Відео

It's been a few weeks since this video. Really looking forward to the next video

I don’t get the whole fuss about 2-6% retention and pretty much most of the things in the video, wasn’t most of these common sense? What is the value a lot of you ppl see here??

So, in two words: If you have good game, it will do fine even without publisher and there is not much publisher can do If you have bad game, publisher won't help anyways 😂

Thanks gavin

Guy is genius 👏

You got interesting topics to talk about, but the videos feel sooo unstructured and long winded. :<

Grapple hoops looks sic lol

i agree with everything you are saying but what about this case: im making an online multiplayer game. I feel like maybe i need a publisher to take care of the online aspect of things, like engaging the community, updating the game, managing an in game store, bans and cheaters etc. it feels like that would be too much work to do on my own, especially if i want to move on to a new game afterwards.

Just had to share that I watched this video when it came out on Nov 28, got inspired to feature nostalgia in one of my own videos (released Dec 11, called "In 2016 we all thought these were a good idea (they’re not)") and that nostalgia-based video is now my most viewed video by almost 2 times with more than 65k views. So... uh. Nostalgia works.

Spot-on. I tried to spread the word on the /r/gamedev subreddit about this subject as well. In fact, considering the timeliness of this video, maybe that post prompted this video? Either way, thanks for trying to steer devs clear of these scam artists.

Key insight here then: Pi**ing players off is way more costly than making them really happy is beneficial. In terms of Steam tactics. Also this is why every statistician hates the Net Promoter Score 😅

Another proof a young mind can be far more enlightened than an old one

hmm... Nebulight could be changed.

Insanely valuable video. Thriller pacing in novelwriting & film is essentially the same concept. It's all about maintaining a controlled waveform of tension, then partial release at regular milestones, then ratchet tension up again even higher. Never let it fall below an engaging level. This is the essence of the "page turner". Always stay juggling, never drop the ball. Incidentally, "wave periodization" where each wave crests just a bit higher than the last is one of the most effective techniques in any form of training... mental or physical. You're essentially training the viewer/player.

Now I'm curious to hear your views on ART (an actual transformative piece of work, which is different from just entertainment)

Really good video. Thanks a lot for sharing all of this. One thing I'd like to point out is that you analyzed only one channel. It is focused on horror (despite having non-horror games here and there) and has no commentary. I feel like that could skew things a lot. For example, action scenes having big dips. Would a roguelike focused channel have bad retention for action scenes? It could be the opposite. And maybe that said roguelike channel would actually have dips in jump scare moments because those watching are not fans of that. The points raised are completely valid, but I think they can't be taken as a general rule. Each developer should consider their own game and their own target channels.

DISCLAIMER: My intent is to help you improve. Hopefully that comes across in the below. You are always free to ignore me lol Firstly, you did a great job explaining your analysis and your theories about that analysis. You did a great job drawing conclusions and explaining your reasoning for those conclusions. You also did a great job explaining the methodology you used in your analysis -- without it, I would not be able to critique as well. Secondly, statistics can lie, yes! But, with that said, your scientific journey on this topic is just beginning, Scientia ;) You have a hypothesis: "Steam's 'Yes and No' review system is...statistically rigged to make mediocre...games look way more positively rated than they actually are." I hope you perform a controlled experiment with your hypothesis. There are a few issues with your conclusions: 1. You had no control group in your analysis. You need to collect survey data for a game that is already on Steam and compare it to games that are not already on steam, like Choo Choo Charles or whatever, then wait for the Steam reviews to come in. 2. You have a sample size of one game. 3. Your buckets that you created to do one-hot encoding with were not equal. An inclusive 1-4 is 4 numbers, and an inclusive 6-10 is 5 numbers. You should not have excluded 5; it should have been included in the first bucket. 4:07 I want to see your survey data for this claim. I have a few questions that I can think of now: 1. How many more Yes's did you receive from the survey as opposed to a Yes from your one-hot encoding? 2. Did your 1-4 and 6-10 buckets line up? What was the correlation? 3. Is this the evidence to support your claim (the hypothesis above)? 4. What percentage of 1s...10s gave you a Yes/No? 6:25 This is called "the anchoring effect". The interesting thing about your point here is that the same effect occurs in ALL rating systems. I don't really see why you mentioned it. I must have missed it. 8:47 You don't know because the effect you claim from the Steam system might not exist. You still have not explained how it happens GENERALLY and the evidence you just went over supports rejecting the quoted hypothesis above. You only explain your ANALYSIS of your ONE game. What is the statistical advantage of the Steam review system? You provided no data, no graphs, no control group. and only a sample size of one. You should not draw any CONCLUSIONS from this, but you should generate HYPOTHESES that you can then TEST in actual experiments.

