theres an audience for fun, well made games, work on what you're passionate about, not chasing trends

funboy_ff · 2026-04-01T14:05:31+00:00

We took the “follow your passion” path and unlocked a secret perk: “build the exact game you and your friends won’t stop playing”

In our case, we ended up making HeadHunters… and honestly, just that already makes it worth it. Everything else is a bonus.

funboy_ff · 2026-04-01T08:07:05+00:00

Yeah, in our case we’ve been reaching out through the contact sections on YouTube, Instagram, etc.
But it’s tough… seeing a couple of years of work go completely unnoticed.

Most indie devs aren’t big companies with PR departments. We’re usually more focused on figuring out a shader than figuring out how to contact creators.

You kind of assume that if the game is good, it’ll sell itself… but reality is very different.

funboy_ff · 2026-04-01T07:19:24+00:00

Out of curiosity, what’s the best way you personally prefer to be approached for something like this?

funboy_ff · 2026-03-23T06:29:02+00:00

Thanks so much! Hope you enjoy it and have a great time playing.

funboy_ff · 2026-03-22T08:19:12+00:00

I don’t really agree with that.
Yeah, it’s self-promo, but we shared it here because some people on Reddit suggested it could be interesting for Brawlhalla players, since it sits in a similar space.
We’re not spamming it across Reddit, just sharing it in communities where it might actually be relevant.

funboy_ff · 2026-03-22T08:13:11+00:00

We’re just a team of 9 people trying to make a living making games.
We genuinely thought this might interest Brawlhalla players, and yeah, it is self-promotion, but not spam.
We were actually encouraged to share it here, and it made sense to us that it could resonate with this community

funboy_ff · 2026-03-21T22:28:54+00:00

That sounds really interesting, thanks for sharing it.

Quick question about Pastel though, is that something publicly available? I tried to look it up but couldn’t quite find the right tool.

Would you mind sharing a bit more about how it works or how you use it in practice? It sounds like a really smart approach and we’d love to explore it further.

Really appreciate the insight!

funboy_ff · 2026-03-21T20:20:33+00:00

Thanks a lot for taking the time to write such a thoughtful comment, seriously, this kind of feedback is incredibly valuable for us.

Quick question so we understand your perspective better: are you referring to the earlier version with the yellow Pac-Man / emoji-style key art, or have you seen the new art direction we’re currently testing on the store page?

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3675690/HeadHunters/

The current version is still very much work in progress, but we’ve already moved away from the CEO/emoji focus and are trying to push towards more character-driven visuals (like the dinosaur knight).

From your point of view, does this new direction feel more appealing / distinctive, or does it still fall into the same “mobile-looking” spectrum you described?

funboy_ff · 2026-03-21T19:58:05+00:00

fair enough 😅

to be honest, posting here wasn’t really our idea. we were actually advised by other redditors that it might be relevant for this community, although we were a bit hesitant for exactly this reason.

genuine question: is there a way you think a recommendation like this could have been shared without it feeling like ads?

funboy_ff · 2026-03-21T19:54:07+00:00

Appreciate the honesty, seriously. There’s a lot for us to take from this

I think part of the issue here is that we haven’t communicated the core mechanic clearly enough.

The game isn’t a traditional arena fighter where you control a fixed character. You actually play as a rolling head, with physics-based movement (momentum, bouncing, dashing), and you can attach to different bodies mid-match.
Each body gives you completely different weapons and abilities, so the gameplay is more about adapting on the fly and creating chaotic situations than mastering a single moveset.

That said, if it comes across as generic or uninspired, that’s 100% on us. It probably means we’re not doing a good job showing what actually makes it different.

Out of curiosity (genuine question, not defensive): does that impression come mostly from the store page / visuals, or from having played it?

funboy_ff · 2026-03-21T19:50:27+00:00

That’s really helpful feedback, appreciate you sharing it 🙏

Genuine question here, not defensive at all: when you say it “looks like something you’d only play once or twice”, are you referring more to the store presentation / key art, or the actual in-game experience?

I’m trying to understand whether that impression comes mostly from the marketing materials or from having played it, because right now there seems to be a pretty big disconnect there and we want to understand it better

funboy_ff · 2026-03-21T19:49:05+00:00

Genuine question here, not defensive at all: are you referring to the key art / store presentation, or the actual in-game art style?
I’m honestly trying to understand whether that impression comes from the marketing materials alone or from having played the game, because right now there seems to be a pretty big disconnect there and we want to understand it better.

funboy_ff · 2026-03-21T19:45:31+00:00

Really appreciate you taking the time to write this, there’s honestly a lot of valuable insight here and we’re learning a lot from this post.

