Here's Why My Indie Game Went Viral on Steam

[@pablolescano2354]

Props to this guy for sharing his knowledge and not being selfish with it, congrats on your success.

[@lallare1844]

I mean it is marketing for his online school

[@appdeveloperacademy7648]

Nice! Yeah, its so straig forward and he doesn't spend a whole bunch of time talking. He gives you the strait story! Love it.

[@Chuar1]

I think he does this to promote his products even more, I guess a smart move.... right?

[@EscapeCondition]

Agreed, props on both. Love to see it.

[@MrHarumakiSensei]

@@Chuar1 It's great, he does something nice and also benefits. Win-win!

[@adityaanuragi6916]

0:32 Eye catching visuals 1:14 nostalgia 2:32 gifs 3:41 call to action (wishlist)

[@therealjohngalaxy]

What I learned: "give the audience something they already like or know but with a twist". That's great! Thanks!

[@podifpp1656]

A zombie killing game but you are a fox

[@justamanofculture12]

@@podifpp1656 a fox killing game but you're a zombie

[@krysxmoon]

I mean... He did also go over marketing strategies and visual development tactics. Lol I'm sure you're jk tho

[@tyresewatchthis8025]

I also took that to heart

[@bone7444]

Probably now a lot of people watching him will buy his game just to check it. Thats 200iq

[@dariomladenovski7047]

@Tw0 Pix3l he is giving you valuable advice in return

[@dariomladenovski7047]

@Tw0 Pix3l the guy who made the game he is giving good advice so its ok if he promotes his game

[@nadeemshaikh7863]

@@dariomladenovski7047 Even if he doesn't, it's still "ok" to promote his game!

[@galapagoz1211]

5Head

[@spottek_6434]

i finished two levels already

[@MattKander]

I recently wrote about the importance of KZbin as an Indie game dev and its use as a marketing tool. I completely glossed over gifs and the power of highly shareable, clickable content. Cheers for highlighting that and a massive congrats on the launch!

[@JMacify]

Where did you write about it at? I didnt see anything like that in your list of videos on your channel. I would like to see it if you would not mind.

[@Urugash_001]

@@JMacify I agree I would also like to read about it

[@acfacf2720]

Matt Kander ^^^

[@shirkophobe]

I think this is it: www.mattkander.com/post/a-modern-approach-to-indie-game-dev-marketing-in-2020

[@JMacify]

@@shirkophobe Thanks

[@mbcchoudhari885]

Next video : Here is why my video went viral on youtube.

[@Prisoner]

Why did your comment go top comment?

[@h_103]

Here is why your comment went viral on this section

[@jadrianmc3420]

After that next video: Here is why my comment went viral on video.

[@guir0]

Here's how my comment became top comment!

[@Repz98]

«Here is how people talk about my comment being top comment that got me into Guinness World Records»

[@MaxHealthStudios]

I remember first watching your GDC talk about this topic. Great that you're on KZbin now. You're the reason I have an Imgur account :D

[@DavidWehleGames]

Thanks for the support! Imgur is a great place to share a game

[@codinginflow]

I'm really itching to try my hands on game dev but it's probably much more difficult than I imagine in my head

[@inconnn]

just open up unity and try something out. this is the documentation: docs.unity3d.com/ScriptReference/ if you need tutorials just go to brackeys: kzbin.info

[@anthonyanyama]

Would love to see a game tutorial from you, you already do impressive work with your Android tutorials, big fan!

[@codinginflow]

Thanks both of you!

[@anirudhvijayaraman4588]

it's actually not too hard, I'd recommend Godot, Unity or Unreal, I personally like Godot.

[@prod.immortalized]

trust me it's not as hard as it looks, once you understand the basic concepts and know the syntax for the scripting, you can pretty much do anything.

[@h1ghnezz]

Tbh your Game was recommended to me by KZbin. Yes the eye catching thumbnail was the reason i clicked but i bought because i can Tell that this Game was made With love. The music, the Story, the whole world. Thanks a lot for this experience

[@mvr]

Such an informative video and very inspirational! I watched your interview with Thomas Brush and gave me so much motivation in my own journey with game dev:) Thanks so much:D

[@sleepingdogpro]

Thank you so much for being upfront and honest about all this. It's so helpful and you're rad for putting it out there.

