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Mark Mayers
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« Reply #380 on: October 07, 2015, 08:22:38 AM » |
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So we're down to the final 72 hours leading up to release. I'm in the odd position of wanting to tweak and squeeze in last minute features and updates, but at the same time- not wanting to break anything... It's an odd sensation to be down to the final few days. The last 10 months of writing in this devlog have been a great mental escape for me.
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The final days before release are interesting because they give you both: 1. The fear that your work is about to fail both critically and financially and 2. There is a chance your work becomes a wild success and your fortunes are changed forever. It's sort of the best and worst parts of game development. You know you likely wont strike it rich, but there is that intoxicating small chance it will. But at the same time, you're buried in fears that your work is about to fail in the most public way imaginable...
Wow! Haven't checked in a for a while (haven't been on TIG much recently, unfortunately). Congrats on approaching release! I can definitely empathize with the 'final days' feeling, that strange sense of fear mixed with excitement. I wish you the best, I think you have a unique and really interesting game on your hands. |
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oldblood
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« Reply #381 on: October 08, 2015, 06:40:56 AM » |
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DEVLOG 82.One day left. That's pretty crazy for me to think about. In some ways it feels like Ive been working on this game for years and years without a break, while other parts of me feel like I just made the first devlog post a few weeks ago...
I'm not going to dive too deep into the weeds, but I did want to share some more looks at the organic views you can expect in the Steam Storefront as your game approaches release. In total, Masochisia will have been visible on Steam for about 1 month prior to launch. It's important to note that there has been no press or YouTube videos during this time. If your game is generating press, I'd imagine your views could increase pretty dramatically. But these stats do provide a "clean" look at organic views for an unlaunched game on Steam.
Here is the high-level overview:
● There is an initial spike in views when the game first appears as a new "Upcoming Title" on Steam
● Once it levels out, the views held very steady on a daily basis over the month, it never "bottomed out"
● We see a significant bump in views when the game hit the "final week" before release
● The huge spike is yesterday, when the game first starts appearing on the first page of upcoming games
● Today's stats will not be available till tomorrow, but I anticipate the same spike or continued growth
In total, the game has had 708,418 impressions over the last month, and has had 8,703 page visits/clicks from impressions. This is a 1.23% click-through rate. While this number may seem low at first-glance, I'm actually pretty happy with that click-through rate as the launch day global average is 0.34%.
Of those views, we've had 979 users add the game to their wishlist. Which means 11.25% of people who viewed the page added it to their wishlist. I don't know what the global averages are but this number does seem fairly low, although the Masochisia trailer is a bit vague on details so I do suspect that the confusion on what genre the game is may be impacting this. I've also added very prominent messages to the Store page that specify the game is narrative heavy and intended for an adult audience (to minimize people buying the game who expect something different or more gamey). This may also impact the number of people adding the game to their wishlist.
My opinion here is that I'd rather not sell the game to someone who will hate it (and either later refund it, leave a bad review or both) so I'd like to minimize unhappy purchases by being transparent about the game upfront, even if that means missed sales opportunities.
I will notate again that Wishlist users are not a good gauge of launch day sales (as much as I would love that to be the case). Most people who add a game to a wishlist are waiting for an eventual sale or may not buy the game at all (even if they'd like to own it).
It's also worth notating that the impressions and views from the last month will actually be (very likely) surpassed on launch day alone. Day two of the launch week is usually pretty solid in terms of views direct from Steam as well but the views will fall pretty dramatically as the days progress.
TL;DR: Steam remains THE distribution channel for indie developers.
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{VeTeR}
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« Reply #382 on: October 09, 2015, 01:06:14 AM » |
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Keeping fingers crossed for today premiere! -- Edit! --  :D |
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« Last Edit: October 09, 2015, 05:20:51 AM by Gameplay Alchemist »
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Fenrir
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« Reply #383 on: October 09, 2015, 03:45:19 AM » |
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oldblood
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« Reply #384 on: October 09, 2015, 05:37:42 AM » |
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Keeping fingers crossed for today premiere! -- Edit! -- :D
Yes, that's good. I don't think much press is coming so every little bit helps. I don't know if they're gonna review it or not so I will have to wait and see...
*** So yes. The game is now live on steam. You can check it out here: http://store.steampowered.com/app/396310/
Just wanted to say thanks again to everyone who has commented and encouraged me over the last 10 months on TIG. You guys have been amazing and I can't tell you how much its encouraged and kept me focused. This is such an amazing community and I hope to be around in it for a long time...
I will of course be following up with a Post-Mortem but that likely wont hit for at least a week when I have a better feel for how good or bad the launch went and what could have been done to improve upon that. Stay posted... this devlog isn't quite done yet...
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Sharif
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« Reply #385 on: October 09, 2015, 05:48:04 AM » |
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Congrats on the release!
