The MOST IMPORTANT Skill to be a Successful Game Developer! (How to go Full Time Game Dev on Steam)

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

🌍 Get my Complete Courses! ✅ unitycodemonkey.com/courses 🎮 Get my Steam Games unitycodemonkey.com/gamebundle 🔴 RELATED VIDEOS 🔴 My Game Dev Journey (40+ Games! | mIRC to Flash to Steam) kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZqvWlIOclLpkjLs How much MONEY did my Indie Game make? Battle Royale Tycoon (Steam) kzbin.info/www/bejne/m2jGqH2nq9aSfNE Game Design BREAKDOWN Valheim kzbin.info/www/bejne/pIW8pJVvpM5_frc Top NEW Games Every Month! kzbin.info/aero/PLzDRvYVwl53tGek8LAWpi9m6Cm4gzhLsR Awesome Third Person Shooter Controller! kzbin.info/www/bejne/fJOwZXahptmCq6M I made Squid Game but you play as a Guard! kzbin.info/www/bejne/epCVk3qmgsqJarc How to Consistently Make Profitable Indie Games kzbin.info/www/bejne/gp2klGipd9l6ocU How to Make Video Game Hooks kzbin.info/www/bejne/hIDFXoOajtyerc0

[@LiberatedMind1]

Do you think it's too late after a game has been released for months? As in your example game that didn't sell well, can that be turned around at this point?

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

​@@LiberatedMind1 It's extremely difficult to get back from a bad launch, so unless you worked on that game for 3+ years and you really believe it has massive potential, I would simply move on to the next project and make it better with what you learned.

[@LiberatedMind1]

@@CodeMonkeyUnity Okay thanks. I am not in that position myself, and I am going to do all the marketing I can to prevent it when my game is finished.

[@timhellmann]

Let's also not forget about one essential aspect: You have be able to finish your game! So many start with a promising idea or prototype and either start to think way too big or simply do not iterate and improve on an idea to make it work in a 4-5 hours long game. Resulting in years of working on that game with no actual goal or feature freeze milestone - therefore a game that will never see the light of day.

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

Yup absolutely! Everything I said here is assuming you have a great game and you're well on your way to completion.

[@Sputterbug]

tell that to Yandere Dev

[@hazelyokouji2005]

Yandere sim lol

[@u263a3]

THIS

[@teomanefe]

this is me

[@Hopecho]

I think an overlooked thing to have, while promoting your game is confidence. I’ve known a lot of game designers who were simply too shy to post about their games. Because they didn’t want to bother other people with ‘boring commercials’. Trying to avoid being the next Raid Shadow Legends. And also just a lack of confidence that their game is good in general.

[@kodaxmax]

even more reason to publish. feedback is incredibly valuable, good or bad.

[@rafa_guitar]

Totally agree! Publicity is the king of actual business and as game developer we even don't know where to start! Nice video!

[@Nick_Lamb]

Yeah, whats hilarious is on all these videos in the comments I see people talkong about their games. Often times people will ask "what is your game?" and they wont even answer that 😂😂.

[@MadeThisStuff]

It's rough seeing people pour so much of themselves into something for years just to drop the ball at the end of the journey. I really hope more people take this to heart.

[@Funstyle2910]

nearly everytime when i try to learn new things about Unity and Game Dev your channel pops up. You doing so much variety and its every time interessting. Well done so far!

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

Thanks! I'm constantly trying to make interesting videos!

[@GambitGenius]

Code monkey is great, he tells us what the video is about right at the beginning unlike others! This made me subscribe to him and watch the video until the end!

[@h.m.chuang0224]

A course I took last semester also mentioned that, marketing nowadays takes 50% if not more of the total cost of a game release. If a game took 1M to develop, it will take at least 1M in marketing as well.

[@LiberatedMind1]

That makes sense because bigger games will step into more competitive territory.