[@Blinkers2007GameDev]

This game is absolutely AMAZING!!! I am currently saving up 3000 dollars for my dream game. Next year, im gonna start on my unique indie game and market it just like you did! You give this community hope :)

[@flamingnar1015]

Here's Why My Indie Game Went Viral on Steam - *_FURRIES_*

[@man_vs_life]

The visuals struck me immediately. I was won in the first 3 secs, no problem.

[@seeexy]

the most down to earth/ practical AND truthful (which i agree, cuz some game makers dont see that part) review/video ive ever watched. i rly dig this stuff and respect u man! 💚

[@giraffe5571]

Bro I literally love you game so much, one of my favourite comfort games :)) bought it about 1 and a half years ago now and I still enjoy playing it!

[@Sklarlightwo]

Subscribed because you pronounce GIFs correctly. The real reason I subscribed is because we've almost finished our first game and I wish I'd followed the advice to cut my game idea in half (and in half again) years ago when someone first gave it to me. It probably would've saved so much trouble, adamance and persistence got in the way of that. Eventually, though, I did follow it, and we've made a little short game set in the same universe to gain much more experience and a greater understanding of how things work.

[@darkdevil6508]

Hi i want to know more about your game.

[@GameFuMaster]

yes, gif should be pronounce like gift without the T!

[@yukononun]

You raise some very good points. I'll have to consider what's marketable about my games in terms of aesthetics. The first game that I'm working on is more about gameplay than graphics, and (although it'll still look nice) I'll have to market the gameplay rather than an eye-catching cinematic or graphic. It's more of a comedic game, so perhaps I'll highlight that in gifs. You've given me quite a bit to ponder! Thanks for the video, and for being so open about everything. So many developers refuse to share their knowledge and insights with everyone else, so your videos are very refreshing.

[@NeilMyatt]

Thanks for sharing this. I'm a pro dev working on pretty dull enterprise software for many years. I'm also a trained animator (and a mediocre amateur artist). As a way of breaking out, I recently started my first indy game using Unity - i'm so overjoyed to hear that you started on the visuals, as I took this approach and a lot of people said I was doing things backwards. Right now I have a basic game engine and some physical interactions, and a few nice visuals. I'm expecting it to take a year of part-time effort before I have anything even close to publishable. Your comments about marketing and building up a following prior to launch could have saved me from a big flop! I may yet achieve a big flop, but at least more people will be aware of it :-)

[@diliupg]

You give the indies hope. It's like holding your hands around that little flame, letting it grow and not letting it being blown out by the wind around it. I'm sure a lot of aspiring developers would take your advice which makes real sense. Thank You.

[@SoraQ8]

I had 11 cents left and the game was 11 cents so I said "aheh why not buy it?" I bought it and spent 1 hour walking around and then uninstalled it 10/10 Good Game

[@aksvan]

RageQuit();

[@versusgamedevelopement4633]

@@aksvan Destroy(50f); xd

[@Eviatarm]

abort();

[@ultantuffy1194]

(insert some smart code developer language)

[@jroseme]

@@ultantuffy1194 new Gamesession LetsDoThis(60) {int timer=this.time; bool sucks=false; startCountdown(timer); while(timer>0; sucks==false){ enjoy(); } if(timer==0; sucks==false){ timer+=60; } else{ rageQuit(); } }

[@jesustejeda6404]

Also the fact that youre the only indie dev whos voice i can attribute to a face

[@swine13]

Probably better to keep it that way 😅

[@Zimidiah]

This is a really roundabout way of saying “furries bought it a lot”

[@-Shiino]

I just googled what it means and boy. I need my 3 seconds back.

[@nope1083]

@Sydney The Catto Cathy Newman: so you're saying, you didn't buy the game and in fact hate the game and David Wehle

[@nope1083]

@Sydney The Catto then how do you afford full size mascot suits?

[@divyanshjorwal561]

@@nope1083 bruh lmao

[@defactofaulto8792]

@@nope1083 DESTRUCTION 100

[@fernandodemoraes5834]

Finally found a way to contact you… what a game… thank you for sharing such a great experience through this game. Normally I don’t look for people to tell them these things, but your game really impacted me in a positive way! Thank you

[@aseriouslollygagger5734]

I just played The First Tree my first time since I had to wait till the Nintendo release. Beautiful story, graphics, and experience. I cried at the ending, it was a work of art. I admit I bought it just to run around as a 🦊, but was pleasantly surprised with how deep it was.

