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[deathtotheweird]

Dinner Date got on Steam, and as far as Art Games go it is probably one of the worst if not the worst art games I have ever had the misfortune of playing.

but again, IGF finalist. so make your game good enough to be an IGF finalist and it's almost guaranteed to get on Steam.

[Makai]

Hangedman,
so in other words it is unlikely to be published on steam for average game?
I'm asking because there are some "not so eye attractive" games like this http://store.steampowered.com/app/55040/?snr=1_4_4__13

In AZS's defense I actually enjoyed the game quite a bit, enough to buy it after playing the demo. It's not the most polished of games, but it's got personality and good enough gameplay to catch my attention.

That said, I think having contact with people at Valve already is a great advantage to getting your game published there, so I'd say all you need is to get that first game/foot in the door and then you're set. 

[moi]

Steam delenda est

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

Dinner Date got on Steam, and as far as Art Games go it is probably one of the worst if not the worst art games I have ever had the misfortune of playing.

but again, IGF finalist. so make your game good enough to be an IGF finalist and it's almost guaranteed to get on Steam.

but that feels even more random than steam is, and it's also extremely exclusive. out of 500 games, there are like 20 finalists (when you remove duplicates that's about the average). but yeah that's the plan in general

[Vino]

It's not that Steam favors certain genres, it's that Steam favors certain target audiences. Your game can be any genre of game but as long as it appeals to a certain target audience then you have a better chance of getting on there. And of course, that target audience is the audience that enjoys Valve's own games - the core gamer. Not social, not casual. There's some social and casual games on there but by and large they are social and casual games that also appeal to core gamers.

[Evan Balster]

As someone who dislikes schmoozery on principle, I'm pained to say that this "being connected" thing your grandparents tell you about can go a long way.  Not that it can replace working hard to prove your merits.

[Makai]

It's not that Steam favors certain genres, it's that Steam favors certain target audiences. Your game can be any genre of game but as long as it appeals to a certain target audience then you have a better chance of getting on there. And of course, that target audience is the audience that enjoys Valve's own games - the core gamer. Not social, not casual. There's some social and casual games on there but by and large they are social and casual games that also appeal to core gamers.

Fair point. You worded it much better than I could.

[BubblePipeMedia]

Steam is strange. I have a friend with a game or two on Steam and he saw a huge sales boost when it got there. His latest game, which I thought was a OBVIOUS choice for Steam, didn't get in. I remember when he said so, my jaw dropped. It fit all the obvious things steam was looking for and they had previous games of his. All he can do is resubmit and hope that it gets in at a later date.

But I can tell you, I'm more inclined to buy on steam than anywhere else. It's a unified place for me too look for indie games, game deals, new releases, etc. After Steam, I'm inclined to look on the console store market. Even though these places are supposed to act as quality filters, I still see plenty of not-so great games, and know there are plenty of great ones not on there. But it does keep it from getting overwhelming and I only have so much time.

Oh, I also like Steam because it is OS X compatible. Even if your game isn't, I can still read up on it and play it on windows later. I can also buy games on sale during thanksgiving and other holidays on my cell phone. Which is pure awesome.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

yeah, i wouldn't mind if steam were clearer about why they reject a game. but often they don't respond at all, and when they do there's no information about why a game was rejected, so the dev has no idea what to improve or where they went wrong

[Uykered]

You should try and get a job there Paul, you could write feedback for the rejected people.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

that should be the job of the person who makes the decisions about what games get in or not (it's basically one person from what i gather). besides, that'd be too similar to my current feedback service job

[Christian Knudsen]

I certainly understand why Steam doesn't give feedback. You wouldn't want developers designing games just to accomodate whatever Valve's looking for. You want developers concentrating on making good games, some of them may get on Steam, some won't.

[tergem]

In order to avoid that problem you could simply only tell them what is restricting them from the marketplace, provided there are only a few things keeping it out. Also keep them on contract when they turn in a game to not speak about the approval process, if the chat then they can legally hammer you.

To my knowledge this is what Sony and Microsoft do for their console E-Commerce markets (excluding XBLIG, it's flatly stated what gets in and what doesn't).

[Vino]

But the end result is still that Steam holds an arcane grip on the success of indie games.

This is why I'm half optimistic about Origin. While I don't think EA can do what Steam does better than Valve, it may help gamers out of the "I'll buy it when it goes on Steam" attitude that is so damaging to indie game developers.

[Richard Kain]

But the end result is still that Steam holds an arcane grip on the success of indie games.

That is, of course, unless you're willing to target your game at Facebook. Or possibly the iOS. Or I suppose, ideally, both.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

i think he meant "traditional" indie games (e.g. pc downloadables) but yeah, nobody is saying you can't succeed without steam, just that getting on steam feels arbitrary and can make a big difference in someone's career so it'd be good to know why they reject and accept games

[Richard Kain]

There's nothing stopping indie developers from selling their games themselves. It's just that Steam has such convenient copy-protection, and such a large user base.

As a point of note, any developer can release their game for the Apple Mac Store. (in order to get it sold on Macs, rather than just iOS devices) So that's one alternative solution at least.

At the end of the day, the best way for you to encourage Steam to accept your game is to make your game as popular and visible as possible everywhere that you CAN make a name for it.

In this day and age, marketing is a part of your business. If you want your game to be successful, you will need to put some amount of leg work into selling it.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

There's nothing stopping indie developers from selling their games themselves. It's just that Steam has such convenient copy-protection, and such a large user base.

As a point of note, any developer can release their game for the Apple Mac Store. (in order to get it sold on Macs, rather than just iOS devices) So that's one alternative solution at least.

At the end of the day, the best way for you to encourage Steam to accept your game is to make your game as popular and visible as possible everywhere that you CAN make a name for it.

In this day and age, marketing is a part of your business. If you want your game to be successful, you will need to put some amount of leg work into selling it.

you aren't saying anything either new or non-obvious. the point though is that a lot of people refuse to buy a game unless it's on steam (as i mentioned on like the first page of this thread) and there's nothing one can really do to appeal to the audience of people who won't buy a game unless it's on steam besides getting on steam

[Richard Kain]

you aren't saying anything either new or non-obvious.

What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again. If you go around expecting EVERYTHING to be fresh and original your life will be filled with disappointment.

You want a different suggestion? Attend a trade show that you know Valve will have a presence at. I went to GDC 2010 and managed to get a job interview for a web position at Valve. I also got into one of their Steamworks presentations for prospective developers. I'm just a humble hobbyist, but I was able to get face time with actual decision makers at Valve. If I had rolled in there with a playable demo there's a good chance that I could have made even more happen. At the very least I could have gotten suggestions on how to improve my game from experienced developers.

[knight]

Yea networking during conferences is how many people sign on with Value/publishers. If you have a game to show off why not show it off when people like Valve are actually there. If you email them they might not even play your game before rejecting it but if you show it to them in person you have a much better chance of catching their attention.