Thread 715011263

When making an indie game is it better to target
>audiences of huge games everyone is already playing
or
>audiences of obscure games that are waiting to be discovered by audiences

>>715011263 (OP)
What is it called where an artstyle is simultaneously unique but also I've seen it a thousand times

>>715011353
well it's not called unique you dimwit

>>715011263 (OP)
>audiences waiting to be discovered
You aren't special or unique, fag.

>>715011353
>What is it called where an artstyle is simultaneously unique but also I've seen it a thousand times
It's called Carto-like artstyle.

>>715011353
hipster

It's better to make a game you want to play.

>I've played and playtested many, many many games over the years, and the worst design mistake (that always, honestly depresses me after I see it) is when a very talented group of people (especially artists), lean into a game that already has been made. And they just basically copy a game, verbatim, and just repack it (it's like a reskin), and it looks beautiful.
>There's a lot of those. I'd say a majority of indie games that come out on Steam are those. And it's really sad, because, there are definitely way more talented, visual artists and animators and 3D artists in the world then there are game designers. And I think it's sometimes hard to understand how important game design is -- it is very important. When you take something that already exists, and just change the way it looks, people have already played that. It will just come off as boring, even if it's as good as that thing. Or, just not giving it enough of a unique look, either. Like, not just, y'know, the technology or visuals, but the vibe overall.
>Not offering something new is by far the most depressing and the most common mistake in most indie games. Mainstream games as well, they do the same thing. It just sucks to see because it's usually beautiful. Like, I see these games that look beautiful, and I think to myself, "why can't I do that? Why can't I make a game that looks this good?" But it absolutely has no soul. No uniqueness. No...nothing, inside. It's a void. But it looks beautiful. And, yeah, it sucks to see that. That's probably the worst design and most common design mistake I see currently these days.
https://www.tiktok.com/@edmundmcmillen/video/7452771565655133486

>>715011263 (OP)
why do indy games always have to look so bad? There are so many that I want to try because apparently mainstream devs have abandoned whole genres and concepts but they often look hideous

>>715011263 (OP)
Just make a game that you want and people will flock to it. All these retards trying to make imitations and blatant knockoffs don't understand why they're the reason the indie market has a bad reputation. Most of them aren't even indie anyways, they're just "smaller" companies that can get away with using the moniker for themselves because they're not publicly traded on the stock market.

>>715015254
>Just make a game that you want and people will flock to it
It has never worked this way

>>715012202
Actually that's Corporate Memphis, it's literally designed to be as inoffensive and sanitized as possible.

When making an Indie game, how much should you try to go for on a Kickstarter?
>too low and people may stop caring once goal is reached
>too high and it'll be all gone if it isn't reached

Also, would a game priced at $15 sell significantly more than if it was at $20? What type of games would you "worth" for $20?

>>715015397
That is not corporate Memphis. That's more like a Little Golden Book art style. Corporate Memphis has small heads and huge bodies.

>>715011263 (OP)
>Zelda
Okay, action combat adventure map?
>Pokemon
uh, turn based + pets?
>Stardew
autism life sim

>>715011263 (OP)
Depends on your current profile and your selling point. If you're a nobody, then the former.

If you want to hyper pander, then have a super short dev cycle, and do market research. Eg Yasuke game.

>>715015286
Minecraft says hi
Undertale says hi
King's Field, Armored Core, Demon's Souls says hi
85% of what Nintendo makes says hi

>>715015957
All of those games were hyper commercial and pandering to trends

>>715012790
This. Across the board, the most successful indie devs are the ones who made games they wanted to play, using games they loved as a springboard for their ideas. Stardew Valley is literally just Harvest Moon with QoL improvements that Barone always wanted to see in the series, The Binding of Isaac was made because Edmund McMillen loved roguelikes but wanted something more dynamic instead of turn-based combat so he took inspiration from 2D Zelda games, Undertale was basically Toby Fox combining his love of Earthbound and Touhou, the list goes on. If you build your indie game around another game that you think is profitable without actually thinking about how you'd want to improve or change it, you're never going to make it.

>>715014768
t. the retarded poop-obsessed manchild whose only successful game is essentially a zelda game

>>715016029
>This. Across the board, the most successful indie devs are the ones who made games they wanted to play
No they're not lol

>Stardew Valley is literally just Harvest Moon
Immediately contradicting yourself..

