Important Tip #1: Don't make games for codexers.

[NoMoneyNoFameNoDame]

redacted out of shame.

 

[Nathaniel3W]

I missed out on a Prosper nugget of wisdom. If Prosper deleted it from shame, I can only imagine what a gem it must have been.

 

[Vic]

it was something like you're not real RPG enjoyers if you don't buy and enjoy Redaxium now

 

[Gandalf]

Important Tip #1: Don't make games for codexers.
Important Tip #2: Make game you will enjoy yourself.
Important Tip #3: Look at your game if it was made by your biggest enemy and criticize the game.
Important Tip #4: Make your game better according to the critique made by being guided by Important Tip #3
Important Tip #5: Repeat Important Tips from #1 to #5 until you're 120% happy with your game.

 

[Vic]

Important Tip #2: Make game you will enjoy yourself.

what if you're a weirdo that enjoys weird games? are you stuck forever making games for like 10 people?

 

[Gandalf]

Important Tip #2: Make game you will enjoy yourself.

what if you're a weirdo that enjoys weird games? are you stuck forever making games for like 10 people?

This is a an excellent, excellent point, Vic. I think that if one is a weirdo the case you described is possible. One would have to wonder whether such a weirdo is even capable of producing a game that would attract a wider audience. I suppose it is possible, under certain conditions. However, I assume that these conditions depend on the individual characteristics of such a weirdo. And what do you think about it? Perhaps you would have some ideas?

 

[Vic]

Important Tip #2: Make game you will enjoy yourself.

what if you're a weirdo that enjoys weird games? are you stuck forever making games for like 10 people?

This is a an excellent, excellent point, Vic. I think that if one is a weirdo the case you described is possible. One would have to wonder whether such a weirdo is even capable of producing a game that would attract a wider audience. I suppose it is possible, under certain conditions. However, I assume that these conditions depend on the individual characteristics of such a weirdo. And what do you think about it? Perhaps you would have some ideas?

I think there might be a lot of artists creating things that they themselves like, but go largely unnoticed because it's some obscure stuff. Maybe it's the lucky ones who can have both personal satisfaction of making something they enjoy and commercial success? Or maybe they just suck and are in love with their shitty product.

 

[Gandalf]

Important Tip #2: Make game you will enjoy yourself.

what if you're a weirdo that enjoys weird games? are you stuck forever making games for like 10 people?

This is a an excellent, excellent point, Vic. I think that if one is a weirdo the case you described is possible. One would have to wonder whether such a weirdo is even capable of producing a game that would attract a wider audience. I suppose it is possible, under certain conditions. However, I assume that these conditions depend on the individual characteristics of such a weirdo. And what do you think about it? Perhaps you would have some ideas?

I think there might be a lot of artists creating things that they themselves like, but go largely unnoticed because it's some obscure stuff. Maybe it's the lucky ones who can have both personal satisfaction of making something they enjoy and commercial success? Or maybe they just suck and are in love with their shitty product.

So, how to tackle bad luck aside from working hard like a mule or smart like a someone smart? Is some kind of compromise must to be made? What else? To be able to make sure a good amount of propaganda is being deployed on unsuspecting gamers and their families?

 

[Nathaniel3W]

A small quirky indie game targeted at a niche audience is going to rely almost entirely on luck in order to become a commercial success even if the game is very well done.

A game built on market research, targeted to a broad audience, with support from so-called influencers and creators, relies a lot less on luck even if the game sucks.

 

[Halfling Rodeo]

Important Tip #2: Make game you will enjoy yourself.

what if you're a weirdo that enjoys weird games? are you stuck forever making games for like 10 people?

This is a an excellent, excellent point, Vic. I think that if one is a weirdo the case you described is possible. One would have to wonder whether such a weirdo is even capable of producing a game that would attract a wider audience. I suppose it is possible, under certain conditions. However, I assume that these conditions depend on the individual characteristics of such a weirdo. And what do you think about it? Perhaps you would have some ideas?

These days there's plenty of youtubers and streamers looking for weird as fuck things to react to. A niche title that's weird enough will get attention if you whore it around.

A small quirky indie game targeted at a niche audience is going to rely almost entirely on luck in order to become a commercial success even if the game is very well done.

