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    My experience marketing my game on steam (tips and tricks)

    September 29, 2018

    My experience marketing my game on steam (tips and tricks)

    My experience marketing my game on steam (tips and tricks)

    Posted: 29 Sep 2018 03:49 AM PDT

    Since releasing Warsim on steam I have used all kinds of methods to promote the game, I am going to break them down because I believe that in marketing games there isn't a single solution unless you have enough money to pay someone to do it for you.

    If you want to market a game well you will have to do a combination of lots of things constantly, these are the things I have done so far and how they have worked out for me.

    • Social Media - Social media can be a pain for some, but especially with things like twitter it allows you to connect with people using hashtags, so doing #PixelArt connects you with people interested in Pixel Art, allowing you to directly tap into the kinds of people who may be interested in your game (remember the goal with marketing is to find the people who would be interested in your game, and making them aware of it)
    • Contacting Youtubers - This for me is a big one, find youtubers who play games like yours, if there is a game similar to your own, search for videos made of the game and contact the youtuber with a personal message and a free review copy, now you must be careful not to appear spammy here, I used to send lots of emails to youtubers that were quite generic, but after taking a little time to customise each message to the youtubers I got a much higher response rate, when youtubers play your game they are advertising it (assuming the review is positive) to their audience which is perfect, big channels covering your game can earn you a big payday, and smaller ones can get you a handful of sales so it's always worthwhile
    • Contacting Gaming Bloggers - while there probably aren't as many blogs as there are youtube gaming channels, there are still lots of people you can contact, this is a similar process to the youtuber thing, make sure the people you are contacting are relevant for your game. If you have an IOS Puzzle game maybe don't bother emailing that Hardcore RPG gaming blog.
    • Making written content that has some value and including your game in it, an example of that is this post, at the top of this post I have mentioned my own game and left a link, now while /r/gamedev is certainly not the best place to advertise a game as it's full of folks working on their own, if you write articles or make threads that offer some value to people and are relevant to your game or its genre doing something like this can definitely help you out.
    • Sharing Content - I recently posted an image in paint in around 30 minutes that got just shy 1500 upvotes on reddit, the image was just of content from my game but laid out in a way I knew would interest the subreddit in question, this post got 22.5k views and was purely made of content from my game, and delightfully there was even a comment in the thread where someone said they were going to buy the game.
    • Giveaways - There are lots of services and pages that do giveaways, I am dubious of how effective these things are as the only benefit you can get is that the people who get the game for free will promote it to friends if they enjoy it, however I would argue giving away 100s or sometimes 1000s of copies of your game especially if it's a relatively niche game is like shooting yourself in the foot, smaller giveaways of a handful of copies are fine though.
    • Breaking down the development of your game - This for me is a nice one, we've all followed one game devblog or another where the developer puts out super detailed posts of whats happening with the game and some intricate behind the scenes look at how things are being made and this adds an additional layer of value and insight, sometimes I've found these kinds of blogs more interesting than the games themselves.
    • Steam Curators - An excellent tool that has been rolled out by steam allowing you to directly connect with the steam curators, always include a message when you send out a bunch of keys to curators through steam just to make it a little more personal, curator reviews can absolutely help, they also add to your games confirmed reviews
    • Keymailer - Keymailer is a handy tool for letting verified youtubers and streamers get copies of your game, I have had decent success with this in my own experience, you simply upload a bunch of keys and then check back and see who wants a copy of your game with a breakdown of how big their social influences are.

    These are some of the things I have done/experienced, throughout the development process but there are of course tons more things you can do, I am interested if you guys have some of your own tips and tricks you've used to promote your game!

    Hope this helps Best of luck!

    submitted by /u/Huw2k8
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    Can someone simply the core fundamentals of animating a facial rig?

    Posted: 29 Sep 2018 09:39 AM PDT

    For all of the tutorials I have been following, it always seems like organizing (grouping, naming, joint connections, etc) takes about 75% of the time of the lesson compared to actually getting down to the nuts and bolts of deforming the face.

    ​

    From my understanding, animating a facial rig can be simplified down to:

    ​

    1. Adding joints to the surface of the skin
    2. Adding influence and painting skin weights to those joints
    3. Moving those joints or the vertexes to create blendshapes
    4. Adding SDK's to drive those blendshapes together to create facial expressions?

