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[Fallsburg]

Sorry Greiv, gotta agree with speeder on this one.  That "The Secret" idea of "If you believe and try hard enough, the universe will make it happen" is just bullshit.  That isn't to say that you shouldn't believe and try hard, but just doing those things isn't going to make something happen.  Indeed, luck (or forces beyond our control) does play a large part in these things.
E.g. Notch got lucky with Minecraft.  That isn't to say he doesn't work hard and didn't produce a good product, but a lot of other people do that to little or no effect.

[speeder]

Sorry Greiv, gotta agree with speeder on this one.  That "The Secret" idea of "If you believe and try hard enough, the universe will make it happen" is just bullshit.  That isn't to say that you shouldn't believe and try hard, but just doing those things isn't going to make something happen.  Indeed, luck (or forces beyond our control) does play a large part in these things.
E.g. Notch got lucky with Minecraft.  That isn't to say he doesn't work hard and didn't produce a good product, but a lot of other people do that to little or no effect.

Exactly what the ouroboros cat said!

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

I would like to know too... I released playable prototypes, 2 trailers, screenshots, I am on youtube, twitter, blog, another blog, IndieDB, Steam group, facebook group, I maintain 2 posts here on this forum, I post in other forums, a community in Orkut (I am from Brazil), I maintain posts in 2 Orkut communities, I maintain a post in Anywherebb (a forum with about 20 regular visitors, usually peaking 6 simultaneous visitors, but most of the helpful fans came from there, the ones that gave information on bugs, that even went to mod my not completed game, or some guy that took the source of the engine and made the game work on Mac).

Yet I am usually at 200 in IndieDB, and don't got in the IOTY top 100... And my game was on IOTY trailer, was one of the game of the month in July (or August, don't remember), and some people (like important blog owners) told me they are willing to write about the game when I release it (they don't wanted to talk about the not done version).

So I also ask: What I am not doing to show my game around?

those things are good, but not enough. if you like i could recommend specific tactics for marketing your game, but i don't know enough about your game to do that yet.

but as i discussed with you in irc, i think the art, colors, and particle effects are part of what's keeping some people away. so i think your number one priority should be to get better art. indie games with programmer art may have had a chance of being successful in 1995 or even 2000, but not in 2010. standards have changed.

if you absolutely want to keep using programmer at, at least do it intelligently: look at games like uplink for instance. all done with programmer art, but with a clean slick style to it. you have to at least have the tastes of an artist, even if you don't have the skills of one, to know what looks ugly and what looks attractive. i know: monaco, minecraft, and blueberry garden all had programmer art too, but at least they had a sense of color and good taste too.

so what i'd recommend to you is this:

1) complete overhaul of the game's graphics
2) make new trailers and new screenshots
3) start next wave of marketing

[dantheman363]

There is some really good advice here, thanks everyone! 

[FrankieSmileShow]

Its silly to try and pinpoint the ratio of luck vs effort and quality required to have a successful game. Its not that simple. You just need both. The most awesome games can still flop, and the worst games can still get lucky and have a huge exposure. Doing a good bit of marketing means you throw them' dice more often, and are more likely to end up with boxcars eventually... but theres no certainty there.

I believe the only thing that would be 100% sure to get you media exposure would be to have Oprah to endorse your game as the first video game in the Oprah book club (then renamed the "Oprah media club")