It only relies on luck as much as you want to put effort in. You won't get Bethesda's bullshit machine and marketing budget but you can contact every youtuber you can find and even related medium size websites and most will respond or feature your stuff. Get involved in forums, social media groups related to your topic and game dev communities and post regularly. As much as I hate Reddit if I was doing serious indie game dev you can bet I'd pretend to be one of those cock suckers and take 2 minutes a day to reply to some inane post with basic game dev help. Between 4chan, reddit, facebook and possibly twitter you can easily start a grass roots interest in your game. There's probably ways to game Discord but I don't know much about that so I don't know. Remember Minecraft came out of /v/ and took off when 4chan users started to stream it on very early streaming sites. You need to be lucky to get any success at all, but there's still paths to an indie dev open. Keep throwing shit at the wall until it sticks, then other e celebs will lick it off the wall for more content in their desperate treadmill to stay relevant by copying each other.

 

[Gandalf]

A small quirky indie game targeted at a niche audience is going to rely almost entirely on luck in order to become a commercial success even if the game is very well done.

A game built on market research, targeted to a broad audience, with support from so-called influencers and creators, relies a lot less on luck even if the game sucks.

You've explained it very well Nathaniel3W. It appears that game business is a game itself!


So, this makes me thinking.
It appears that the important tips I've created, perhaps only apply when someone wants to make a game and be happy and happy play it later and doesn't care about the commercial success™:

Important Tip #1: Don't make games for codexers.
Important Tip #2: Make game you will enjoy yourself.
Important Tip #3: Look at your game if it was made by your biggest enemy and criticize the game.
Important Tip #4: Make your game better according to the critique made by being guided by Important Tip #3
Important Tip #5: Repeat Important Tips from #1 to #5 until you're 120% happy with your game.

Keep throwing shit at the wall until it sticks, then other e celebs will lick it off the wall for more content in their desperate treadmill to stay relevant by copying each other.

This is the reason why a part of me would love Prosper to continue the developement of Redaxium 2 for at least 10 more years.

 

[Viata]

Important Tip #2: Make game you will enjoy yourself.

what if you're a weirdo that enjoys weird games? are you stuck forever making games for like 10 people?

Then you have to wonder if you want to make games that sells a lot or not.

 

[Vic]

Get involved in forums, social media groups related to your topic and game dev communities and post regularly.

if your game isn't fun nobody will care, if you haven't noticed, that's what prosper has been doing all this time

Minecraft wouldn't have blown up if it didn't capture lightning in a bottle like it did, nothing about cringe social media campaigns like you're describing

 

[Viata]

Notch used to post on 4chan's /v/, though. Recommending his game and talking about the dev part of it, what he is going to include, etc.

 

[Vic]

Then you have to wonder if you want to make games that sells a lot or not.

ah so easy, just decide to make a game that sells a lot

 

[Vic]

Notch used to post on 4chan's /v/, though. Recommending his game and talking about the dev part of it, what he is going to include, etc.

minecraft has insane mass appeal, that's completely different from a weird indie developer making weird indie games

 

[Viata]

Then you have to wonder if you want to make games that sells a lot or not.

ah so easy, just decide to make a game that sells a lot

Not that. If the game you make only appeal 10 people, then you have to wonder if you want to keep making this kind of game or you don't care since it's the game you want to play.

 

[Vic]

that is the question

if you make a game for a different target audience than yourself, can it still be good, or have "soul"

 

[Viata]

No "soul" if the target audience is not yourself. If you are making something you yourself don't want to play, then how can it have "soul"? Most people have a diverse taste in video game genres, so it's not like most people are only able to make the same kind of weird game. Assuming you are not Prosper, of course.

 

[vitellus]

are you making a game for art or money?

if it's the former, you focus test your ideas, find the common denominators and build up from there with massive playtesting across a large sampling of random people, from your grandma to your kid, to fine tune it so that a larger amount of people will buy it.

if it's the latter, you end up a Jettatura, or (granted not an rpg but good example) a Stardew Valley it really depends on the game quality, but far more importantly is sheer luck and whatever the hell the current vidya zeitgeist is upon release

 

[Halfling Rodeo]

Get involved in forums, social media groups related to your topic and game dev communities and post regularly.

if your game isn't fun nobody will care, if you haven't noticed, that's what prosper has been doing all this time

Minecraft wouldn't have blown up if it didn't capture lightning in a bottle like it did, nothing about cringe social media campaigns like you're describing

You are the number one filtered user on this site aren't you?

