I've saw some f2p game on steam, so i guess, why not? Though i'm not sure whether they made it though via greenlight or the old steam way(that's sending them their game).

But maybe you should ask them directly, and share your finding here so othher can refer to it?

All F2P use Steam wallet system for purchases as far as I know, so they get a share. I can't recall any truly free game on Steam (but maybe there are some?)

First, the overall concept is nice. I might find it useful as a developer.

I have numerous complains about the details
- it looks too much like some sort of crowdfunding, it's confusing and not needed.
- the main goal "to get the hype at the right moment" is not what I look for (OK, it's nice and everything but not the most tasty one for me), I would rather use it as a platform to:
* get to evaluate my concept (if there are fans for it)
* get in touch (ability to message them when the game is ready) with people who said they were interested
- I'm not sure the time limit "days of campaing" is good (but I have no other idea and see some benefits, so just pointing out)
- as others said, the domain name sux I would recommend something like "ILikeYourGame.com" or "ISupportThisGame.com" or "IWantThisGameToBeMade.com" (and don't be afraid of it being too long, being memorabe is far more important)

Generally, I like it and would probably use it, but I would rethink how it works.

Irrelevant... If you are making a platformer in year 2014 you really have to really mess up to get into optimization problems.

Overall, tiles are better than one big picture (if we talk about sizes above 2048x2048 pixels), pluse more convenient.

What are exactly the benefits of having a publisher (nowadays)? What exactly you do? How it would/could benefit me as a developer?
What you gain from this deal (or what I need to give up)? What are your requirements?

i bet if the game only had a female protag and no other option you'd be upset too

or not because you'd like looking at a girl and sexualizing her

Tomb Raider

Doesn't seem like people are using the icons. Any ideas on how to improve them? Should I ditch the Zelda sprites?

Or was the need not as great as we thought?

Maybe let's start by redesigning the icons (why a black rectangle bacground while the forum is light colours? and why pixelart if the rest of the forum is in a "normal" style? these completely don't fit...)

I say, try to match the style from the icons in the DevLogs.

Monetization has to go via Steam (so they get a share, otherwise there is no point for them to greenlight you :D), I'm not sure you can do it without direct negotiation with Valve.

One note, don't forget the insane censorship they have there. I have constantly my forum blocked by the Chinese government (for a completely unknown reason to me, actually I'm flattered they bothered :D)

If you have *any* means of private communication between players (outside gov. control) don't be surprised they block you (but beats me what criterias they use).

Anyway, I would be vary in investing into any marketing for that region.

100$/day sounds good if you live in your parents basement, not paying taxes and use pirated software.
But for the rest of us who is running a legal buisness, its not. I pay 39% taxes (in Norway). Almost half of my income. Not getting rich, thats for sure  

Depends on country. Well, I guess for you in these filthy rich english speaking countries all the costs are like x5 or so...

Anyway, I'm surprised, didn't realize the income/cost of living disparities were so high...

Just my observation (no experience), it seems that quarterly sales (recurring) might be a nice idea, also the first sale is done about half a year after release/kickstarter (might be eariler if the game goes on Steam).
Again, just my observation, if others tell you otherwise probably they are right.

No, that's great.  We honestly have no strategy right now so this is definitely a helpful tip to add to the discussion.  The game is going to be on Steam.  Out of curiosity, is this suggestion made from a consumer standpoint or as a fellow developer? Or perhaps both?  Thanks!

Kind of both.

I can't specify exact costs for you because every artist can be different, for example an amazing artist with 10 years expereince and fast work rate can probably charge £300-£500 a day

That's insane... even president in my country does not earn that much (like half of it) :D

Vectors are numbers translated into visuals, and are a bit easier for a programmer to get into.

More than easier :D When I got my hands on Inkscape I understood it instantly, intuitive trivial vertices on a 2D plane, cute bezier curves! I almost seen the numbers on the screen instead of the picture :D Actually, forget the hard/easy thing, it's simply a pleasure to a programmer

Also PixelArt seems easier to programmers...

