I've talked about the fact that I used to be a copywriter in some of my other posts, so I like to think that I know a thing or two about advertising. I have a BIG recommendation for smaller, one-person operations:
You CANNOT go wrong building a community. It's like the best kind of advertisement. Make your project's FB page a source of fun memes featuring your characters, engage in the discussions there, make a Discord, etc. The trick though is that you need to be genuine. It's 2023 and the Internet can smell a suit a mile away (I still smell slightly of mine, I know...). But if you engage in good faith with other creators, try to share your knowledge as much as you soak up from others, and keep a sense of humor about you, you'll have a loyal audience that'll eat up even your worst work.
But it's gotta be YOU. Unless you're a jerk... then consider being someone else.
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Your writing is witty. Maybe that talent is innate. But I agree 100% with what you said. 'Have a player who will eat the worst' sounds so impressive. Probably, every developer who posts a game and wants someone to play it wants to have fans. We're making games for different reasons, but I think we all agree on that. thank you.