[@nonprogrammer9462]

i love the fact you say the point at the begining of the video and no force us to see all the video.. .btw, i enjoy all the video as well :D. . . . sorry my bad english

[@ganning8084]

Your advice always help me progressing with the game development track ... Thanks for everything 💖

[@lubaka8269]

Couldn't be more true! A year or two ago i released my first mobile game, which i actually thought was decent. Many people agreed and gave positive feedback but the fact why it still stays at less than 100 downloads is that i never marketed it! Perhaps I will revive the game in the future with new content and loads of ads this time and see how it turns out. Great video!

[@r.allenposchii9082]

I love how you tell exactly what it is your going to talk about at the begging. Sometimes it's hard to follow I think because you talk really fast and I get distracted easily 😂 but, I am so glad your making cool videos like this keep up the good work.

[@migcreatesgames2622]

I meet a few indie game developers that don't like the idea that making their games should involve a popularity contest. I do express that you should share anything you make with the world and focus on the progress rather than the pressure to be popular

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

I totally understand that but sadly that's the reality, there's so many awesome games coming out every month, it's awesome for players, very tough competition for developers.

[@icesparkstudios]

Thank you Code Monkey! This information was a real eye opener. Its not just about the quality of the game but the amount of marketing. I think I was going about this backwards. I was trying to push myself hard to create better content and thinking that if something only got 10-20 likes then I was failure. Instead, I think I should just share the journey and enjoy the process for both marketing and game dev. For now, I am slowly start integrated some changes and think about what I want to do for a KZbin channel and then try some new stuff once school finishes in the summer. Thank you again!

[@Awesomeness2k6]

"Marketing is the study of attention and how to get it." That is incredible, A+

[@justinr1094]

This along with actually finishing what you start working on are the two most important things, imo. Look at Dead Cells. One would argue that game was a bigger MARKETING success than anything else. What set Dead Cells apart from any other dime a dozen games, tackling the same genres? Nothing! Giving the game out to smaller channels/influencers until the big outlets were begging to play it at no cost at all was one of the smartest small budget marketing moves I've ever seen. They were really smart, and now they're reaping the benefits of that.

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

I remember Dead Cells back when it was on Steam Greenlight Even back then they were excellent at marketing, their gifs were perfect and really attracted attention

[@ephemeraldgames]

Who would actually argue Dead Cells was just a marketing success? What are the other games that were more or less identical to Dead Cells at the time of its launch? When it comes to games that were successful just because of marketing Dead Cells is definitely not an example that comes to mind given the way it blended genres successfully in a groundbreaking way. You could argue that it's a failure of marketing that I can't name any, so... what are those games or are you just assuming they existed?

[@BananaDynastyX]

@@ephemeraldgames Funny that you answered your own question and don't even realize it.

[@EricOnline92]

Thank you for the very informative and enjoyable video Monkey! Always greatly appreciate a post from your channel. Since I am starting my Indie Dev ventures from Scratch I am glad I found a KZbinr/Professional Indie Game Dev combo AND you also focus on teaching and spreading the right information. A true Diamond in the rough here. You for sure deserve way more attention on KZbin and your Games. Keep up the amazing content and can't wait for your next Video/Game release.

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

I'm glad you found the video helpful! Best of luck with your own games!

[@Sputterbug]

what everyone in my game dev social media groups should hear i try to tell them marketing is the most important bc no ones gonna play their games without it but they are intent on thinking the customers will just show up if they put their life into a project. this is also something they teach in game dev at my community college. your work is nothing without an audience (customers).

[@divinityai]

It's second most important skill. First is your ability to make the game, marketing is nothing if you have no game

[@Sputterbug]

actually no, marketing comes first. people will buy trash if they think it looks good. that's why so many shitty phone games make money.

[@mishuhishu94]

You are truly a gift to aspiring game developers! really good video!

[@Phasma_Tacitus]

The success of Cyberpunk 2077 was all thanks to their marketing. Even an unpolished, unfinished game can find success if you can sell it well to the general public.

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

Yup that one is a very good example of how powerful marketing can be even if the game behind it has issues.

