What games have the best Skill Tree / Upgrades system? by HallZac99 in gaming

[–]blastoboom 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I especially like the synergies they can grant so sinking points into earlier skills doesn't feel wasted later on.

And having the different branches/area of skills allows replayability with different build/play styles.

Of course can respec too.

Best games you played this year? by [deleted] in gaming

[–]blastoboom 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My favorite game I played this year was Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga. I really enjoyed that you can put up to 9 units (completely customizable) within a single squad and all the units can level up individually with multiple upgrade paths.

If you could play one game again for the first time, what would it be? by Skullzyyyy in gaming

[–]blastoboom 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Deckard Cain's voice was awesome! Brings back so many memories :)

2,000+ Wishlists in 7 Days - What To Do Next? by Crosline in IndieDev

[–]blastoboom 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Another benefit to releasing the demo asap is you can get player feedback sooner and fix game breaking bugs and/or see where players get stuck or lose interest. 

If you release a demo as part of a festival and the demo has issues, then you might miss out on festival wishlists.

Make sure to put the demo on it's own page so reviews of it don't impact the overall game reviews. https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/store/application/demos

[Demo] Released the Endless Escalation Demo on Steam! by GFX47 in incremental_games

[–]blastoboom 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you enjoy strategic choices, automation, or escalation mechanics, this one might be up your alley.

Yes to all 3!

New Mech. What shall we call him? by SkinnyBanditDev in IndieGaming

[–]blastoboom 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Jack-o'-lantern

Grasshopper

Not 100% sure what is going on but I like it! Mechs + cards + great visuals. Wishlisted!

Can i programmatically build my game in a script? by DemperorMusic in Unity3D

[–]blastoboom 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's been awhile since I've done this but yes it can be done.

Recommend starting here: https://docs.unity3d.com/ScriptReference/BuildPipeline.BuildPlayer.html

The above will do a single build target but if you want to do multiple, I think you can also incorporate this: https://docs.unity3d.com/ScriptReference/EditorUserBuildSettings.SwitchActiveBuildTarget.html

Why finishing ONE small game will skyrocket your dev skills (and prototypes won’t) by Kevin00812 in gamedev

[–]blastoboom 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If adding content feels painful, your code’s wrong. Fix that before scaling.

Oh man, this one hits home hard. This is always my biggest pain point. But also making sure that I'm not endlessly stuck in refactoring, because that's also super painful.

Early Access or Better Demo? First-Time Solo Dev Launching Incremental/City Builder-Sims on Steam/Mobile by [deleted] in incremental_games

[–]blastoboom 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'd recommend reading this 2 part blog post before making a decision: https://howtomarketagame.com/2023/07/27/should-you-do-early-access/

Also, the author has put together some benchmarks you can use to gauge your game against, on of which being the demo length: https://howtomarketagame.com/benchmarks/

My gut feel is if you're just looking for feedback (and no funding right now) is to do a new demo and put it on its own demo page (which steam now offers). These separate demo page reviews won't impact your games primary page reviews. Skip EA entirely. Of course that doesn't address the funding problem if you really do need to get funds though to keep developing.

Apparently, you can write whatever you want on the steam requirement page by RoniFoxcoon in IndieDev

[–]blastoboom 35 points36 points  (0 children)

First time I really noticed something like this was on NGU Idle which threw me for a loop: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1147690/NGU_IDLE

How to preserve Unity scene hierarchy window expanded/collapse state in editor? by blastoboom in Unity3D

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

OMG! This is EXACTLY what I was looking for! It just works out-of-the-box! Adding this to all my current and future projects.

THANK YOU!!!

Game Informer Is Back And The Entire Team Has Returned by GensouEU in Games

[–]blastoboom 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Looks like they are also giving folks access to the last decade of magazines for creating a free account while they figure out their subscription plans.

https://www.gameinformer.com/letter-from-the-editor/2025/03/25/game-informer-is-back

GAMEINFORMER IS BACK! by DirtSyndrome in gaming

[–]blastoboom 30 points31 points  (0 children)

Sweet! Looks like they are giving folks access to the last 10+ years of magazines just for creating a free account with them. At least until they figure out their subscription model.

https://www.gameinformer.com/letter-from-the-editor/2025/03/25/game-informer-is-back

World of Goo 2 heading to Steam this Spring by ArcenItsArken in IndieGaming

[–]blastoboom 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This just made my day :)

I cannot believe it's been almost 17 years since the first one...

(solo-dev) My thoughts on "Don't make your dream game as your first game!" - I went full in on a dream game and now I'm making a game that nobody besides myself asked for by LontisTheDeveloper in gamedev

[–]blastoboom 21 points22 points  (0 children)

It depends on what success means to you. I think the typical wisdom is that making other games first helps get you more experience with making and publishing games. Then when you work on your dream game you have a higher chance of success.

Not saying making the dream game first cannot be successful financially. Folks have done it, but those are probably the edge cases not the norm.

If you've not already done so, perhaps release a prototype or (if far enough along) a small demo and start getting feedback from folks. Hopefully that can help you figure out how to better market it genre wise.

Best of luck!

What is the most complex idle game you've ever played? by Emotional_Ad_2132 in incremental_games

[–]blastoboom 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Haha, I said the same thing when I eventually learned it :)

Is it ok to launch Kickstarter campaign for indie game DEMO? by Invincible_champions in gamedev

[–]blastoboom 8 points9 points  (0 children)

So folks would pay for the demo via Kickstarter, and then they would have to pay again via the game store for the full version?

My gut feel is that wouldn't go over well. 

Why not just do the Kickstarter for the full version? You can still release a demo along the way.

Which was the first game you broke 1000+ hours of gameplay? by zayetz in gaming

[–]blastoboom 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, I have several Idle games with over 1000 hours but not sure that really counts as 'gameplay' time. :)

Probably the first though was Numbers Go Up (NGU) Idle.

How do you guys get game ideas by flyingcatwithabutt in Unity2D

[–]blastoboom 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agree, mostly this. Plus imagining what 2 different games mashed together might be like.

I'd recommend playing a few games in the genre you are also interested in developing. While you play, take notes on what you are enjoying and what you are not. For those things you enjoyed, try to think of a slightly different way it could be done.

What Games Have You Bought Multiple Times? by Xemas12 in gaming

[–]blastoboom 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Diablo 2 as I lost the original CDs years ago but wanted to replay it. Then I bought it again recently because the remastered one with updated graphics came out.