[@scottyawesomesauce467]

Your game lit my desire to become a game dev again, but not understanding how to get started got me disheartened. I'm so glad I found your channel.

[@TheSoprah]

That's why I study computer science. But honestly, there are so many ways to become a game dev. Just research, compare them and figure out which path suits you. Research + Try + Error. Repeat this cycle every day and you will succeed mate.

[@jgeekw]

I got this game free through the Epic store in 2022. I just started and finished it today. The ending was very emotional for me. Great visuals and music score. So many therapeutic messages selected to be put on display.

[@francometallo215]

Precious insight, thank you king. blessings.

[@KICoasterGuy]

This trend of calling people king is definitely one of the new worst things ever.

[@Rhino123freak]

@@KICoasterGuy don't remember asking you, queen.

[@francometallo215]

@@KICoasterGuy Kings recognize other kings, that's why you've never been called like that.

[@KICoasterGuy]

@@francometallo215 LOL ok princess.

[@massimogiacca9705]

Didn't knew anything about this game. Thanks for sharing your insight in marketing while still marketing your product. You are awesome.

[@TonsOfHunStudios]

Great tips! Art first seems a bit counterintuative when you may potentially not use all the art assets, but art catches peoples eyes first not gameplay. Great video quality as well!

[@Bananenbauer123]

I think it depends on the audience. For a younger audience this is definitely true.

[@merccc1]

@@Bananenbauer123 True, I don't really bat an eye at graphics anymore. I watch for appealing gameplay that I think that I would actually enjoy and be invested in first. Then I get it. Better graphics are just a bonus, but I will say that terrible graphics may stop me from playing the game though. I cannot enjoy myself with a game as much if it looks like trash, but am completely fine as long as it is at least decent.

[@mrngamer272]

Now I understand why my friend posts gifs everyday of her pixel art in game. I is beautiful.

[@monkeyrobotsinc.9875]

i know you are

[@robertostoian1442]

I'm 18 years old and I'm trying to learn codding and game making in unity hoping to sell some content in the future so this small video is an enormous help for me. thanks and congrats for your succes.

[@appdeveloperacademy7648]

Marketing the game is so important. We think more people should get into game development. They can consider forming a team, then have one person dedicated to marketing the game. Love this video, We're going to add it to our playlist. Awesome!

[@tartadecaca5852]

I just played you game and I have to say that I really loved all of it so I had to find the way to tell you that you that you did a great job and I'm sure i will play it so often because the sensation of peace that made me feel can't be compared to any other videogame I played in my life. Thank you.

[@sanketdongre369]

The truth is that it’s easy to analyse reasons for success once you achieve it. But it’s also true that there are many indie games who fail even after doing everything that’s needed. So somewhere you must say that there was luck with me as well. But it’s glad to know that your indie game was a success. Wish you best of LUCK for your future work. Wishing you luck as hard work we are sure you’ll do.

[@kleestrat1237]

This channel is truly encouraging and inspiring, thank you for your work

[@Yoel.Yoestar]

What a transparent and informative video. Even though I'm very late to market my first game (I am trying, nonetheless) I always knew the first one was more of a test to my abilities. I will certainly apply what I learned watching your video in the next project!

[@aepfelpfluecker]

What is it , i will Check it out

[@davegamedevelopment]

Wow, congrats man! :D And thanks for the explanation, very helpful!

[@YangSunWoo]

working on the visuals first is such a radical idea for me as a web developer, but it makes sense in this competitive world when you need a long runway of trying to market.

[@33_sorin]

Before watching the video, I want to say the reason why I think it did, which is also the reason why I felt attracted to checking out the steam page; the beautiful art style, nice colours, serene and minimalistic vibe (If it's the game I'm thinking of based on the thumbnail and first couple frames) Edit: after watching the video, it all sounds legit, and I like the idea of seeing what people like most during development and going on from that

[@depone6334]

i love this game, bought it on PS4 and actually finished it, loved it from beginning to the end, very very well done, awesome game, keep up the great work, by far one of the most fun games i played in a long time

[@cherifabdelhamid6373]

congrats, and i agree that steam wishlists is a powerful marketting tool since i first know about the game when i was scrolling through my steam feed and saw a friend wishlisting it and then it poped up in one of my recommandation queues since it was wishlisted by my friend. wish you more success in the future and it's facsinating to see such success stories and tips being shared with everyone

[@hasanjafri135]

Thank you for the advice man! Love your genuine attitude and best of luck with future games!