I think that maybe this "defined" or "binary" way of producing art (put a pixel at [5,6] or make a curve at 60 degrees) makes it intuitive to us, while "messy" and "fuzzy logic like" Photoshop makes us nervous
(technically, when a programmer make a picture in pixel art or vector he would be able to describe it to another programmer via phone, you can;t do such trick with standard art )

First, your "finishing" approach is good. It's a good principle in general. But I think you "grew up" too quickly, you never were a "kid" and never gave yourself a chance to play with things just for fun

What worries me is your instrumental approach to coding. You don't seem to love coding for coding, you treat it only as a mean to finish a game. It's a suicide in a long run, you need to LOVE coding if you want to be a programmer (or you will lead very, very miserable life doing what you hate).

I say, forget about making a game for now and just play with coding useless things (algorithms, effects, utils, demos, whatever). Then if you find out you like it go for it, if not drop it.

"You're a tax collector in an RPG kingdom"

LOL, a catchy one for sure :D I can see those knights begging to not auction their swords because they have a princess to rescue :D

Just my observation (no experience), it seems that quarterly sales (recurring) might be a nice idea, also the first sale is done about half a year after release/kickstarter (might be eariler if the game goes on Steam).
Again, just my observation, if others tell you otherwise probably they are right.

Your day starts by talking to people coming into the Tax Office and working out a payment schedule for them to pay their taxes on a regular basis.

I would remove that part, that's now how it works (the tax schedule is dictated by law, not by the tax collector).

The rest is fine.


What is the period? Will there be Robin Hood that tries to steal your hard earned taxes? Will you syphon a part of taxes to your private purse? Will you have a family to feed like in Papers Please?

You can use placeholder art or just boxes, use programmer art. Meddling is not recommended, because you can come as pretentious and arrogant.

Thanks. So by "meddling", you mean telling the artist how to do their job? Are you recommending a more hands-off approach, where once the artist agrees with the theme and general direction, they are left alone to use their better judgment, with feedback only given for complete work (or for technicalities that arise, such as "we don't have enough memory for that")?

From my limited experience I would say artists *do love* when you tell them what to draw and how to draw (I mean not like tellig what pixel put where but by providing reference materials, your own sketches (no matter how lame) and telling which colour/style you like better). Do not make a mistake by making artist's life hell of "trying to guess what he wants" under the false premise of "artistic freedom". You should tell these things before he/she starts working, not after the asset is finished. Generally, my policy is to at first give as many instructions & guidelines as I can and when the assset arrives to accept as many deviations from these guidelines/my expectations as I can

I say if you:
1) Have money
2) Are able to communicate clearly what you want
3) Are not rude
you have all qualities most artist look for in the client

I have trouble with the "heart" icons. These kind of not fit to my taste... Just my impression maybe? If not, how to fix it (and where exactly the problem is)?


Also if you have other comments, be my guest (note it's more like a sketch/concept art).


Explanation of the picture:
These are government officials, they have competence (the +/- number), corruption (the gold coin) and loyalty (the heart or dagger).

The pumkin human looks odd (flat & different), does not fit with the rest. Everything else is OK to me.

If you have large numbers of members you might also try http://www.ymlp.com/ as their prices go up less quickly.

Much better indeed Unlimited database and paid by number of emails actually sent.

IME it's best to leave this sort of thing to professionals, as with spam being so endemic it's tricky to do. It's very easy to get your server blacklisted and then no-one will get your stuff... And even if you manage to avoid that it can be difficult to get through reliably. And it can be hard to find hosting for that sort of thing: AFAICT most providers' terms of service specifically prohibit it. But maybe you know more about it than I do...

Well, you don't do it using your primary domain/email. Also, IPs are easy to obtain (so you are rather shielded).

As for providers not allowing it, I think it's a myth. It's not like we are doing any spam, it's a legitimate sending of emails (as long as you follow the rules). Of course I meant something like dedicated/VPS, shared host providers might object to it much more I suppose.

Anyway, if you reach your costs of sending emails to $100/month I would go for a cheap VPS and use it just for it (also these are frequently managed so they can setup this for you for free anyway - so your lack of expertise is not such a problem).

But yeah, if your need are small I agree the $3.75 /month for YMLP is the way to go (I assume you can always export emails from their system and go for your own solution?)