    I know that all the grouping, naming, and controls are necessary for a properly functioning rig, but I am just trying to get a basic understanding of what a facial rig can be simplified down to, and then add the more complex stuff on top of it after.

    ​

    1. What is the difference between moving the joints of the face and moving the vertexes? If you duplicate the head, move the cheek joints to create a blendshape, and then add that blendshape to the main head. Will the cheek joints in the main head move as well to mimic that blendshape, or only the vertexes? Because from my understanding, you use joints, and then corrective blendshapes on top to bring the most out of the expression. So if you move the cheek joints on a duplicate head in order to create a blendshape, is that the wrong way to do it? Should you be moving the vertexes only?

    ​

    1. I notice some people use blendshapes only, a jaw joint, and eye joints. Is this not suitable for realistic characters? Is it possible to add a corrective blendshape on a blendshape? Should a noob like myself start with blendshape only rigs?

    ​

    THANKS MAN, I REALLY APPRECIATE IT!!!!

    ​

    submitted by /u/NickSync
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    How do you architecture your codebase?

    Posted: 29 Sep 2018 11:13 AM PDT

    Hi. I've been working on a hobby game project in C++ for a while and the codebase is getting large enough now that I'm starting to question some of my architectural decisions and I'm interested in hearing how some of you approach laying out your code.

    As an example, I have a main game class that looks something like this:

    class Game { public: void run(); private: void update (float t, float dt); Window window; GameState game_state; InputSystem input_system; PlayerSystem player_system; AnimationSystem animation_system; AudioSystem audio_system; RenderSystem render_system; ProjectileSystem projectile_system; NetworkSystem network_system; // ... and so on };

    I've found that structuring my game systems in this way is visually unwieldy, and something just feels wrong about making everything a class and naming it "*System". Also as the project has grown I have to pass more and more dependencies between systems as they interact with each other. E.g. if ProjectileSystem requires the mouse pointer location to spawn a bullet, it must hold a pointer to InputSystem to do something like p_input_system->get_mouse_pos();.

    As another example, to try and mitigate these dependencies I have implemented a global EventManager class, where systems can subscribe to different events by passing member functions to be stored in a list for each event type. When the event is fired, the list for that event is iterated over, calling each function and passing the event data. This works when an "event" happens that needs to propagate to other systems, but not if I need to fetch data from one system, like in the mouse position case above, unless I were to send a "mouse moved" event every frame and store a copy of the mouse position in each system that requires it.

    Also now I find my code somewhat difficult to reason with. Events are fired and the game logic jumps from method to method in different classes in an unknown order. E.g. if EV_PLAYER_FIRED_BULLET is called then PlayerSystem has to reduce their ammo, ProjectileSystem has to spawn the bullet, AudioSystem has to play a sound, AnimationSystem an animation etc... I find this nice for separating logic between all the different systems. However it becomes difficult to see what firing an event might do without delving through the code to see where systems have subscribed their member functions. Especially if firing an event causes another event to be fired in a chain (e.g. InputSystem fires EV_KEY_PRESSED which is picked up by PlayerSystem which fires EV_PLAYER_FIRED_BULLET which is picked up by ProjectileSystem which fires EV_BULLET_SPAWNED etc...).

    --

    I've had a look at some open source codebases like id's Quake III Arena and DOOM 3 for alternative ideas. Quake III's code is quite beautifully simple, being written in C with a lack of classes. And I noticed DOOM 3 exposes a lot of systems as global pointers. Though both are 10-20 years old so I'm not sure how applicable they are for modern games programming - especially as I'm using my project mainly to improve my programming skills, potentially in the hopes of transitioning to a career in software development.

    I know in indie game development the mantra is that there's no "right way" of doing things and that finishing a product should take priority over overthinking code architecture / optimization.

    Still, I'm interested in how you guys approach structuring your game engine code, so maybe I and others can learn something new. I feel like my thought process when coding is limited and maybe there are different approaches I haven't even considered.

    Cheers

    submitted by /u/EquivalentRelease
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    Simple ECS library

    Posted: 29 Sep 2018 11:13 AM PDT

    What needs to be done to properly start a games dev studio? (UK)

    Posted: 29 Sep 2018 08:33 AM PDT

    I'm a uni student, and a few of my friends would like to start a small indie games studio. We only want to start with a small game while we study, working out of our rooms so we don't have to worry about office costs or anything.

