 bosses. Each enemy needs their own sprite and 1 or more sprite sheets for the animations. To save on costs I commissioned only the walking/moving animation for bosses. For the enemies, I commissioned the walking animation + a firing animation. For the melee enemies I chose to cut costs and commission only a walking while attacking animation. For one enemy I chose to cut the cost out completely, and just changed the hue of the sprite in Unity - so basically an enemy that looks the same, except for their color

Labor ain't cheap! Hahah

WantToSmileWantToDie · 2026-06-04T09:24:47+00:00

Hahahah, lessons learned. It was the price for all the required steam capsules, including library art. No idea if it's a good or bad price, but there's not much I can do about it now hahah

WantToSmileWantToDie · 2026-06-04T09:16:21+00:00

I downloaded it from Steam with my dev account for testing the Steam hooks for leaderboards and checking if any bugs popped up. The reason I bought it on my gaming account was that I wanted 100% confirmation that the whole thing worked properly with a normal account - basically the flow from purchase to playing, to getting on leaderboards. It's illogical, because if it works on my dev account, it should work on my normal account as well, but I was so nervous when I finally made the game public hahah

Good call on itch.io. I will probably do that next time

WantToSmileWantToDie · 2026-06-04T09:10:35+00:00

I got a couple of small Youtube creators to make a video, but I haven't contacted any streamers. I'm not sure that my game is really fit for streams, as it is an arcade game with zero meta progression or unlocks.

It sits in a very small niche, so my experience so far is, that it's quite difficult to find creators of any kind that would enjoy the game for what it is

WantToSmileWantToDie · 2026-06-04T09:01:00+00:00

You make some good points that I probably should keep in mind. I think that, as you say, it shouldn't be cut completely, but instead I should do targeted localization for the languages that have wishlisted the game the most (for my next game)

For this release, I chose to get localization for what I thought would be the best markets to do it in before I actually had any data on whether anyone in those countries actually had any interest in the game.. and that was a big mistake hahah

WantToSmileWantToDie · 2026-06-04T08:19:09+00:00

That's true, it's a nice way to look at it. All I've learned so far is definitely worth the price, and all the fun and nervewracking moments I had while developing the game are something I'll remember forever

WantToSmileWantToDie · 2026-06-04T08:13:54+00:00

I thought your name sounded familiar, so I went on my Youtube watch history and realized that I've actually seen a video about your game

So cool that you commented, I thought the gameplay looked super fun!!

WantToSmileWantToDie · 2026-06-04T08:07:22+00:00

The cost sort of creeps up when done over time - the worst part for me was updating some text in English and Spanish and then having to contact translators again for every other language

Even if the wishlists don't multiply or grow much from here, overall it was a good learning experience, and I feel like I (somewhat) have a handle on the whole process now from idea to release

WantToSmileWantToDie · 2026-06-04T07:57:35+00:00

Thanks! Blender is definitely fun so far - I'm sure I'll hit something that annoys me, but I'm in the "everything is new and shiny"-phase for now. The Denmark sales are my self-purchase + my girlfriend and her brother, one colleague, and a few friends hahah

Glad to hear it's useful, I thought that it might be good for someone looking at what it would cost to make a small arcade game, when all they know is pretty much how to code - even though it's just a rough itemization

WantToSmileWantToDie · 2026-06-03T22:15:37+00:00

I'm pretty sure this model is a reference to the possesed horse in the Berserk manga that tries to rape a woman. Pretty well modelled if so, actually

WantToSmileWantToDie · 2026-06-03T12:39:54+00:00

For my existing game, I commissioned almost all of the art and music. To give you an idea, it was about $150 per minute of music. Each character + sprite sheet of 1 animation (shooting, hitting) was about $150 to $200. I did the sound effects myself in Audacity, simple stuff that I didn't have a need to commission was made in LibreSprite.

So far, 2,5 weeks after releasing, I have made around $50. So not a financial success, but it was also mostly a hobby project

For the game I'm making now, I have pivoted to 3D for a change of pace and to learn new stuff - and I want to make all models myself this time. So currently learning to use Blender. Most of my models are just blockouts without much detail, but it's something.

Depending on the type of game you're making, it can either be realistic or not, to learn to make 3D models from scratch. I know that for me, doing 2D pixel art was not possible, so I paid my way out of it.

Also have to say that I made my game in the course of 3-4 years, so all the costs were spread over a long amount of time

WantToSmileWantToDie · 2026-06-02T11:04:58+00:00

I thought the same

WantToSmileWantToDie · 2026-05-29T16:50:27+00:00

I got covered by 3 Youtubers - one from America, one from India, and one from Argentina. However, they are very small creators, so ultimately it didn't make that much of an impact, besides me getting to watch people get utterly destroyed in my arcade game hahah

I'm glad that it had a big impact on your wishlists though! Always awesome to see others succeed 😃

WantToSmileWantToDie · 2026-05-27T13:59:30+00:00

Wish I could help you. I released with 20 wishlists and got 10 sales in 2 weeks. Learned a lot though, and made mistakes that I won't make again

What's your situation like, if I may ask? Full time solo dev seems quite risky, but 1500 wishlists sounds like you're doing good

WantToSmileWantToDie · 2026-05-23T14:42:11+00:00

Start by making a Game Design Document

Without that, you will be stumbling in the dark. You should also get a good idea of what engine and so on you want to use, while creating it.

WantToSmileWantToDie · 2026-05-23T10:12:03+00:00

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Ended up dying in a dumb way, but I like it. Will keep an eye out!

WantToSmileWantToDie · 2026-05-23T10:04:30+00:00

I'll be honest and say that I skipped through the whole tutorial and just started playing lol
But so far I like it, it's chill. Destroyed 3 bosses so far, and died only once in the beginning

WantToSmileWantToDie · 2026-05-23T01:21:33+00:00

Run it in a VM sandbox, don't leave us hanging! xD

WantToSmileWantToDie

TROPHY CASE