[@daboyz6106]

Their success was due to lying and dishonesty.

[@esbensloth]

@@daboyz6106 That's what marketing means! Eating a Mentos won't really increase your braincells; giving you the solution to get out of a sticky yet funny situation.

[@borischan9695]

This video is such a gold mine. Every indie game developer should at least be aware of these resources out there to help them!

[@dreamisover9813]

Definitely a very important skill! A lot of game devs seem to only be focused on the core development, which often is the more fun part, and even though there have been more and more resources on the business and marketing side of things, they are sometimes overlookd. For example, there is a youtube channel called IndieGameBusiness which has fantastic guests and talk sessions with them, but not that many seem to watch it.

[@Kaikaku]

Glad you've chosen the tutorial route :) Oh, and I waited for you mentioning your email list...

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

Yup Mailing list is a great way!

[@hypercharge26]

Agree. I haven't published any game(s) yet. This video really prepares me for that. Thanks!

[@RandyAT]

thanks for making the answer public in the beginning, appreciate that

[@adammed8667]

Your honesty however, is totaly next level. Nice video

[@powercore2000]

I knew marketing was an important step I'd need to look into, but having you making such a high quality tutorials on it is definitely gonna help. Thanks so much!

[@LemuriaGames]

Sad truth. I'Ve made a couple indie games over the past 25 years, and some were successful with purely organic growth and word-of-mouth, but most weren't. I was always lazy to do marketing and the result is a nice selection of cool games that I put a lot of work into and that almost nobody ever played.

[@ypichardie]

True. Sadly true. And the number of people we are to follow you is the proof. Developing games is so accessible now, and fun ! For a single indie dev, with daily job and children, the method I choose is : 1 make a strong and polish concept/demo with all core features and keep the all background/history for me. 2 start my promotion with this demo to attract players, founders AND A TEAM ! This team will help finishing the game/testing/polish/marketing. But the first prerequisite is : a solid/playable demo with all key game play features. That's my plan for the first game I'm working on. I know step 1 can take years and is finally the bigger part (and a big bet)... But was not bored since the last 3 years so I guess I'll keep on ! By the way, thanks CM for all your tutorials.

[@FlatThumb]

Useful video! Subbed! Game dev is very difficult and the more tricks up my sleeve, the better!

[@RocketFriday]

I almost didn't watch this video due to it's click-baity title and then upon hearing the intro; I was pumping myself up to be upset that Code Monkey videos have become just another one of "those" type that leave out the point until the end. After the early reveal, I was so happy to see that you refuse to cave to that devious mentality. I decided that I whole-heartedly agree with the 1# skill, and decided to keep watching. Keep up the great content, proud of you Code Monkey!

[@Sputterbug]

i was excited to see him say what it was and i had guessed correctly. but im glad this wasnt just a 5 min video glossing over details.

[@ahmadel-baher2779]

Unfortunately click bait is necessary for YT videos to be popular, so I don't blame him for that. However, CodeMonkey has always been a real one and straight to the point, so I was happy and not surprised that he did not drag it on.

[@GregoryTheGr8ster]

I began programming, hoping to be a successful computer game developer, in 1989. The bar was so much lower then! You are absolutely correct that having a good game is only the bare beginning nowadays.

[@StealthyShiroeanGames]

Marketing has been something so drilled in my head at this point from various game dev channels that I've been purposely allotting myself time and trello tasks to make constant updates on Twitter and make devlogs even though the game I'm making I don't even plan to sell. I always like watching just one more video on the topic just to keep certain points refreshed in my memory and maybe think about how to go about certain things. If anything, it's videos like these that keep me hyper aware of the importance of it and what I definitely need to be doing when I want to make a commercial title.

[@rafaellopes5891]

Very good content, I already knew the importance of marketing, but this video opened my mind more about it, thank you.

[@Angry-Lynx]

persistance is the most important skill u need to have. without that all other skills almost doesnt matter ;

[@rustyonlife]

I have learned with anything I do Freelance wise, Marketing is what I had to focused on. But over 20 years Marketing has become so much easier for indie thanks to social medias.

