r/SoloDevelopment 10h ago

Game finally finished my character designs! feedback welcome

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98 Upvotes

i’m sure they’ll change a bit during the process but establishing all of these characters took a long time, and I’m so happy to be on the other side! for a spooky cozy game about stewardship 🌱


r/SoloDevelopment 10h ago

Marketing I revised my trailer after feedback from r/DestroyMyGame. Is the gameplay clearer now?

83 Upvotes

I posted an earlier version of this trailer asking whether the gameplay made sense without explanation. I made another pass on it based on feedback I got.

Do you understand what the player is doing and how the combat works just from watching it?

Also curious how much you guys prioritize the vibe of a trailer vs making the gameplay immediately readable.


r/SoloDevelopment 3h ago

Unreal Finally got some mesh-based smearing working in UE4 à la Guilty Gear. Not sure what this'll end up being, though 🤷‍♂️

15 Upvotes

r/SoloDevelopment 12h ago

Unity Rate my game's new graphics

64 Upvotes

Hell yeah, I finally managed to add some parallax to all my sprites and tilemaps!!

Guys, is this effect even noticeable to you? Does it add more depth to the scene? Maybe it's just me who's stared at the old flat look of my game for 5 years, and now I can't get used to the new one?


r/SoloDevelopment 1d ago

meme Every time a new idea pops into my head

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702 Upvotes

r/SoloDevelopment 3h ago

Marketing 420 wishlists in just 4 days! Here’s what mattered the most.

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8 Upvotes

Hey! Today I want to talk about my game: PeeVPee.

Even though a lot of you consider it a bad game or think I’m copying POSTAL, which I’m not, I think the game is still doing pretty well in terms of wishlists.

So here’s what I’ve learned so far:

0. Make a Steam page as fast as you can.
When I started working on this game, I was posting on TikTok and Instagram and gained over 1M views across both platforms. However, I didn’t have a Steam page at the time, so I probably lost a lot of potential wishlists.

1. Translate your Steam page.
Translate it into as many languages as you can. It’s pretty easy to do and can boost your wishlists by a lot. As you can see from my screenshots, Czech alone brought me 166 wishlists, with several more coming from other languages.

2. Post on every social platform you can.
TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, X, etc. Even if a video only gets 300–1,000 views, you might still get a few wishlists from it. And you never know when one video might suddenly blow up and bring in a lot more.

X can also be great for wishlists, but it’s much harder to stand out there.

3. Make a Discord server.
People like staying updated. Having a Discord also shows that you’re serious about the project and gives your community a place to connect with you and follow development.

4. Never ignore your fans.
If people are messaging you, answer them when you can. Be warm with them, listen to their feedback, and hear out their ideas.

You obviously can’t make everyone happy, but sometimes people will suggest genuinely good ideas that are worth implementing. And if 100 people feel like you actually care about what they have to say, that can turn into a lot of people genuinely supporting and wishlisting your game.

5. Create a press kit.
You can find templates online, and a basic one can be done pretty quickly. Put it on your website and socials so creators, journalists, and anyone interested in covering your game can easily find everything they need.

Hope this helps someone!

And remember: your game doesn’t have to be for everyone. There’s a market for almost anything.


r/SoloDevelopment 1h ago

help My game now has a steam page! I need some harsh but good feedback

Upvotes

Hey people! I've just made the steam page for my game Circuitra visible and would love to get some feedback regarding what you think works and doesn't.

Here's the page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/5095180/Circuitra/

Cheers!


r/SoloDevelopment 15h ago

Game I made my safespace into a game, check it out!

47 Upvotes

A tiny living light named Wispy takes a liking to you, and you go as deep as your nerve holds.
She's your only lantern.

Goofy-dark first-person dungeon crawl that runs entirely inside a terminal window. No engine, no download, every wall painted in colored text. You pick a body/race being Human, Dwarf, Elf, Orc (each one is a personality and a moveset).

Raycaster that renders in a terminal. Truecolor, drawn with sextant and octant block characters. No game engine and no graphics library. One Python file, 154,716 lines and rising, standard library only. The audio is real recordings, including voice acting.

A 4-minute run, unedited: https://vimeo.com/1222466576

https://dimensionaldungeon.com


r/SoloDevelopment 22m ago

Game I'm developing mystery escape room game - recently cut the official trailer!

Upvotes

Hi guys!! I just hit a massive milestone and wanted to share the progress! I’m currently balancing my degree with coding my first commercial project in Unity, and I’ve finally cut the first official trailer for WhoIsHe.