>>715015594
>What type of games would you "worth" for $20?
I'm not big on replayability, once I finish a game, I likely won't touch it again. So for me, a $20 game should be me busy for 5 hours at least.

>>715016029
If UT was a game Toby "just wanted to play" he would've made it on his own without a Kickstarter dumbass

>>715016029
This is the most retarded post I have ever seen on this website holy shit
Kill yourself, unironically

>>715011353
op game artstyle reminds me of the theatrhythm games

>indie game is just "existing game but worse"
Every time..

>>715011263 (OP)
>When making an indie game is it better to target
I think it's just better to make a game you want and will enjoy making rather than thinking about target audiences and corporate bullshit, that way you may actually finish the project and if it's actually good it will find an audience.
Just make a good game that you want to make, if more fuckers did that, games would probably be a whole lot better than they are.

>>715019429
This is the truth and the way. The best indie games I played were obvious passion projects and not apparently parroting any existing trend. Some were spiritual successors to series that'd been quiet for at least a decade but it's obvious the creator(s) just really wanted more games like that to exist rather than trying to cash in on any fandom (stardew, bomb rush cyberfunk)

>>715011263 (OP)
It's an understandable thing really. It lets you set out assumptions for people to make instead of wasting time trying to describe how the fuck your game actually plays.

>>715011263 (OP)
>audiences of huge games everyone is already playing
Most of the time this will result in failure, because people are already satisficed with the options they've got.
Unless you can make the absolute pinnacle off the genre, then don't bother

>audiences of obscure games that are waiting to be discovered by audiences
This is much better.

The actual best thing is to try and make something that has never been done before. Like What Slay the Spire, Vampire Survivors, Rain World, Outer Wilds or Minecraft did.
The level of success will vary, but there will be success if the game is any good.

It's time for indie games to target everyone at once. The final evolution is to make an Earthbound-inspired deck-building roguelike RPG farming sim with a focus on being comfy and calming as you raise and capture monsters.

My target audience is myself and all of the awesome people like me who enjoy cool stories with swashbuckling Dragons and other fairy tale animals duking it out against one another.
It's my awesome game and what I say goes, but you are free to come along for the ride.

>>715011263 (OP)
would you rather have a small dedicated, though unforgiving autistic fanbase or gamble or maybe bleeding some entrenched people from a game they're already fixated on?
Either way you're going to need to be on social media or something to try and get your game noticed in some capacity otherwise it'll sit there with few to no downloads like most do.
Markets insanely saturated, so take that for what you will.

>>715011263 (OP)
you should target and vision instead

>>715016278
If you can get people to pay for the work you want to do, why would you pass up on it?

Neither, both have their ups and downs.
If you go for the first you'll be one in the sea of many. You'll have a proven fanbase but the liklihood of them choosing you isn't guaranteed.
If you go for the second there's no proof of concept. If you win them over you're the only game in town unless someone comes up and steals your lunch by improving on your initial concept/just having a prebuilt fanbase

Just don't make something that isn't for anybody especially not yourself.

>>715021148
Based and how it should be.

>>715012790
Fucking this. I got into game development because Nintendo refuses to make another good StarFox game that isn't just SF64 again, so I'm making my own rail shooter with blackjack and hookers (maybe even literally, I don't know, but the possibility is there because I'm the one calling the shots).
Don't make games for other people. Treat it like any other art craft and make it for yourself.

>>715011263 (OP)
you look at the pitch of the concept of your game, if it doesn't have anything that sounds interesting then you will accomplish nothing

>>715011263 (OP)
it's better to improve things that worked in games you really like and/or understand deeply
the thing is that most people only play generic garbage and just copy paste things that have been copied so many times that there's nothing new to add
this is all to say when are we getting an indie that builds upon god hand's foundation

>>715014768
I agree with everything he said there, especially as a game designer. It sucks to see all these great looking boring games and just think "holy shit man just give me half those assets please!"

But the thing is, the artist doesn't need the game designer. His boring game sells because it looks good and that's how games are sold. Not by gameplay that's impossible. You buy games based on screenshots and videos. And those screenshots and videos look good. Now you're thinking "well make a demo dude" and no shit but what entices you to download a demo in the sea of slop? That's right, screenshots and videos.