[@TheAdventuresofShujaaandRafiki]

Marketing is the Study of Attention and How to get it. I like that.❤

[@DanPos]

Me, a video game marketer by day, indie dev and tutorial maker by night, upon hearing Code Monkey say marketing is the number one skill to have....WOOHOOOO!

[@evan_game_dev]

Loved the live podcast yesterday!

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

With GameDevTV? That was a fun new test, never done something like that before, I'm glad you liked it!

[@TheSeanC]

Great video. I will actually probably study this video in depth so thanks. Just a quick correction on Len's Island. The studio released a video saying that due to mistakes they made with the Steam Festival, it was actually a bad idea that hurt their marketing.

[@serj_1264]

I cannot be more agree with what you said... With a friend we ve made a hell of a game (sorcs siege chronicles), a tower defense with FPS mode and released in steam. But no marketing means no sells.

[@supertenchoo4271]

Thanks for being honesty .. great video as always

[@MMT--Games]

This is *GOLDEN INFORMATION.* I feel so lucky just because i found this video

[@swoooshi.]

Great Advice, your videos really help me improve on my game dev journey! Although I have to admit, my main problem is finishing my game 😬😂 I start a project with good intentions but in about a day or 2, the project is abandoned! Keep it up and nice video 👌

[@3DuArt-08]

this was informative, thank you! I didn't even know about steamDB...

[@LunarBulletDev]

Love your videos brother, great stuff, keep it up!

[@aryaveeragarwal7765]

Idea: Can you make a tutorial on game icons or game trailers as they are also very important. If the trailer and screenshots are good then you might get more wishlists and more downloads? Also thanks for the great vid

[@Caphalem]

A successful game jam can also be a nice boost like "Baba Is You" :)

[@lucashanscom2697]

Thank you, good to have the honest take.

[@MetalStormGames]

This is a very important concept that a lot of people dont understand and just think their game will be an instant hit.

[@nichegames9590]

Thanks for the info, love the channel.

[@StudioTatsu]

Great Video! Since the beginning, I have focused on marketing - building a Brand Name until I have a game ready to be wishlisted. Thanks for the insights and links.

[@survival_man7746]

Oh yes finally someone who understands this ! I totally agree, even the worst game with good marketing can find is place in the market.

[@michaelmurray2595]

Thanks. Another great video :-)

[@cake8705]

Wow didn't expect that but it's entirely true!

[@mkVision424]

I love the animation that is produced by the Unity engine.

[@CRUMVIII]

The truth is painful but glad you made the video.

[@frederick008]

I agree. If no one ever hears of your AMAZING game they will never play it. You also have to be real with yourself when creating a game. You think its amazing, but that doesn't mean everyone else does.

[@lemongummy7047]

glad to hear it! i'm striving to be a gamedev youtuber myself.. >.

[@PhoticsTV]

It's funny. I started my channel to promote my apps, but then I just ended up promoting a channel to promote the app. Attention is the keyword. It seems that people are really overwhelmed with all the different screens to look at. 😄

[@sanketvaria9734]

I can back this up. I am developing games since 3 years now and without marketing I sold 0 copies. Luckily I have funds to back me up due to my father. I am lucky that I am still surviving but marketing is most important.

[@Dondlo46]

I think most important skill is patience, everything will fail if you aren't patient while developing your game. I'm not experienced at all but I know game development is a really long process, just be patient and consistent, then you'll succeed.

[@DoubleQuadDamage]

Code Monkey: "The most important skill is marketing. And keeping people attention" Also Code Monkey in first on 30 seconds of video: "I don't like videos when answer in the end. Answer is marketing!" XD Great video though. I like that you don't use these dirty tricks.

[@yudanaim6849]

Very informative. Very good

[@professorcalculus7885]

Man! I was just searching for marketing only and your video is here

[@KrazyKain]

I spent a year trying to do my own marketing with mixed results, I've pretty much reached a point where I'm ready to pay someone to do it for me. The fun part of course is finding someone who is legit.

