I Released my Game on Steam - Devlog

[@cburn-YT]

I haven't shipped a game but i'm in this space of devs, as for the emails trying to scam keys, it honestly is worth looking into seeing if there are legitimate people asking for review keys, even if your game is 2 or 40 dollars that one review key will get more eyes on your product than without it, no one can buy your product if no one knows it exists, fewer will buy any product without endorsement so a positive review from even a very niche outlet is a net positive, even if a game isn't for someone they may like what they see and spread word about it, we are LONG past the days of releasing a game into the wild, spread the word a little bit, and then the copies start flowing as for the game itself I have not played it, this is the first video i've seen on it so I can't say anything about it, as well it doesn't look like a genre I would play anyways so I can't give any input there, that being said good luck, this shit aint easy

[@peanut_games]

Very true but I'm not too worried about it, I decided early on I wasn't going to push for reach as I learn the process. That said I have looked at the Twitch accounts and they have no videos and no schedule lol so 🤷‍♂. I have some small creators that I'm actually a fan of that I'd contact too if I'm ready for that. But yeah I made sure my email wasn't publicly visible for this reason yet somehow they see it - through some back door I'm unaware of. Atm I'm more concerned about return rate. Maybe the store page is the issue, the reviews mention they play Dark Souls and Vermintide, coincidentally the 2 biggest inspirations - so that's who it appeals to. Like there isn't much direction and it's meant that way. Maybe I can make that more clear on the page... but regardless I do see how it ties into reach for sample size to get an accurate rate. I also now have 320 wish lists which more than double what it was before release, surely waiting for a sale, so of course aside from my main projects now like the soulslike template, one of my thoughts is whether I should request a sale mid-feb or just wait for the march break sale. Since the game is co-op, to encourage co-op play I could also offer a package deal for two... three copies? But yeah before I ramble forever this whole thing has basically just been meant to learn the release/Steamworks process. You're right though it isn't easy, particularly if you really care for the product you make. I've definitely gotten overwhelmed and just wanted to cancel the whole thing prior to release, nobody would know after all. But in addition to, obviously, family, etc... I find the KZbin dev community is very supportive, so I really do appreciate the time you and others have taken to comment. 😊

[@wayneknox4510]

The fact that you made it to the goal of releasing on steam is a huge accomplishment, and you can take pride in that. I’m on attempt #4 of building a game in unreal, and I still haven’t met that goal - so I respect any dev who can get as far as you have. Anyway, keep up the good work. Your tutorials and feature explainers have been helpful for me.

[@peanut_games]

I really appreciate it. Yeah my only monetary goal was to recoup the steam fee and I got that :) It also makes a great portfolio piece if you ever want to apply somewhere for a dev job. It was a struggle at the end, all the little things that you neglect add up and it feels like you're not making any progress. I wish you luck on yours, know that I certainly rebuilt mine several times and I took months off working on it at a time, just keep coming back.

[@zeroonezeroonezeroone]

The dedication is awesome, hmu if you ever need a soundtrack for your next project. Also a noob ue5 game dev as well :)

[@peanut_games]

Thank you :)