Ultimately the good looking boring games are forgotten and the rare gems that have both aspects become indie legends but it's annoying that so many great artists make such dull stuff for sure .

>>715011263 (OP)
most indie games that try to copy other games (Yooka Layle, Bug Fables, etc) spend too much time trying to emulate them that they end up being boring, legally distinct fan games to the point they dont have enough identity of their own to stand on

I have an indie game that I want to release a demo of, what's the best approach? I dream of being a game developer. I have a website that isn't live and a complete demo build in pygame.

>>715027483
Take the best section of the game and enclosed it into something self-contained (known as a vertical slice in the dev industry) and upload it somewhere like Itch.io. From there, it's a matter of advertising.

>>715015957
>Guys, selling lightning is the best way to make money
>look at all these people capturing the lightning in a bottle

>>715027483
Stream yourself playing the game, attract people wanting to play the game too, fake a viral movement by making pajeets shill the game to others, bribe the journalists to complain about how you need to release your game and not just hogging it for yourself.
There, you just became a meme and your game is selling like hotcakes for no reasons.

>>715026767
>>715025425
>its like banjo kazooie
>who cares
>its like paper mario
>who cares

and then the easy solution to fixing the who cares problem, via checking the pitch and adding something that catches some interest
>its like banjo kazooie except he shoves the jiggies up his ass
>huh?

its that easy

>>715011263 (OP)
My guess is it's better to be a known in a niche genre, than a nobody in a saturated genre.

>>715028120
>It's Paper Mario but I want to have sex with the main character
You'd be surprised how often this works.

>>715011263 (OP)
are you a normalfag seeking social acceptance?
>first one
do you actually want to make something good?
>second one

>>715016108
>>715016278
>>715016720
hi thor

>>715011353
derivative

>>715028114
im not a girl

>>715014768
he's right but he's still a big fat faggot

>>715028385
Its literally just checking your concept to see if its boring as shit or not, If it doesn't sound interesting and can't get anyone's interest then what do you think happens if you release it and are trying to fight to get peoples interest

>>715011353
Clairvoyance

>>715027483
itch.io

>>715027807
>>715028951
Why itch.io instead of Steam? Not that anon, but I'm assuming if I have something I want to profit off, wouldn't it be better to do it through Steam where there are more people?

>>715029672
>wouldn't it be better to do it through Steam where there are more people?
Yeah, but you have to pay to upload stuff to Steam. Itchio has free uploads and if you're a nobody just releasing a demo it's better to start there

>>715029849
Interesting and thanks for the advice. I think I'll head to Steam for demo purposes when I have a more finished product

>>715031003
Yeah, Itch is good to get a few playtests, feedback, advertisement, etc. Especially because it's free. Steam uploads require a down payment, so only put it there once you're fully committed and have a product nearly ready.

>>715011263 (OP)
I’m sorry, but there’s something ‘bout this game that makes my brain actively refuse to perceive it

>>715031801
Has the classic mobileslop artstyle.

>>715012790
Part of why I'm tinkering is that I wanna eventually work on a shmup that's got Evil Dead/pre-LotR Peter Jackson horror vibes. It's time to be the change

When a game describes itself as two games/genres that don't need to meet, I instantly ignore it.
>Our game is Dark Souls + Minecraft + Animal Crossing
Fuck off.

>>715011263 (OP)
If it's indie just make what you want. Trying to chase a trend in any direction is retarded. You're not a conglomerate so why the fuck are you worried about maximizing profit

>>715027483
Make friends, spread the word, let people know about your game anywhere people play games.
>>715028637
Cope. Most massive streamers are guys, ugly guys at that. The hot chick meta has never been real. You just suck

>>715024394
Thanks. By the way here's a link to my game's under construction website:
https://fygoon.com/game.html

>>715011263 (OP)
just quote tweet retarded engagement bait with your gameplay vids and hope it goes viral

I don't like zelda or pokemon.
Why would you lose a sale by putting me off your game right at the start....what's wrong with these people.

>>715037387
Comparing your game to a Nintendo IP is a death sentence either way. Tendies only play Tendie games.