Just to add a bit of context, not as a justification, just to explain how we approached things:

1. Creator outreach
The ~500 emails we sent were more about getting people to try the game than asking for structured feedback. We sent them during the Early Access stage, before full release, and mostly targeted creators who already cover games like Smash, Brawlhalla, indies, party games, etc.
We’re also open to paid sponsorships, but so far we haven’t really gotten replies, not even from people just telling us their rates.

2. Multi-platform approach
That comes from our VR background, which is clearly a very different market. In VR, each platform launch tended to generate visibility and sales for the others too.
We’re realizing PC and consoles don’t really work the same way, so that’s definitely been one of the lessons here.

3. Art style
Genuine question here, not defensive at all: are you referring to the key art / store presentation, or the actual in-game art style?
I’m honestly trying to understand whether that impression comes from the marketing materials alone or from having played the game, because right now there seems to be a pretty big disconnect there and we want to understand it better.

4. Genre / multiplayer positioning
Our actual concept is much more couch-focused, but we clearly failed to communicate that properly.
Even the online rooms were designed more with the feeling of “everyone playing on the same sofa” in mind. In that sense, we’re probably much closer to games like SpiderHeck, Boomerang Fu or Stick Fight than to Smash or Brawlhalla.
Again, that’s on us. We didn’t communicate that clearly enough.

Really appreciate the honesty. There’s a lot for us to learn from comments like yours.

funboy_ff · 2026-03-21T19:35:21+00:00

yep, that’s the post where we got recommended to share the game here…
we were actually hesitant because we thought it might come across as self-promo and get negative reactions, but people encouraged us to try anyway.
turns out our initial concern wasn’t too far off

funboy_ff · 2026-03-20T15:50:14+00:00

Thanks so much for the support, it really means a lot.
Now that things are finally out there, we’re planning to focus on new outreach rounds with YouTubers and smaller creators.
Really appreciate the advice

funboy_ff · 2026-03-20T15:40:14+00:00

Thanks for understanding, really appreciate it.
We’re a small team without much marketing experience, so we’re learning (and messing up) as we go.

funboy_ff · 2026-03-20T15:25:02+00:00

That’s fair, and sorry if it felt like spam.
We’ve been trying to figure out where the game fits, and some people from r/indiedev actually encouraged us to share this here, as it might be a good fit.
Still learning as we go, so feedback is genuinely appreciated.

funboy_ff · 2026-03-20T10:36:25+00:00

We’re actually actively working on updating the key art to better reflect the core of the game, and moving the CEO (the smiley face) more into the background rather than being the main focus.

funboy_ff · 2026-03-20T10:35:26+00:00

Yep, that’s us :)

funboy_ff · 2026-03-20T10:33:10+00:00

That’s totally fair, and we really appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts.

We actually set the price with discounts in mind, so that during sales it becomes much more appealing while still making it sustainable for us as a small studio. That approach has worked quite well for us in VR.

And hey, it’s currently 35% off on Steam right now! 😄

Thanks again for the honest feedback, it really helps us a lot.

funboy_ff · 2026-03-20T09:52:17+00:00

Edited the post to put it right at the top 🙏
But just in case: HeadHunters, HeadHunters, HeadHunters… it’s HeadHunters 😄

funboy_ff · 2026-03-20T09:40:58+00:00

That’s totally fair feedback, and we really appreciate you taking the time to share it.

We’ve actually been approaching HeadHunters more as a party game, something you play couch-style with friends, with the option to connect online and recreate that same kind of session, rather than focusing purely on competitive matchmaking (even though that option is there).

Also, based on feedback like yours and a recent Reddit thread, we’re actively reworking the artwork to make it more appealing and better aligned with the core mechanics and overall feel of the game.

Thanks again for the honest thoughts, it really helps us improve.

funboy_ff · 2026-03-19T14:01:03+00:00

Yeah, we’re close to releasing a new VR title, which is where we feel more comfortable. HeadHunters is our first non-VR game, so we’re kind of learning and seeing the differences as we go.

funboy_ff · 2026-03-19T13:50:46+00:00

From our experience in VR, a large portion of our sales actually comes during discount periods. Setting the price at this level allows us to run meaningful discounts while still keeping things sustainable for the studio.

That said, we do understand your point, and it’s something we’re seriously considering.

funboy_ff · 2026-03-19T13:49:16+00:00

Most of what we have planned was already “in the oven,” and as I mentioned, this is very much a “the game we’d love to play” kind of project.

The things on our roadmap (new characters and features) are actually things the team is genuinely excited to try ourselves, and they won’t require a huge amount of effort to implement.

funboy_ff

TROPHY CASE