    What exactly do we need to do to properly start a company in the UK? Where do I go to do it? And how much would it cost?

    Are there any other official things we would need to do to start a company? Such as having people 'employed' (Even though we'd all be working for free as a passion project)

    Apologies if this seems like a very broad question and might seem stupid, none of us have experience with business yet, and just want to release a small game to get us started and for our portfolios, with the opportunity to expand if it does go anywhere.

    Cheers!

    submitted by /u/AnsityHD
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    How you can animate an explosion for your game

    Posted: 29 Sep 2018 08:11 AM PDT

    TCP and UDP Sockets API on Chrome, Firefox

    Posted: 29 Sep 2018 09:36 AM PDT

    Develop text game engine

    Posted: 29 Sep 2018 09:26 AM PDT

    A little background.... I've studied C++ (very little, only done a "guess the number" game) before moving to web development. I have done a database for recording invoices and other data using PHP and JS (no frameworks, jQuery...).

    With this experience i now want to create a text game engine from scratch as a project to learn. I was thinking of using Python with Kivy, as it seem to be a good option since can be compiled for Windows, Linux and also Android. Good choice or is there a better one?

    At first the game is going to be just a sequence of text and choices, but as i learn i want to expand it so there is a player that move in a "map" and go through various stories. I'm also thinking to add an inventory, stats and fights, but i'll think later to that.

    Anyone knows a good book/tutorial to start? I don't really need much graphics (the experience should be that of reading a book, sort of). Maybe sound for those who are not big fans of reading.

    Thanks in advance!

    submitted by /u/ArtOfLyfe
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    Resident Evil for Sega Mega Drive/Genesis

    Posted: 29 Sep 2018 11:52 AM PDT

    Can we create good 3d games with python?

    Posted: 29 Sep 2018 09:03 AM PDT

    hey there.I am learning python so i was wondering if i could create 3d games with python like by using blender or something else?

    please suggest me with your suggestions.

    submitted by /u/pragyanblue
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    Taking Pixel Art to the Next Level

    Posted: 29 Sep 2018 07:55 AM PDT

    In the indie scene, pixel art is extremely popular. It is aesthetically pleasing and induces a lot of Nostalgia. So it is only natural that developers and designers would want to take it to the next level and place the pixel art into the 3D world.

    Due to the fact that pixel art is made up of squares, the natural progression is that its 3D counter part would make the art out of cubes. Voxels are essentially 3d pixels also known as volume pixels. Many designers have tried this however the result is not very aesthetically pleasing. It looks like something out of minecraft. The reason for this is because usually a designer will make a voxel object and then convert it to polygons. Then they would rig the object, texture it and proceed to animate it. The problem is, Voxels and Polygons do not behave in the same way. Polygons are made up of 3 points that are joined together by lines. During animation, these points move around giving a morphing or movement effect. With voxels however, it is the cubes (volume pixels) that move around. This gives a completely different visual effect that is far more aesthetically pleasing. So the solution, isn't to just create objects converted from voxels to polygons, but to instead to convert the details and animation from voxels into polygons.

    I am working on a project called Gigga Bit Labyrinth to demonstrate this. Please watch this concept teaser.

    ​

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6CySnnc_M0

    ​

    The idea of this game is not only to capture the visual look of pixel art in 3D, but to also capture the feel of 2D games, while in a 3D environment. Super Mario 3D World has been a massive inspiration, because even though it is a 3D Mario game, it still manages to maintain that feeling of it being a 2D Mario game. This is what I wish to achieve with this game, and influence other indies to innovate in the same way.

    What are your thoughts?

    submitted by /u/AnanCee
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    Unity UI Panel Animation Tutorial

    Posted: 29 Sep 2018 08:42 AM PDT

    Screenshot Saturday #400 - New Milestones

    Posted: 28 Sep 2018 07:37 PM PDT

    Share your progress since last time in a form of screenshots, animations and videos. Tell us all about your project and make us interested!

    The hashtag for Twitter is of course #screenshotsaturday.

    Note: Using url shorteners is discouraged as it may get you caught by Reddit's spam filter.

