Hey everyone, how’s it going?
Today I’ve been reading up a lot on the history of Steam and marketing games. I came across a lot of talk about indie game crashes, pessimistic opinions on why anyone in their right mind would want to get into game dev etc. It actually started to get pretty depressing to be honest. I’d forgotten just how negative a place the internet can be.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m fully aware of the hard work outside of coding and design that goes into making a game successful and to be honest it makes sense. It also doesn’t put me off. I didn’t start game dev to be an overnight millionaire; I started it because I love games. And if I could ever be lucky enough to find enough success to do it full time and support my family then I would be more than happy! But there’s something about the doom and gloom of some opinions on the internet that can make even a content person start to feel a bit down.
But then I came across a great article from 2015 by Sergey Galyonkin (developer of Steam Spy). It’s a really useful seemingly honest view, albeit from 2015, and it put things back into perspective. Not that any of the negativity I came across would put me off passion for game dev, it’s just nice to hear well balanced discussions on the things you’re interested in (equally overly optimistic blurb is equally off putting in my opinion). Like anything else the more effort you put into trying to get people to see your creations the more chance you have of people actually seeing them and, if they like it, supporting it. It kind of makes sense when it’s put that simply. Make what you love, do your research for who may enjoy it and try your best to let them see it. Different environments may be more difficult but that’s just part of the challenge. And if no one see’s it then at least you enjoyed making it!
Ironically about half an hour later I got a Twitter DM notifying me that I had a review on YouTube for Cute Cat Splat. It maybe doesn’t sound like a big deal and certainly won’t make me any money, but to me it’s more important than that. It’s the first genuine review I’ve had. Someone actually took the time to check out my game and talk about it. Plus it’s genuinely objective which is even more satisfying. That for me is what it’s all about. People giving it a go and having thoughts on my little creations…
It was a nice surprise on a Friday afternoon and makes a nice start going into the weekend. Hope you all have great weekends too!