I'm pretty sure I read (or heard) somewhere that even 5 nights doesn't sell that well, although perhaps I just imagined it (or my source did).
You imagined it, for sure..!
at one point the game was making over $20,000 a day on mobile, Scott even donated 1/4 million dollars to some charity. Overall, the game's been doing pretty good, maybe it wasn't as big on Steam as it was on mobile, but it was still a hit.
Great Scott! That's more than what I make in a year! Imagine waking up one day and you see your game is making that much in sales... I'd probably have a heart attack. If my games made that in a year I'd be ecstatic.
Anyway, Siesatia, I looked at the latest video you put up from a month ago. I think it's looking pretty good but here's a couple criticisms:
(based on this video)
-Maybe it's me, but I watched this video twice and I don't know what the purpose of this floor is... I'm seeing pallets, carts, portable lights, a monitor, etc, but it doesn't have any reason to it. Now, this could be a test area for new assets, understandable. But(and this is something that I forget sometimes) the layout of a level needs to have both gameplay logic and world logic. If it's abandoned office, more computers! If it's an abandoned warehouse, stack those pallets 15 high(but no higher, it's a safety violation) and maybe put some lights behind it... that'll cast cool shadows. If you have an abandoned movie theater, it needs movie posters, snack stands, theater rooms, projectors, etc!
-It's just too dark. I know your doing the fps flashlight scary thing, but it's been done so much. I like the look a lot more when things got lit better, like in 1:26. I think that's a good light level to have for the most part, while still have areas with no light, but just less of the really dark areas. Maybe break up the game where beginning levels are lit decently, and lull the player into feeling safe. But, 3rd or 4th level it's got some blacks spots or the power goes out... while all the while before you do world building like discarded newspapers, posters on the wall, placement of objects that tell a story...
-Not really a game criticism, but I'd like to see a gameplay with in-game sound instead of Kevin Macleod's music... It was help give us a immersed a bit more in the videos.
-I really like the look at 1:56. Looking out from the elevator into overpowering glowing lights has a cool aesthetic, and I think if went with that kind of look every so often and ran with it, it'd be cool.
-Maybe have some colored lights? Red lights are aggressive and passionate, green lights maybe at a workstation that was left open and the text on screen is green. More color, really. Horror games can have color and be scary, much to a lot of people's misunderstanding.
-Oops never mind! I just peeped the week 3 video:
This is a step in the right direction(and also it probably means the video from week 4 was of a test level)! I love the blues here. But, it's a lot blue... I'd recommend adding more colors besides blue and brown. Really though I'm digging the dim blue lights, and nice shadows in that manor. Colors can be used to establish monotony, and if you add in some other colors, maybe on a spooky set piece, it would help freak the player a bit more. All this blue and brown, they won't expect a red or purple spook...(remember, almost ANYTHING can be scary with the right kind of build up and atmosphere!)
But still it looks like more of the same horror, we don't even know what it's really all about! or I might be dumb and missed an explanation somewhere... Anyway, if
you enjoy making your game, and are honestly satisfied with the direction it's going, great. This is what counts. You need to be happy with what you're working on to make something cool. But, my only concern is that, like others mention, it looks a lot like other horror fps games.
FNAF is a good example. It did something unique, but not entirely different- jump scares are nothing new. What it did do was hide it's lore in it's game. The mystery behind it is what keeps people playing. Sure it's got some cool 3d graphics, but no one plays those games for the gameplay(or if they do, it's not JUST gameplay)
Most horror games are like this though, gameplay wise. People play them because of atmosphere. My advice- do a 180 here. Do you have any strange phobia? FNAF made robot animals scary(well, your mileage may vary) but, a lot of people got spooked by them. No one was capitalizing on this fear, as far as I know, until FNAF. I'm not sure if Scott was particularly scared of robot animals, but he made something fresh.
Try looking up different phobias. Some people are afraid of bugs. Or snakes, or spiders... yes yes, typical things. But look beyond this! Find a phobia that sticks out to you:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_phobiasPornophobia sounds like a pretty interesting phobia to base a horror game on... You can do some "screwed up"(no pun intended) stuff with sexual themes, and truly make the player feel uncomfortable(and in the best way- that, "like watching a train wreck" way) heheh jotting a pornophobia horror game on my list of games I want to make!
You're assets look pretty nice, you could still use those. One good thing is your game doesn't look bad! The graphics look quite nice in some spots, and you already got some solid basic things like walking and interactions, I just think your game needs a new coat of paint.
I wish you the best of luck! We want you to "wow" us! No matter what you make, just make it something awesome.
longer write up than I was intending, but I've seen this topic a couple of times and had an urge to add my two cents, hope it isn't too much.
Community