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Canned Turkey
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« Reply #386 on: October 09, 2015, 05:56:21 AM » |
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It's so great to see TIGsource members actually finish games! Good job on everything  |
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ｂ∀ ｋｋｕｓａ
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« Reply #387 on: October 09, 2015, 06:19:55 AM » |
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Congratulations!
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nnyei
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« Reply #388 on: October 09, 2015, 06:45:00 AM » |
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Yay! Congrats! I'll go write you a review now~
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Osteel
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« Reply #389 on: October 09, 2015, 06:53:01 AM » |
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Awesome, congratulations on your release! I remember when posting (I think it's one of the first?) that this whole thing creeped me out haha. Anyway, I hope you enjoy some needed rest.  |
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Fenrir
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« Reply #390 on: October 09, 2015, 06:58:19 AM » |
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I posted the news on Reddit's IndieGaming sub, I hope it's OK! And don't hesitate to upvote guys! |
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Zizka
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« Reply #391 on: October 09, 2015, 09:11:29 AM » |
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Congrats!!
7 positive reviews so far and no negative, it's all good!
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oldblood
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« Reply #392 on: October 09, 2015, 09:37:43 AM » |
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Thanks everyone! You guys are amazing...
I definitely can't complain about the feedback or reviews thus far. It's been positive, its far from a perfect game and its certainly not for everyone but at least the people who are getting it seem to appreciate what its doing.
Here is a nice little 5 minute video review of the game that seems to touch the early consensus:
I haven't looked at any sales numbers, but my assumption is that they're very, very low. I say this because we've had almost no real press coverage and I haven't seen many YouTube videos appear. Additionally, we're moving through our Steam impressions VERY slowly which means that the Steam algorithms that determine page placement on the Home page are super low. I mean, it's "good" that we didn't burn through our 1mm impressions in an hour, but we're moving through them too slowly so I'm assuming that means that the game isn't translating many views into sales so its not appearing in more modules.
Overall though, I can't complain even if the sales numbers are low. The launch seems to be fairly smooth thus far and the early consensus is positive. Realistically I don't imagine that 100% rating will stick. The games too weird and the endings will get mixed reactions so I know that number will fall, but I'm good if it doesn't haha... Hard to be miserable about that... I've said all along I'm okay with it being niche' and small market as long as that market is happy with it. Hopefully more coverage and Lets Plays will appear as the week wears on.
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Jabberwocky
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« Reply #393 on: October 10, 2015, 12:02:26 AM » |
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Well done on the release, and thanks for the intriguing dev log. It's fantastic that all the reviews are positive so far.
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diegzumillo
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« Reply #394 on: October 10, 2015, 01:52:11 AM » |
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On my wishlist :D
By the way, the first post still has the itch.io image but the link takes you to steam.
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ZeroTec
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« Reply #395 on: October 10, 2015, 02:03:13 AM » |
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congrats, great to see that zou made it this far   I am on a trip to UK right now, away from my PC.......but i'll get it as soon as I get back. really excited to see how it turned out |
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aamatniekss
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« Reply #396 on: October 10, 2015, 02:21:34 AM » |
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Woop, congrats! ^^ Looks awesome! I think it'll do very good. |
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Greipur
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« Reply #397 on: October 10, 2015, 05:04:55 AM » |
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I'm glad you've recieved only good reviews so far, I think that goes to show that you've communicated clearly what kind of game you're selling, and making a good game. Looking forward to hear how it develops.
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oldblood
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« Reply #398 on: October 10, 2015, 07:33:26 PM » |
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Well done on the release, and thanks for the intriguing dev log. It's fantastic that all the reviews are positive so far. I'm glad you've recieved only good reviews so far, I think that goes to show that you've communicated clearly what kind of game you're selling, and making a good game. Looking forward to hear how it develops.
Thanks guys. I got my first negative review from someone who felt the game was "quite distasteful". There's definitely a market of people who will abhor Masochisia, which is why I've tried to be very transparent about it but it seems some people still go in expecting traditional horror... Perhaps, that's unavoidable.
I'm still sitting at 94% positive on Steam, which honestly- given the nature of the game is kind of surprising to me. I expected much more mixed reactions. I imagine these numbers will go down in the future as the game sales more and inevitably other people come along who don't "get it".
On my wishlist :D
By the way, the first post still has the itch.io image but the link takes you to steam.
Fixed, thank you!
congrats, great to see that zou made it this far I am on a trip to UK right now, away from my PC.......but i'll get it as soon as I get back. really excited to see how it turned out
Woop, congrats! ^^ Looks awesome! I think it'll do very good. |
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jamesprimate
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« Reply #399 on: October 10, 2015, 07:46:16 PM » |
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yooooooo! congrats! getting it ASAP
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