[@ConradProteus]

13:32 i see awaken rise of heroes on your ng progile, we made that game many years ago. I am happy you made in journey

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

Hey Cristian! Yup that was a long time ago! Hope you're doing well!

[@ConradProteus]

@@CodeMonkeyUnity not as good as you but I am fine. Just getting ready to release one more sequel of that strategy game on steam

[@AZTechLabs]

best video you've made.. ty sir

[@coolboy9979]

There are also a lot of bad games that do very good due to marketing. The mobile market is a prime example, but also some tripple A games which get a ton of hype due to promises and trailers, but are at the end a unfinished or bland game

[@catto5600]

Nice video!

[@amandaflood]

Thanks, a daunting task but as you say it has to be done!

[@arkurianstormblade4109]

One big example of not marketing, Among Us! Remember, that game came out in 2018! Literally the vast majority of the internet did not care or even knew that game existed until the end of 2020 (thanks to the game dev's better marketed game, Henry Stickmin)! Now Among Us is probably in the top ten most recognizable indie games. That being said don't let marketing overwhelm your project either if it compromises the core game (not a very popular opinion I know). I recently watched a video about the 'failure' of the indie game Hello Neighbor. That game made a good amount of money true. It now has 3 spin off games (including bizarrely a 'scrap mechanic' game which seems to have no connection to the original game other than visuals), kids books, and even a cartoon. But in terms of gameplay, it seemed to have suffered quite a bit with over ambition and chasing the FNAF fanbase dream. People are cautiously optimistic though that Hello Neighbor 2 will go back to the roots of outsmarting a Learning AI. Sorry for the little tangent, for some reason that video popped into my head! Or in an example that backfired (too be fair AAA games tend to go crazy on marketing, so its not apples to apples in terms of indie game devs 🤑), Marvel vs Capcom Infinite. It was so obvious it was a massive marketing scheme, especially with the Marvel Cinematic Universe only characters and dropping anyone who was Xmen. And it unsurprisingly flopped (relatively in terms of aaa sales) as they leaned way too much on the marketing side, to the point where it didn't even make it into the main stages of the big fighting game tournaments (which previous MvCs easily got to) and they also dropped post launch support very quickly after releasing the 1st set of dlc (it was painfully obvious there was suppose to be a 2nd wave at the very least).

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

Yup that one is a good example, the game didn't change but blew up as more and more people heard about it. Interesting, I wasn't aware Hello Neighbour wasn't good, I just heard it did very well in terms of sales.

[@fredericc.6115]

Thank you for the reality check (as painful as it is to hear). At which stage of your game do you think it is the good timing to start marketing it?

[@metagen77]

As soon as you know what you can promise

[@definitelynotjames1970]

@@metagen77 and when you know you can fullfill that promise or else you'll just turn into another hello neighbour, bendy and the ink machine or yandere sim

[@kkrup5395]

I'd say when you can daily produce 2-5 jussy gifs that are satisfying to watch.

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

As soon as you can. If you're already confident that what you're currently working on is going to be your next game (and not just a throwaway prototype) then start talking about it, decide on a name and get the Steam page public as quickly as possible.

[@S_Tadz]

Been an indie for years, and now am recently working in a big studio. I would't go back unless I win the lottery, the peace of mind of having a steady paycheck and having some kind of social life is really hard by yourself.

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

Yup stability is one of the big benefits of working for a studio, I've definitely experienced some very concerning times when my second indie game was a flop.

[@lordfluffy9438]

Both a tough pill to swallow, and an excellent bit of advice.

[@haionerdev]

Really great video

[@Case-A-Lace]

Thanks Code Monkey, you da best!

[@JustBitsAndPieces]

Hello , I would love some videos on making hypercasual games, with your knowledge of making things reusable , and with small changes to make completely different games

[@dreamingacacia]

if I got net $8000, my whole family would be able to live for a whole year. The marketing is important but the quality of products is the most important thing, you can focus on one but you can never abandon one.