Rotten Tomatoes is one of the best movie review sites and that also uses up and down vote system.

thank you for saying this. nobody understands that they are adding rocks to a balance scale.

I really appreciate your videos. I tried being an indie in my 20s and failed, and have been working AAA day-jobs for a decade, and now I'm trying to get back at it, and videos like yours are providing a lot of insight that I think will help a ton. I too have been thinking and researching all this stuff for years and I'm happy to hear your fresh no bs takes on things! Thanks!

About jump scares and re-watching content: I sometimes only pretend to watch when jump scare happens then I'm re-watching it to see it, but not actually be jump scared :P It this a cause of the bump? I don't know but I'm doing that ;)

I absolutely love and appreciate your videos! It would be amazing to see a video or series where you take a break from the hardcore topics and do something more casual, like scrolling through or playing random games on Steam while sharing your thoughts. It could also give real examples of all the topics we’ve been discussing.

I absolutely love and appreciate your videos! It would be amazing to see a video or series where you take a break from the hardcore topics and do something more casual, like scrolling through or playing random games on Steam while sharing your thoughts. It could also give real examples of all the topics we’ve been discussing.

I absolutely love and appreciate your videos! It would be amazing to see a video or series where you take a break from the hardcore topics and do something more casual, like scrolling through or playing random games on Steam while sharing your thoughts. It could also give real examples of all the topics we’ve been discussing.

I absolutely love and appreciate your videos! It would be amazing to see a video or series where you take a break from the hardcore topics and do something more casual, like scrolling through or playing random games on Steam while sharing your thoughts. It could also give real examples of all the topics we’ve been discussing.

I absolutely love and appreciate your videos! It would be amazing to see a video or series where you take a break from the hardcore topics and do something more casual, like scrolling through or playing random games on Steam while sharing your thoughts. It could also give real examples of all the topics we’ve been discussing.

I absolutely love and appreciate your videos! It would be amazing to see a video or series where you take a break from the hardcore topics and do something more casual, like scrolling through or playing random games on Steam while sharing your thoughts. It could also give real examples of all the topics we’ve been discussing.

I absolutely love and appreciate your videos! It would be amazing to see a video or series where you take a break from the hardcore topics and do something more casual, like scrolling through or playing random games on Steam while sharing your thoughts. It could also give real examples of all the topics we’ve been discussing.

I absolutely love and appreciate your videos! It would be amazing to see a video or series where you take a break from the hardcore topics and do something more casual, like scrolling through or playing random games on Steam while sharing your thoughts. It could also give real examples of all the topics we’ve been discussing.

I absolutely love and appreciate your videos! It would be amazing to see a video or series where you take a break from the hardcore topics and do something more casual, like scrolling through or playing random games on Steam while sharing your thoughts. It could also give real examples of all the topics we’ve been discussing.

I absolutely love and appreciate your videos! It would be amazing to see a video or series where you take a break from the hardcore topics and do something more casual, like scrolling through or playing random games on Steam while sharing your thoughts. It could also give real examples of all the topics we’ve been discussing.

I absolutely love and appreciate your videos! It would be amazing to see a video or series where you take a break from the hardcore topics and do something more casual, like scrolling through or playing random games on Steam while sharing your thoughts. It could also give real examples of all the topics we’ve been discussing.

I absolutely love and appreciate your videos! It would be amazing to see a video or series where you take a break from the hardcore topics and do something more casual, like scrolling through or playing random games on Steam while sharing your thoughts. It could also give real examples of all the topics we’ve been discussing.

