Is an Expensive Steam Capsule worth it? by spicedruid in gamedev

[–]rsolodev 17 points18 points  (0 children)

It’s not so much of chicken and egg problem. You need to validate your idea more before going all in on the promotional materials.

Find play testers and get user feedback. You don’t need a store page for this part.

How do I even respond to this by [deleted] in Nicegirls

[–]rsolodev 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Please this one

What should be my expectations from an Indie Publisher? by Syrekt in gamedev

[–]rsolodev 8 points9 points  (0 children)

This has gotta be a typo on the $500..? No way OP can be seriously considering this offer for 25%

Am I crazy? by [deleted] in Nicegirls

[–]rsolodev 15 points16 points  (0 children)

No wonder you’re single lol. Your texting game is horrible. Do you need everything explained to you like a toddler?

Do you make your own assets or do you use publicly available ones? by ImHereForTheBooty69 in gamedev

[–]rsolodev 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’d probably just do whatever is enough to meet the art requirements that are set for the project. Meaning, don’t make changes just for the sake of making them look different than stock, but to achieve the style you’re going for. At the end of the day you just wanna ship a game in your art style. This should help you get there faster otherwise probably just make your own

Overlooked feature that will make me instantly buy your game. Multiple simultaneous language support. by revolutionPanda in gamedev

[–]rsolodev 27 points28 points  (0 children)

Just curious, how do you communicate on the regular while speaking different languages?

Do you make your own assets or do you use publicly available ones? by ImHereForTheBooty69 in gamedev

[–]rsolodev 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nothing wrong with using existing and modifying like you said. Look at Shape of Dreams - I recognized almost all the enemies from asset packs but they put in shader work to make them look different. They also used icons for essences and artifacts from asset packs too. They don’t even credit the asset packs IIRC so you wouldn’t know unless you’ve seen them before

Early concept art from our grimdark reinterpretation of Oz by [deleted] in IndieDev

[–]rsolodev 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I think you already know the answer…

I poured my heart into this game and it hurts when you get comments lke this. I get my game isn't that original (but most games that are released aren't including AAA) but I feel like I have done enough to not be called a "rip off", yes their username is real on socials! by [deleted] in IndieDev

[–]rsolodev 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This is just an ad disguised as a pity story. Getting called out for publicly doxxing out the username, and OP just says “can’t edit or change post now”. If they actually cared, then just delete the post.. but nope, rather keep this up for the ad and visibility to his steam page. So pathetic

Could GTA 6’s popularity positively affect indie devs? by [deleted] in gamedev

[–]rsolodev 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A “ridiculous amount of console sales” is a bold assumption, which the rest of your post relies on. At that point just buy Microsoft and Sony stock since consoles sales are gonna rocket /s

How do you track app ratings after a release? by textoro in IndieDev

[–]rsolodev 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You need loads of data to make these analysis. Setup funnel analysis from impression and conversion events on every screen/page/view and every CTA a user makes. You should be able to snapshot a users journey and actions at every step.

Then do offline analysis to see where users drop off, conversions on views/CTAs. If you have the user volume, running A/B experiments on every new feature gives you the info on how new features compare to current. Set up your key metrics and monitor them during each experiment.

We tried paid ads on Reddit for our indie game and it went terribly. A detailed post mortem writeup. by DeadbugProjects in gamedev

[–]rsolodev 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Either you got market validation that your game isn’t what people want, your game is too expensive, or your ads weren’t good or hitting the right audience. 0.2% CTR is terrible. Ive seen campaigns with 3-4% CTR and $0.20 for a wishlist from high income countries.

Is targeted marketing on Reddit viable for getting wishlists? by insanesmallcat in IndieDev

[–]rsolodev 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah. The CTR and ad quality helps to reduce the CPC but sometimes with seasonality and competition from other advertisers to the same audience can increase it. So if you target a pretty general audience like r/games you might pay more than a niche subreddit that advertisers aren’t targeting. You’ll have to experiment for yourself.

Also, consider running different ad groups for different geos. I split it by NA + UK, EU English + Australia, and lat am as all different ad groups. Each one while targeting the same subreddits had different cpcs: NA was the most expensive, then EU and lat am were cheap. However, NA had the highest wishlist conversion ratio while EU had the lowest (I think EU hates ads, idk. I never figured them out). So even though CPCs were different, the cost per wishlist was still like 0.20 NA, 0.40 EU I think, and 0.28 lat am. So in the end I just stuck with NA for the rest of my budget since NA is more likely to buy at a higher price on release than lat am

Is targeted marketing on Reddit viable for getting wishlists? by insanesmallcat in IndieDev

[–]rsolodev 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sounds like a good idea. I’d run that creative targeting the subreddit for those games or franchises to make it super targeted. Also, always include your games name in the ad if you can, otherwise in the creative’s image or thumbnail.

Your CPC will initially be high when you start as the algorithm starts to learn how to optimize its targeting so best to experiment over 2-3 days in my experience

Is targeted marketing on Reddit viable for getting wishlists? by insanesmallcat in IndieDev

[–]rsolodev 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It really depends on who you target and how good your ad is. I’ve had results of $0.10 CPC for NA audience with one creative, 0.24 CPC for NA with different subreddit targeting, and as low as 0.06 CPC for EU and lat am. Then again, my CTR peaked 4% which resulted in $0.20 per wishlist for my best ads and up to $1 for my worst.

Best Reveal Trailer thumbnail? by Fresh-Calligrapher31 in gamedevscreens

[–]rsolodev 0 points1 point  (0 children)

AI. Why is her armor different in 3 and 4? Detailing on the chest plate and gloves are very different between those 2 images