[@MrPianoMan]

When I first saw one of your videos I thought that it reminded me of journey. It looks really nice and I love both art styles and both scores. 👍

[@TheMaskedMindOriginal]

I am watching this with tears. Reminds me of how I learnt to code. 10 years ago i was struggling with thinking and memorizing. Spent countless hours sleepless nights on studying and coding because I loved it. Today I am a full time software developer :'). At the time I though i would never be able to achieve it. I am glad that I found this video. What an inspiration. Good luck man

[@AlexanderosD]

So nice to see how well you understand how to appeal to the general people and your willingness to share it.

[@thenamelessone123]

This is so, so valuable, not just for indie game promotion. Thank you - very inspiring

[@LostRelicGames]

Great info mate, I really enjoyed your GDC talk too. It has given me guidance in the lead up to my own launch. Nice work with the KZbin channel, I hope it blows up!

[@isto_inc]

Just discovered the channel. I was following the first tree from the very beginning. So stoked to see you posting videos

[@isto_inc]

Consider me subscribed!

[@penguinista]

Great video! Well structured and full of good, specific advice. Props for sharing and trying to lift others up!

[@MrTiomanisland]

I love your videos because they are short! I can't watch 50 min videos. You are also explaining very well. thanks!

[@SonicBoy145]

Bruh this has just made me so much more confident in game Dev thank you so much!

[@dertyp3463]

Thanks for the insight! this might come in handy! and gz on your games success!

[@baizhugaming9071]

keep growing forward Man I will pray for your Success

[@16BitsBR]

Awesome tips, as a begginer, stil learning on college I apreciate this tips and will keep them for the future ^^

[@ourea6720]

This is a fantastic video, a lot of good insights! Definitely going to apply them to our game!

[@alec_almartson]

Those 4 tips are the Key to Success in any kind of I.T. project, specially in video games. As you said: "Luck is Just a part of the (Big) Equation...". Thank you for sharing your Wisdom.

[@marcosantos9512]

About the first topic. Thanks for sharing this. Some time ago when I saw the splash art in the steam, I tought "Wow this it is so beautiful, it's wonderful" and was the only reason why I wen't to see the game. And the beautiful of the game was one of the reason that I've puted it on my wishlist. But I haven`t realised this until now. Thanks a lot

[@sasufreqchann]

i think its the whole vibe it gave off . at first glance you can feel what's behind it . its transperent and revealing, attractive and propably a no brainer for people who enjoy simple stories while unwinding/playing a video game ;D

[@mannydsz]

Best piece of advice I heard launching games. Thanks for sharing!

[@benjamintchang3923]

Nice video- just summarizing some points: - make the game similar to something people already like. The First Tree ≈ journey, Okami, etc. -take advantage of contrast, use compositional rules. (Color contrast-orange fox against green bg, simplicity helps-low poly art, 1 color bgs). -have a character to rally around. His is a fox, people like foxes

[@dantheman52420]

Marketing is so essential that plenty of people start with marketing and don't even have a game (or product in general). It's a way to test if people want to give you their money before you sink time into the project.

[@ReluctantStallion]

Nice info and break down. And congrats on your success, well deserved.

[@JonasTyroller]

Congrats for the successful launch and thanks a lot for sharing your experience with us. Quite useful. :)

[@DavidWehleGames]

Thanks for checking it out, keep up the great work on your channel!

[@princessthyemis]

What a fantastic break down of your own work! You obviously put a lot of work into this! Congratulations three times over!! I'm going to check this game out! It looks beautiful! You were very smart and I'm so happy that it paid off!

[@shuvamsky]

awesome job dude. congrats on such a big day and ur hard work!!

[@kerynadcock2226]

We're Hugely impressed with your game "sense"for The First Tree, and wonderful tips on why it succeeded. Very special- thanks!

[@binusha]

amazing indie game, love the storyline and thank you for sharing the story and experience 🙏🏽

[@daisukeniwa1317]

Agree. Marketing is Essential! After all, no matter how good something is, it exist if people know it exists.