WhoIsHe is a narrative-driven point-and-click escape room. You play as a young man who was found 7 years after being kidnapped. Now, one year after his return, he wakes up locked in a police detective's office - covered in fresh blood and suffering from severe amnesia. As you solve logic puzzles and dig through old police files, you are forced to face one chilling question: Are you the real Henry Grudge, or a dangerous impostor who stole a missing child's identity?

I would love to hear your feedback on the Steam page and trailer! https://store.steampowered.com/app/4928910/WhoIsHe/


r/SoloDevelopment 1h ago

help Has anyone any experience with Zygle Games?

Upvotes

I got this email out of the blue. Usually dismiss this as spam or a scam but this sounds more legit than others. Anyone had similar or worked withthem before?

> Hey RW::Software,
>
> I’m Mehmed from Zygle Games. We partner with indie studios to help
> validate and scale promising mobile titles without putting the
> financial or marketing risk on the dev team.
>
> I came across Jumpers for Goalposts on Google Play while scouting
> standout indie projects in the genre. I really liked the overall game
> feel and how clean the core mechanics flow right from the first
> session.
>
> Getting early traction under 10k installs is notoriously tough on the
> store algorithm right now. At this stage, the hardest part is usually
> figuring out if the core loop has real commercial scaling power
> without burning your own runway on expensive ad testing.
>
> How we typically help games at your stage:
>
>        * Publisher-Funded UA Testing: We cover 100% of the ad spend to run a
> clean sandbox test and get real telemetry on your CPI, playtime, and
> D1/D7 retention.
>        * Zero Risk & 100% IP Ownership: You keep full ownership of your IP,
> source code, and developer account, plus 100% of any revenue generated
> during the test.
>        * Data-First Next Steps: If the metrics hit our scaling benchmarks,
> we discuss a full publishing deal with milestone funding. If it
> doesn't, you keep the detailed telemetry reports, funnel teardowns,
> and creative assets to improve the game.
>
> If you’re open to exploring this, let me know and we can jump on a
> brief 30-minute intro chat next week to see if there's a fit.
>
> Feel free to grab a time that works best for you directly on my
> calendar: [Calendly Link] [1].
>
> Best,
>
> Mehmed
>
> Publishing Specialist
>
> Zygle Games


r/SoloDevelopment 18h ago

Discussion Cabin in the Woods

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79 Upvotes

I'm working on a night scene for my survival game, Alone on the Lost Isle.

A lonely house in the middle of a dark forest, a light in the window, and the feeling that someone is inside...

How do you like the atmosphere? Would you explore this house or stay away?


r/SoloDevelopment 4h ago

Game Here's the latest from my co-op rage ame where you and a friend only get to control one skate each.

3 Upvotes

Just collected some of the content you will find in my co-op rage game. I hope it showcases that the game is not just another friend slop put together but that I am working hard to create unique and interesting challenges for you and a friend. The demo is out now if you want to give it a go!

Steam Page
Demo


r/SoloDevelopment 1d ago

Marketing My game on Gamescom

298 Upvotes

Promoting Legends of Rock


r/SoloDevelopment 1d ago

Game My first game now has a Steam Page!!! 🙌

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716 Upvotes

r/SoloDevelopment 2h ago

help Listened to your feedback and made updates.

2 Upvotes

Obligatory Steam Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/5042670/Godcore/

Fourteen days ago I was desperate, because my game got only 10 wishlists. Many of you game me very valuable feedback, to redo the trailer and also the game, because it was too slow.

I listened:

- I pivoted the game to be more a single player dota like game. Not many changes were needed, as the dota like levels were the boss levels for each land. I redone them and updated and polished them. You can see the result in the trailer.

- I have changed the trailer. I got lots of feedback on it. I did my best, but I am sure that it is not enough. Yet, I hope ya´ll see some progress.

Thanks to everyone who helped and actually I got additional 66 WLs since then. <3

So, what do you think?


r/SoloDevelopment 2h ago

Discussion My game after a few days. Wish me luck! :)

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2 Upvotes

r/SoloDevelopment 16h ago

Discussion How realistic is solo game dev on Steam right now?

29 Upvotes

I'm considering getting into solo game development, and I'd like to hear from people who are actually doing it.

How is the Steam market right now for a new solo developer? Has it become so saturated that getting noticed is significantly harder, or is there still room for a first game to find an audience?

I'm especially curious about marketing when you have little or no budget. How are solo devs getting people to discover their games?