I absolutely love and appreciate your videos! It would be amazing to see a video or series where you take a break from the hardcore topics and do something more casual, like scrolling through or playing random games on Steam while sharing your thoughts. It could also give real examples of all the topics we’ve been discussing.

I absolutely love and appreciate your videos! It would be amazing to see a video or series where you take a break from the hardcore topics and do something more casual, like scrolling through or playing random games on Steam while sharing your thoughts. It could also give real examples of all the topics we’ve been discussing.

There is another factor into play and I'm not sure which one is more important - when you see something a lot, your brain gets used to it and we are drawn to familiar things. This might be because of some safety instincts, or because it requires less energy to interact with more familiar things. This can be seen a lot if you listen to music over and over again - you like it more over time, because it contains some recognizable patterns that your brain learned and it's pleasant to listen to it again, in adequate amounts. Also it's much easier to our brain than listening to some new music that is unknown. Simple experiment can prove it - take any song that you don't like that much and listen to it few times a day for a week - you'll get into it eventually and notice you like it. It will start from certain patterns in a song, but after some time you will start enjoying song as a whole. Also, familiar things cause much more emotional response, which applies to games too. When you are familiar with something even a bit, it's much easier to digest and enjoy right away. This might be important for games because this way people who saw your game a lot will have better time with it and share it more with friends while also having better overall experience, impacting reviews.

Thk you for entertaining me while im at my low instinc job 😂 no seriously good talk learned a lot

What's bro got behind that door that he needs THOSE many locks for 😂

I've been annoyed with the review scores on Steam being sort of meaningless as all half-competent games will get a great "score" effectively so you can't use reviews to really differentiate between games, and I've been reading exclusively the negative reviews when making purchasing decisions. But there are also an obvious flaw with the traditional number scale systems of the world. The same problem all averages have. Low and high ratings make a big difference and drown out middle scores. The solution to this exists and is called the median. If most people rate the game a 6 the game gets a 6, no matter if it got more 10s or more 1s. That's the review system I would like to see on Steam. And keep it at /5 instead of /10. You really don't need more granularity than "horrible, below average, average, above average, great". As soon as you use more granular ratings the reviewers lose track of what they are supposed to MEAN and you just add a bunch of noise.

I gotta be honest, while I do agree entertainment can be used for "primal instinct satisfaction", I don't see how other types of entertainment mediums that aren't movies or games can generate that satisfaction. Classical music, for exemple, can be deeply satisfying and entertaining to listen to, but I don't see how it is related to any survival instinct. Or even looking at a masterful painting, sculpture etc. Anyone has any thoughts on this?

Worth noting (about localizations): In russia piracy is officially legal since 2022, so despite a big number of users overall, the amount of actual purchases will be significantly lower.

you worried aliens are breakdown your door or what? who do you live with? WTF

needs more locks on the door

Hey just wanted you to know, this really helped me feel better not worrying about publishers more. 😅

Incredible work! What tool did you use to check retention rates of videos?

this is so good ❤

I'm glad I ran into this channel. I wasn't deep into Choo Choo Charles, but I heard you in a couple of interviews, post-success. This is such an important topic, and you did such a good job of elucidating it. It might not win you a whole lot of fans at companies that lean on gambling and fleecing their "whales" (who often aren't rich, but rather the people genetically predisposed, habitually conditioned, or socially pressured, to gamble on their wellbeing). But I also want to suggest what I'm sure you already know... this cheat code is used in much bigger contexts than games, and to much worse ends. This is the kind of message the people of the industrialized world need to hear, and a lot are ready to hear... It's also a cheat code that a lot of cartoon villains misuse, to tailor messages for their own ends. People need honest breakdowns of complex concepts, like this. In plain language. Throngs of people are running out of patience for how things are set up, and the bread and circus aren't cutting it, anymore... and we need more people who can break this stuff down, like this, so it's not just the supervillains using plain language. Not saying you need to get into politics, or anything of the sort. Just keep being you, and keep following that imperative.

There aren't many good indie gamedev podcasts IMHO. But also IMHO, you'd make a great one

Doing great....really helping.

Very interesting analysis, have you thought that it's more about human experience relatability and human instinct is just one of the major pieces of it? But all in all, great analysis and breakdown, the chart being the most valuable part.