[@GameDevNerd]

Someone can counter by saying if you don't have the development skills you have nothing to market ... and if you're marketing a game you don't have the skill to actually produce that is bordering on a scam or at least displaying a huge level of incompetence. So I think, yes, marketing is a hugely important skill if you're trying to earn a living off selling indy games, but development skills are equally important along with the project and time management skills. That is the "holy trinity" of indy development.

[@mikejoe3551]

The man speaks nothing but the truth. Even though I am very early in my game development journey my marketing skills is what I feel can separate me from the pack. I see a lot of talented artists who don't have a clue how to sell themselves all the time. People are also making the mistake of focusing on genres that are already way oversaturated. I'm going to do my best to avoid those mistakes. It will be interesting to see how this comment ages because talk is cheap lol.

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

Best of luck!

[@mikejoe3551]

@@CodeMonkeyUnity Best of luck to you as well.

[@kken8766]

thx for the heads up~

[@impheris]

i agree with all what you said here, i wanted to be a youtuber for the same reason but i'm really shy

[@BartMamzer]

Imo consistency is way more important.

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

Consistency is extremely important for actually finishing your game. Marketing is extremely important for actually selling your game.

[@BartMamzer]

@@CodeMonkeyUnity you have to be consistent in marketing too :d

[@Amelia_PC]

I instantly thought of myself when you mentioned that a KZbinr needs "the right personality. I've got an idea since I'm not a good fit. What's your opinion about Webisodes on KZbin? A Webisode based on the game we're doing (something short, but fancy. 3D Short stories under 2 minutes about the game Universe/IP). Do you think it would be a good substitute for "the funny KZbinr screaming over gameplay and nonsensical stuff"?

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

Not sure about story based webisodes, seems like it would be really difficult to capture an audience for an original story and then get that audience to buy a game, those are pretty separate audiences. There are some devlogs that are more focused on the journey than entertainment, for example ThinMatrix. So you could package it that way, talk about the world/story of your game as you showcase the game being built

[@Amelia_PC]

@@CodeMonkeyUnity I'm really not the KZbinr type. So I'll stick with my first plan: Graphic Novel. I have a publisher and distribution already (I'm a veteran in the CB industry). I know it can be different audiences, but at least my business partners will deal with the ad campaign (for the comic book), not me. (My game is based on my comic book). I'd like to expand, but you're right. I'll stick with what I have now and expand later. Thanks! :D

[@ahmadel-baher2779]

I've learned many times over that marketing is vital to game development, however I'm always willing to learn more about - happy that you made the video, so thank you for that! On the topic of attention being a valuable resource, there is a great GDC talk that gives advice on how to have your game garner more attention and survive: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eoXZc5qjg7FgppI One interesting point that you mentioned was regarding the YT channel. I myself plan on making a YT channel in the near future that will focus on tutorials and devlogs, so thank you for the heads up on that. Also, glad you went the tutorial route - your videos really help me out and continue to do so 👍

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

Yup I love that talk! It's one of the few I've seen multiple times!

[@paranormalgamesstudios]

Its very important I agree, but no matter how much you market it if people don't want the game then no one will reply to your marketing efforts. Plus if you're really skilled or lucky and have created a great game good publishers will take that responsibility off your hands.

[@Songfugel]

#1 tenacity Title is a bit off, marketing means nothing to a game dev unless they are in charge of the marketing, like in a small indie project. Either it should be: most important thing to make a successful game launch or to be a successful indie dev

[@zainuldin9095]

please make video how to load adds on our games?

[@aa-xn5hc]

Please, deep dives of all examples that used the new code and not Photon

[@sscinemas8610]

I would like to know about your opinion about steam deck, as a Inde game developer do you think this a good opportunity?