Notch did not invent minecraft as it's own game. He copied another game (infominer I want to say, name maybe wrong) but viral marketed his version on /v/. Very similar games but ones rivaling pokemon now and the others.. well I don't even remember the name and I played it.

Then you have to wonder if you want to make games that sells a lot or not.

ah so easy, just decide to make a game that sells a lot

Not that. If the game you make only appeal 10 people, then you have to wonder if you want to keep making this kind of game or you don't care since it's the game you want to play.

No "soul" if the target audience is not yourself. If you are making something you yourself don't want to play, then how can it have "soul"? Most people have a diverse taste in video game genres, so it's not like most people are only able to make the same kind of weird game. Assuming you are not Prosper, of course.

That's not true though. Carmack is infamous for not giving a shit about the games he worked on beyond a technical level and he's a soulless autist if I ever met one. And you have plenty of texture artists or musicians who don't play games or have no interest in them. Soul is not made just through passion, projects like Half life had a literal committee sitting at the top trying to tard wrangle a game together. There's a weird idea that committees are the death of games when often it's a group of assholes trying to tard wrangle autists wanting to make Duke Nukem Forever all over again and again and again and again and again. Too much passion is as bad, if not worse than no passion. A passionless project should at least be playable, while one with too much ends up trying to reinvent it's self and never meeting any targets because the passion becomes delusional.

I can't find the article now so forgive the lack of source but there isn't very much mobility in gaming. I think it's like 5% of people play more than 1 game, I think it was Steam but it could be across all platforms. Most people really are buying a Fifa or COD box and that's all they play on it. Yearly updates and never even try a demo of another game. If you're jumping between genres and games you're an exception to the rule.

 

[Vic]

I think it's like 5% of people play more than 1 game, I think it was Steam but it could be across all platforms. Most people really are buying a Fifa or COD box and that's all they play on it. Yearly updates and never even try a demo of another game. If you're jumping between genres and games you're an exception to the rule.

ah hey, I understand now why you are arguing for this. you are clearly an autist who doesn't play video games but still posts on here for some reason, maybe you have some shitty game in the works?

most people are playing only one game. that's the most retarded thing I've heard all week, good job

 

[Halfling Rodeo]

I think it's like 5% of people play more than 1 game, I think it was Steam but it could be across all platforms. Most people really are buying a Fifa or COD box and that's all they play on it. Yearly updates and never even try a demo of another game. If you're jumping between genres and games you're an exception to the rule.

ah hey, I understand now why you are arguing for this. you are clearly an autist who doesn't play video games but still posts on here for some reason, maybe you have some shitty game in the works?

most people are playing only one game. that's the most retarded thing I've heard all week, good job

I know you want to fuck me and constantly stalk me but it's pretty sad you're this lonely.

Fifa, Madden, NHL, Wii sports, WoW, LoL, FF14, Farmville, Brain age, Animal crossing, Fortnite, CoD, Words with friends.

All games you find extremely dedicated player bases in that touch literally nothing else. Some of them are super casual garbage, but others are full time jobs for the player base and they won't give up grinding to play anything else. Or they're dude bros who like playing Fifa and buy a playstation and a new copy of Fifa every year to get the new player data.

 

[Vic]

WoW, LoL, FF14

yeah I can agree with that, MMO addicts have their own share of issues

for the rest tho, they are casual games (brain age? lol) so in that sense it wouldn't be surprising that a lot of their playerbase isn't much of a "gamer" in the first place, shit like farmville is played by moms etc.

anyway, most people who play video games as a hobby have huge backlogs, not least thanks to how companies like steam like to sell consumers more and more games they will never play

I know you want to fuck me and constantly stalk me but it's pretty sad you're this lonely.

I understand you don't want to be called out on your degeneracy but sometimes a good look in the mirror can do wonders

 

[MarathonGuy1337]

To be fair games aren't really art in a classical sense, most games are consumer art meaning the audience experience is a consideration for most developers and I would argue good Indie devs consider audience experience, additionally good devs don't make for the widest possible audience "The Broader Audience" trap as I like to call it games have to appeal to someone games that don't focus on a demographic or target audience generally fail.

It i true some games have mass appeal but these also had a target demographic that was considered, for most Indie devs its best to mesh with your demographic, make a game you can enjoy which you think others will enjoy. Simple philosophy but I think its simple enough to work.

Thats all I got anyway... manifest over