[@PixelatedBeing]

You are inspiring, my man. Thank you for sharing these videos!

[@kalega311]

Thanks, excellent insight and all of it makes sense. I've had this game for at least a couple years now. I'm definitely more motivated to finally play it!

[@Ankhyl]

Really nice video, straight to the point and as always it requires commitment and will to succeed. There may be some chance on the results, but you clearly worked hard for it so to be ready to happen. Well done and congrats! thank you for sharing.

[@oriongzm]

Bro!! Your game is actually free for limited time in Epic Games!! Imma download it and try it. I'm excited!!

[@RustysAdventures]

I'm glad this video was in my recommended. Another game in my playlist

[@cloudbaseddev4913]

Thank You For Giving So Much Inspiration And Advice!! I luv ur channel!!

[@specy_]

As an app developer i can confirm this too, if you don't have a community already, it's really hard to start out with downloads. I have 3 apps, two of which have in total 10 downloads, the other one has around 30'000 , the only that had success was the one I advertised on Reddit and on some discord servers, then the users promoted it themselves by making videos on it

[@sherpadai5452]

Even the video's narration & music is oddly calming.

[@maksimxgloryso137]

Thank you for such a very emotional and heartfelt game

[@itzdavidreal]

I’m happy your game went viral i’ve had it for a long long time and loved it

[@AngelGarcia-pb5nf]

I LOVE when games have good music/ambiance. I honestly like it more than graphics! I feel like it just immerses you more, so my question is how were you able to create the music for your game?

[@phichau90]

Super inspirational. Currently transitioning into a software dev. This vid got me so hype up. That anyone can do it if they put in the work and time.

[@Geomaverick124]

This was impressive...The posting every week was very crucial I think. I am a Web Developer and I post about my coding progress almost every day as a part of the 365 Codingphase challenge on facebook, twitter, instagram, and linkedIn. Just from doing that, I was able to get a little following and a bunch of recruiters reaching out to me...image if I had a product and posted about it every day or week as a build-up to launch...you sir have got me thinking.

[@milosmilovanovic455]

I watched a couple of videos of this guy talking about his game. Such a noble and friendly guy. So glad you made it with the first game. Hope we can see something new in the near future. Kudos to you!

[@leotomo]

I actually saw this game for the first time on PSN last night for £1.89, I think I can stretch to buy it. Nice work!

[@hokoder7371]

Thanks for sharing your experience!

[@tarastanojevic6054]

it reminded me of one website game with a fox that was really sad. i dont remember the name, but i remember that the fox lost its mother and wanted to find her while out there was a big storm

[@BASILHITMAN]

First Time Hearing about Your Game from Your Videos and I just Bought it. Good Luck and God Bless.

[@gabri7viola]

I am in the same road you were, I hope to arrive in the same destiny with our RTS game. Thanks for sharing such precious information.

[@namithfotedar4206]

OMG I have played this game! It's sooo beautiful! I can totally, and I mean totally, relate to the bond he shared with his dad that reflected in the game! 100/100!!!

[@rewindapp]

The atmosphere of this game is really wonderful.

[@Zagaara]

Thx alot for GREAT TIPS and ADVISE! This video make me to have a look at your games.

[@LucasFlintOfficial]

it's not only for games, but music and movies too. Great experience and knowledge transfer! I didn't play your games, but I watched some of your videos and I can see it's valuable content :) Greets!

[@n41sd]

Amazing video! This help me a lot! Thanks for this.

[@nightmoon1163]

Suuup Love Your Vids Miss This Kind Of Them Actually

[@shannonglover5291]

Unlike most vids on the subject. This one was actually relevant and contained useful advice.

[@Takeonm]

This is gold. How did you go about the music? Could you share tips on that

[@itsthedragon6762]

Wow! I learn so many things in this video! Thanks for sharing this knowledge!

[@synthonaplinth5980]

The 'special ingredient' was the fact that so many people could relate to it.

As an indie game developer, I watch your videos with pleasure.

[@Haapavuo]

This game is a proof of that a successful game doesn't have to be good or have any hooking content. Just produce a lot of GIF spam online that catches the eye and you'll be fine. Personally, I found this game very boring from the 1st level onwards. Large empty levels where you just collect some glowing orbs. Wow. But so nice that it worked for you!