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

As an indie developer it's awesome because if your game already supports gamepads and is already on Steam then chances are it will automatically work on the Steam deck. So without any extra work your game now works on a completely new platform

[@KrakenStudiosGames]

I'm an indie game dev with 2 successful games out with a publisher. Question. If I go at it alone about how much of my time is spent on marketing? 5%. 10%. 20%? I have a 3rd game in the works now. always good videos CM

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

It depends on how efficient you are at creating marketing materials (gifs, videos, text), I would say maybe around 20%-30% How did your experience with a publisher go? Successful?

[@KrakenStudiosGames]

@@CodeMonkeyUnity Considering the following... I hadn't coded in 25 years, had to learn Unity3d, C#, didn't know marketing, or how to publish a game they tremendously helped me. I do know UX, and I have been playing wargames since the 1980s that really helped make 2 solid games. The rest was on them. They gave me a nice manual, they gave me art cover, coverage, interviews, marketing, youtube videos, they have a huge database of players. So my experienced was very good. But I learn quickly and for my 3rd game I am running the math on if I can do it alone and if I want to. It is a factor of profit/time. I have a whole spreadsheet on it. Thus the question for how much time.

[@KrakenStudiosGames]

@@CodeMonkeyUnity They also helped me with some sound resourced and I got to talk to their lead artist for improvements on my game. Which was really great. They taught me quite a bit about game development. I had a lot of access to things I wouldn't normally have.

[@jessepaulsen973]

Hi codeMonkey. Thanks for all the videos. One questions I had is what effect does active maintenance and performing large updates have on keeper or moving your game higher up the algorithm?

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

It depends on how well the launch went. If the launch went very well then constant updates can keep the game going for a long time and enhance the long tail However if the game flopped at launch then it's almost impossible to grow the game to success through updates. In that case the best option is simply take what you learned from that game and apply it to the next one

[@jessepaulsen973]

@@CodeMonkeyUnity I see. Thanks for the answer. And in your personal opinion how do you measure success? Raw sales? If so what number do you need to hit to catch the steam algorithm eyeball? If your game were to suddenly pick up again from an external marketing campaign or a streamer playing it and injecting sales, could that bring it to life or do you think steam has permanently marked it as a poor seller?

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

Success is up to you to define, it depends on your goal, making money or just making games for fun? On Steam, if it doesn't get at the very least 50 reviews within the first week then it's unlikely to come back from that. Yes technically if you suddenly sold 10,000 copies in one day the Steam algorithm would indeed see that and promote the game a lot, but if the game failed to sell at launch that is highly unlikely to happen.

[@jessepaulsen973]

@@CodeMonkeyUnity Thanks again. I just bought your builder/defender course in Udemy and will start it tomorrow.

[@mintydog06]

Just makes me feel like theres is so much to learn other than game dev and I don't know any of it.

[@colbydanesaddoris]

Appreciate you

[@KushagraPratap]

Hey I wanted to let you know for some reason I never feel like clicking on your video for curiosity and I highly believe that's because of the art style/color combination you use. I want to watch them but whenever I see the thumbnail, I feel like not clicking on them. Please do something about it.

[@antijulius]

Curious about the prologue model. Would love recommendations for games that do that well.

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

You can browse SteamDB for Prologue steamdb.info/search/?a=app&q=prologue Some examples that were massively successful: The Planet Crafter; The Riftbreaker; No Plan B; Animal Shelter;

[@antijulius]

@@CodeMonkeyUnity Thanks for the quick reply on an old video! Been binging your content after taking your turn-based Unity course. So much good stuff. Thanks again.

[@sohrab2149]

thanks alot

[@drierwhisper729]

Getting youtubers and streamers to test my game before launch would be good for getting wishlists right?

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

If you can get them to do that yup that would be excellent. But also extremely difficult, remember they get hundreds of games every week, your game needs to be truly special for them to pick it up.

[@kken8766]

Have you considered an alternative of making a free game that runs ads to generate revenue? or is that not considered as Indie game?

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

Sure that's a valid strategy, it still requires the same level of marketing except instead of trying to get day 1 copies sold you want instead day 1 mtx sold.