Is it? Hmm.
Well...
In terms of personal popularity as a developer:
- Re-make a classic game which is loved by everyone and make video about it where you describe how you did that using your real voice.
- Try to make web games until you have audience. Players won't really trust your .exe files.
- Most streamers/video making people do not really care if your game will succeed, unless you make a deeply integrated fan game into their community, but you'll probably won't be able to make many of these.
- Piracy kind of makes games popular in unexpected regions. I feel like game developers should consider trying adding their support credentials at credits screens.
- In modern age it is kind of important to appear frequently. Your audience might overwrite memory of you with literally everything else.
In terms of revenue:
- Don't be afraid to ask for support/donations/payments early. If you'll happen to release a big project that is fueled on altruism - in about 10 years you'll not be able to convert it into revenue.
- You can validate your risky decisions by making polls. Most of the time audience thinks exactly how you do. Though I believe there can also be audiences that would prefer you to not ask the community, I guess it depends.
In terms of game quality:
- Quality is kind of overrated, especially in projects you are uncertain whether they will become big.
- Demo games are pointless, make sure to release your games (make menus, finish story mode even if it is a multiplayer game).
- Be able to tell yourself why playing your game will dramatically change life of your player to the better. The more points you can name - the better.
- Make sure your game has something everyone always thought would be cool (but AAA game companies would see it as too risky) and just add it. It might be actually the only thing of high quality and polish in your game.
- Make it look simple at first glance.
- You kind of have to mix already popular game ideas, especially ones that are deeply in the culture and not the ones that players will probably forget in a few years. We are looking into something like Doom/Minecraft but not Among us, for example.
- Some old genres like strategy games can be reborn but I personally feel like they aren't popular because there is no entry-level strategy games. StarCraft/WarCraft were a really popular series of games but it might be solely because of Dune/C&C/RA, which were much simpler and suited more what I'd call an entry-level strategies. Racing genre probably also lacks an entry-level simpler yet still fun cart games, but I feel like younger people generally started to feel like cars are overrated.
- Playtesters give ideas. Being able to find people who can debate your ideas and directions is useful even if is kind of harsh - these can't be your friends or family, they are just too nice. Annoying other developers on developer forums into giving you a feedback can be kind of better.
- There is only one step between hater and fan. People like these are sort of easily obsessed with whatever. You can use their help but they can also demand features that make no sense for almost everyone else - it can be useful to know more about the way they live their daily lives. It can tell you more on what kind of audience these players might represent, then you decide whether it matters for you or not. These people can be kind of the first ones who will share info about your game, but I mean not the person that DMs you specifically - you'd have to please rather a group people with shared tastes. Also probably younger players because older people have much less connections.
- Players kind of don't know what they want. You might often know better if you are able to put yourself in their position, or try to remember your thoughts when you were at their age.