Well, just about ALL of the games or developers that I notice, are popular people with a lot of followers. It's no surprise that popularity is a huge ranking factor. Do any search on any website and the first 10 results are likely people you've heard of before. So, the question that remains for many people is, how did they get there if their videos weren't shown before they were popular. The only conclusion I came up with is a very huge marketing budget OR an already existing large circle of family and friends. I don't have either. I have like 3 friends on my Facebook. So, even if I shared there, it wouldn't do any good. For example, the number one suggestion of crowdfunding is to share with family and friends (to gain momentum). My family and friends don't give a sh*t what I do. If I share ANYTHING with them, they just ignore it. So, I have absolutely no one to share my stuff from the start. I have to rely on YouTube (and other sites) algorithm to rank me well, which is very rare for an unknown person. Back in the day, SEO meant something. Since they started ranking by popularity, the small guy can't get anywhere.
Viewing post in How long for Game Jams to be Approved?
There is the concept of going viral. Unfortunately this cannot be planned. But here is a fitting joke about the situation
Also you would have to have something that people would want to see/play. Your stuff looks like amateur level. Which is not a bad thing, but hoping to get known for it, is a bit unrealistic. You should make games because making games is a fun hobby for you. Make games you would like to play. Games that you would like to recommend to someone else, not because they were made by you, but because they are good, or unique or whatever.
You seem to do 3d stuff that is playable in browser. That is not so common. You could build on that and "exploit" that there is less competition.
But the thing is, even if you make an excellent game, this does not translate to getting known or popularity, fame, success.
I have two examples for you. Also look at their presentation on their game description.
https://johngabrieluk.itch.io/amaya-maiden-of-the-storm
This game is excellent. I believe the game even won a jam. It has 6 ratings. Which is basically nothing. I do not know why the game is unknown.
And
https://dead-tale-studio.itch.io/luces-journey
It has 10 ratings, yet should have well over 1000 browser plays. It is a rather good game for its scope and a sweet and heartbreaking setting.
If those games are basically unknown, why should your games be known?
A successful example is Backpack Hero. They came up with a newish concept that was liked by people. That game now has 2000 ratings.
I'm a programmer. Not a graphics artist. Not an animator. etc. Although, I can do those things on a basic level, since it's not possible to find people to help on a game. All my games will ever look like is Amateur level, even though I use some pretty complex coding in some of them. Since I don't have an eye for art, I'm stuck at making games that don't "look" good.
Tough. You would have to score with engaging game play and or story. Baba is You is already invented, but that had quite non eye candy graphics. It can be done, but people will see the thumbnail of the game first and this should appeal to them somehow. Eye candy is easy. Horror is popular. But appealing to the puzzle-senses if you make a puzzle game or appealing to the adventure senses if you make an adventure and so on, might be achievable.
The most popular game ever, Minecraft, has horrible graphics.
So the theory is, that bad graphics are not a roadblock to success. But they might pose a hurdle in the beginning.
I do not really understand jams, but I suggest you should make a topic here, if you host another jam. See, if people are interested and why, or why not.
If you seek inspiration, make a jam about games that have no graphic artist on board ;-) Maybe with the twist, that it has to be a game where one normally would expect nice art. No AI allowed of course and no standard assets. Jams are among other things about learning as a game dev, are they not.
Yea, I've actually learned quite a bit from the jams I've participated in. Ranked pretty well too. People seem to rank me higher in enjoyment than other categories. Although, the most people in a jam that's voted on my games so far was 64. Until now, I'm in a jam with over 8,700 people. Voting is still going on for that one. I hope I rank at least in the top 250. Considering the number of games submitted, that would be somewhat impressive.