    Previous Screenshot Saturdays

    Bonus question: Do you enjoy competitive multiplayer?

    submitted by /u/Sexual_Lettuce
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    Armory 0.5 is out! - Releases

    Posted: 28 Sep 2018 03:16 PM PDT

    How and Why to use Interfaces in your C# Unity Game

    Posted: 29 Sep 2018 12:33 PM PDT

    Unity 2D tile help

    Posted: 29 Sep 2018 11:52 AM PDT

    Can you guys help me with this problem, In tutorials people use Rule Tile, animation tile and other, for some reason these tools dont appear for me . Thanks in advance

    https://i.redd.it/wyoh9t3158p11.png

    submitted by /u/SuperMelki13
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    Project Advice : (3D visualization)

    Posted: 29 Sep 2018 07:51 AM PDT

    Hi everyone,

    I need to design an application that inputs 3d cad files of a building, and dynamically produces a 3d environment (third person POV and first person). How should I approach this project? What tech is capable of fulfilling these requirements? I was looking into webGL, three.js and unity. I feel a little lost on how to approach the project itself. I'd appreciate it if someone could nudge me in the right direction.

    submitted by /u/CapableCauliflower
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    iOS game development - where to start?

    Posted: 29 Sep 2018 02:05 AM PDT

    Hi,

    So far I have been focused mainly on Machine Learning and have developed backend. Recently, I have been thinking to give mobile game development a try. I started to learn swift by watching Developing iOS 11 Apps with Swift, but as I haven't got any prior experiences with game development, I don't know how long is the road to develop a game that might catch any attention on app store. Certainly, there are a number of different game types (board games, 2D, 3D etc.) so I guess the answer couldn't be generalised and also it depends on how much effort is invested in the field and therefore I would be very thankful if anyone could provide any suggestions on where to start considering the following:

    • Mobile development is not the main focus (on the long run it would be great if knowledge from the field of AI and mobile development could converge towards a coherent goal)
    • I have no prior experiences with game development
    • I would like to start with something that is realistic enough to complete it by developing it in my part time.

    ​

    Thanks!

    submitted by /u/nikogamulin
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    THE CHALLENGE OF CHALLENGE: “Souls-likes” & the Careful Balance of Difficulty

    Posted: 29 Sep 2018 10:22 AM PDT

    The Game Development World Championship (free contest for indie devs, prizes include laptops and trips to Finland + Sweden) submission deadline is tomorrow, for those interested.

    Posted: 29 Sep 2018 12:36 AM PDT

    An update on the indiepocalypse. Spoiler alert: it's still bad

    Posted: 28 Sep 2018 07:08 PM PDT

    God of War - The Art of the Scene

    Posted: 28 Sep 2018 05:22 PM PDT

    Hello, i am looking to make an app, but dont know where to start.

    Posted: 29 Sep 2018 10:38 AM PDT

    i have an idea for a game, however i have no idea where to start. any advice?

    submitted by /u/yellowslotcar
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    How should I approach displaying item information in a fast-paced game?

    Posted: 29 Sep 2018 05:47 AM PDT

    I'm developing a somewhat fast-paced, arcadish top-down zombie shooter game. Lately I've been trying to solve how much information about the weapons should I show to the players, and how/when should it be displayed. For now the game is single-player only, but I'm going to add local co-op later on, and perhaps a networked co-op.

    ​

    I can't decide how much information should be displayed. I feel that the weapons should not have hidden stats, unless they are purely cosmetic. For now the non-cosmetic statistics are: Fire rate, damage, critical hit chance, armor penetration, clip size, recoil/spread of the weapon, reload time and max amount of clips to carry (might change most weapons to have infinite ammo).

    I think that the statistics should be displayed in a way that is easy to digest without pausing the game. But when should they be visible? when pointing the weapon pickup with mouse, when pointing them in the weapon slots UI? I feel that a visual representation of the statistics could be a better way than having a bunch of text and numbers show up, at least in in-game situations.

    ​

    Some of the weapons will also have a possibility to add attachments to them, and there's going to be lots of different weapons.

    ​

    So TLDR: How should weapon information be displayed in a fast-paced game so that everything useful is easy to find out quickly, without sacrificing too much player attention / time on digesting them?

    submitted by /u/LakeHoundGames
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