October (2022... jesus christ) Update
Two thoughts entered my head after summer vacation.
Thought One
Title was wrong. Or rather, I became convinced that I could conceive the perfect title. It would have to be simple, descriptive, catchy. Three syllables. Two words. Preferably joined into a single word. My favorite game name is
Bioshock. I was not able to achieve this. At an industry event a friendly narrative designer said she dug the name 'The Girl Who Kicked a Rabbit,' and although she compared it to contemporary Netflix titles, I accepted it as a compliment. So that was a lot of effort wasted.
Thought Two
I was running out of motivation for the game. More specifically, I was getting tired of not receiving any positive feedback. Twitter posts would give me 4, maybe 5 likes for a new gif, this forum is not the liveliest, I can't stand Discord, my IRL friends have been labrats for too long, and any industry professionals I meet in real life are completely unable to grok the game and request changes that are against what the game is about. Really, I just needed SOMEONE to try the game, play it with an open mind, and hopefully say "I like it. It's great. I didn't understand this part, but I like it." Maybe that sounds needy, but I was losing motivation.
Fortunately, I heard about Viborg Game Expo, and they had an indie area, where I could get a spot free of charge. I signed the game up, squashed some bugs, cordoned off a part as "demo material", had my girlfriend animate a bunch of enemies and the player character; and had Mr. Senior Principal Lead Programmer, Esq. implement an Attract Mode.
I couldn't ask my family to let me go off alone for three days to show off a game I had lost all motivation for. I was there on the second day, Saturday, and it was a great choice. Viborg isn't a big city at all, so this was a pretty small event. Still, it was a real event. Actual companies showed off upcoming games, and there were big screens blasting gameplay all over.
Indie teams got a little round cafe table for their game, and then we could pass around a Jormungandr-length HDMI cable to take turns showing off the game on a giant screen. This really justified the Attract Mode. Every time someone wasn't playing on one of the laptops, the game was still being shown off to attendees.
As the attendees, they were great. There were kids and adults, industry pros and enthusiasts. I've made a game for myself, with my own likings in mind, and I've mostly playtested it on friends, friends of friends, or people who showed up at game dev meet-ups. I had not considered at all how open-minded and experimental kids could be. They would take a few instructions and just blast off and blast through the demo, sometimes twice. They loved the game. They didn't have a lying bone in their body. Sure I received fair criticism from all sides, and I'm working to fix a lot of the issues raised, but hearing fundamentally like the game, and asking when it is done so they can buy it, was so incredibly needed.
It's not like I now believe it'll be an instant success (or any kind of success for that matter), but just hearing SOME (a lot actually) of positive feedback… At this point it almost makes me a little teary eyed. Industry pros can simultaneously be so focused on the little details and so close-minded to the slightest gameplay changes they aren't used to. To experience someone just taking the controller in hand and playing the game for what it is, is incredible.
I hadn't set up a steam or itch page prior to this, but that's definitely needed now. And I've cast aside any joke ideas about selling it for 30 dollars for reasons like "if no one's gonna buy it, I might as well sell it for what it's worth." Now, I want to sell for 10-15 dollars. I'd hate for the kids who played it and loved it, to not get the game cause they felt like they couldn't afford it.
So steam page. Itch page. Give the expo demo a good rinse and then let people have fun while I finish the game.
Community
