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What's the better option for publishing a game?

A topic by RealMadChicken created 55 days ago Views: 256 Replies: 10

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Hey everyone!

I have made a few games before but for my first game release I have uploaded here on Itch.io and I have advertised after advertised to try and get my name / game out there for people to play, It's free to play as all I'm looking for is reviews and video content of people playing the game. Anyway after everything I've done people have downloaded the game but not a single review has been left. I even tried to make a community in discord where I can post updates and promote others uploads etc and still no one joined.

The main question I'm asking is when uploading a game should I make a build for Windows, Linux and mac or are the majority of playing using say Windows, and do you have any tips on what a single developer can do to get their name and game out to the public without having a community?

This post won't only help me but it may also help other developers who are struggling too!

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Aim studios55 days ago (1 edit)

Being active in the community is actually the best way to get your game out there, unless of course you have money to spend on other kinds of marketing. If you are looking for reviews and feedback, I suggest joining a game jam, or even seek out playtesters. Another way to get an audience is to keep a consistent devlog, so people get to know about your game even before the release. The thing about keeping a devlog is that you have to be consistent in terms of content and its quality. I had kept one for my projects here on itch, but failed to keep it going as the project stopped halfway through.

Also when uploading games, the best way is to upload a build for windows, Linux and Mac. Having it in html5 build also helps a lot as many people ( at least me personally ) would be more comfortable with playing a web game than installing a new game from an unknown publisher on my computer, especially here on itch.

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RealMadChicken55 days ago

That does make alot of sense and It's a really big shame because I didn't start making a devlog whilst I was making the game, I have only just started putting the logs out to talk about the newest features and updates that I've brought to the game. Thanks for the feedback and I'll explore more into joining game jams!

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Aim studios55 days ago(+1)

Well, better late than never. You're welcome.

Your game page is nice and attractive, better than many on itch.io. That will help : )

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RealMadChicken55 days ago

Thank you, someone mentioned it to me before as it was just a purple back ground with loads of text so they said to Improve that so I spent some time making images and improving how it all looked

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CMW-Games55 days ago

Having it in html5 build also helps a lot as many people ( at least me personally ) would be more comfortable with playing a web game than installing a new game from an unknown publisher on my computer, especially here on itch.

This is of critical importance. I think this is what makes the biggest difference between Itch and Steam. People are absolutely terrified of malware, and I think this goes double for the kind of people that play horror games.

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RealMadChicken55 days ago

I understand that it's a huge worry to just randomly download games where you don't actually know what they have put inside of it but at the same time I feel like paying $100 to upload it to steam would be useless especially if I don't have a small community to share it to in the first place. Yeah I might get a couple people play it on steam but then it'll just be another game added to the steam list which no one plays due to not being known. Unless if I'm completely wrong and people actually search for new releases but never In my time on steam have I searched for a new game to come out (unless if its by a popular name such as Sons of the forest or cities skylines 2 etc)

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CMW-Games55 days ago

Oh, I get it. I cannot bring myself to add Steam's little headcrab to my game. I do think it will fare a whole lot better there though.

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Hodslate54 days ago(+1)

As for steam no point releasing a game unless it's guaranteed to turn a profit. $100 outlay is a lot. I reckon 3 quarters of the quality developers in here have struggled to make that on multiple games let alone one.

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CMW-Games55 days ago(+2)

Check this community, every now and then there are Youtubers that are looking for games to play. ASWhaler Gamer for instance has a thread up.

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Hodslate54 days ago

Don't expect feedback or reviews. Earn them. The world is full of competition and you need a solid business model to succeed. Help other Devs offer feedbacks be active and if you support others that in turn will get the ball rolling and help your content gain more traction.

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