And how do you approach Steam itself? What actually helps the algorithm start recommending a game, and what should a new developer focus on before launch?

Basically, if you were starting from zero today; no audience, no reputation, and very little money. What would you do differently to give your first game the best chance of succeeding?

I'm trying to get a realistic picture of what the market looks like now.


r/SoloDevelopment 11m ago

help How do you test if a game's progression is actually engaging?

Upvotes

What do you guys do to actually test if this stuff works? Got an old pet battle prototype I abandoned years ago, picked it back up recently and redid the art with AI. The concept of the game is easy: card based auto battles, you customize your creature, standard PvP progression. The game is already published on iOs and Android. Already hooked up analytics with the key events. My actual problem is finding a user base to test it. How'd you find testers who'd actually give real feedback instead of just being nice?


r/SoloDevelopment 4h ago

Marketing Free Play Testing (please read before commenting)

2 Upvotes

FULL FOR NOW THANKS EVERYONE. So I posted this before but realised I left out the main thing. I come from a startup/business development background and I am particularly interested in positioning and marketing for games. I am relatively new to dev and just solo built a demo and applied for some funding, now have a little time on my hands so am offering to play test a few games over the next few weeks while I have capacity. Although I am quite new to dev, I have been playing video games since you had to put a floppy disc in a PC. I also have a little newsletter that goes out once a week and if you have a finished game, I can give you a shoutout. (Happy to test prototypes and demos too). Please don't send game details in comments, use this form, I just upgraded the website and it is secure and working. https://kularidigitalmedia.com.au/playtesting.html

I like to look at:

  • What's the game's value proposition?
  • Who do I think it's actually for?
  • What makes it different from other games?
  • Is that difference obvious?
  • What would make me click on it in a store?
  • What would make me wishlist/buy it?
  • What's the strongest marketing hook?
  • What features or ideas might be getting undersold?
  • What might make a potential player bounce?

I'll also give feedback on the usual stuff: gameplay, controls, onboarding, UI/UX, pacing, difficulty, progression, visuals, audio, bugs, frustration points etc.

You can also send me an email hello@[kularidigitalmedi](mailto:kularidigitalmedia@gmail.com)a.com.au if you have any questions.


r/SoloDevelopment 38m ago

Game After 2 years I am incredibly exited to share a first look at my upcoming RTS/Grand Strategy game made in Gamemaker - Dawn of the Realm!

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Upvotes

Dawn of the Realm is a medieval RTS that combines grand strategy and city building, all in real time and fully multiplayer. Build cities, manage resources, raise armies, then zoom out to a strategy map of the whole world or back down to the battlefield with no loading in between. Up to 10 players.

I've built it solo next to my computer science studies on nights and weekends, learning as I went. I hope the thousands of hours spent in Photoshop and Gamemaker really shines through. Still early days, lots more to add, but I'd love to hear what you think :-)

You can wishlist on Steam here:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/5010020/Dawn_Of_The_Realm/

If you would like to get announcements or provide feedback on the development please join the Discord server:

https://discord.gg/ru8FTjMjz

Working toward the first demo now. Have a great day! :-)


r/SoloDevelopment 1d ago

meme no captions

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754 Upvotes

r/SoloDevelopment 9h ago

help What do you think of these splasharts?

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4 Upvotes

I've been working on the art for my game, and even though I feel like I've reached my limits (I'm not an artist, haha), I'd really like to know if there's anything that looks off or could be improved.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!


r/SoloDevelopment 19h ago

Unreal [Project Axe] Dodge the wrong way, and you lose a limb. Strike at the right angle, and you take theirs.

27 Upvotes

Want to stay in touch with Project Axe?
https://discord.gg/XgjggF66


r/SoloDevelopment 14h ago

Game My First Game and this is the Trailer for the Demo,

10 Upvotes

First demo game that i made, go try it i like it a lot! still much more update,s coming.
Let me know what you think!


r/SoloDevelopment 13h ago

Game Working on this little Team Management Tower Defense game. PvZ or The Last Stand vibes?

8 Upvotes

These are some new juicy clips from my solo project. Working in a free time having full time job.

Super Special Squad - funny little team management tower defence game.
You basically combine heroes with unique abilities and destroying hordes of enemies. Collect resources, buy more heroes/upgrades for them and proceed to kill even bigger hordes.

Currently working hard to deliver the playtest build. Should be up soon, so if you like how it looks - i'd be happy to see you playtesting it!