Hi DiamondLabs,
Congratulations on finishing the game! It’s a pretty tough thing to do!
As you’ve experienced, making a game is a very difficult process. Getting a game to people is even more difficult. As others have mentioned, Itch is not focusing on getting you views or downloads. Itch is a place where everyone can host their own game, with little hassle.
This of course, means that literally anyone can upload a game, so Itch is getting filled with new games daily. If you have a budget, you can invest in marketing to getting the game out there. If not, and this is just a hobby project, the best you can do is share your work on social media of your choice, and hope for the best.
Here’s a few tips that might help:
- Your first game will almost never be a success. This is because nobody knows you, and its difficult for random users to trust a random dev. Keep making games, and this will change.
- Pick some websites, and start posting your progress there consistently. People will see you are putting effort into it, and some may even start to follow you. The next time you make a game, those people will be notified and you will start having more views/downloads.
- Pick a place to keep your devlog. This is to build hype, and to show people that you are working on something.
- Keep in mind that people prefer to invest in a dev that has been consistently doing work for the past 5 years, than someone who has only one post made 2 weeks ago. It shows dedication.
You don’t have to do all of these, but they might give you an idea of what your next move can be. If this project is not monetised, then I’m not sure if it’s worth spending that much time on it, unless you enjoy it.