There are some simple things you can do with your game to prevent mass negative reviews. There are patterns in negative reviews on steam, so if you make sure your game doesn't do these things prior to release then you'll give yourself a huge head start. Patterns like 1) Bugs, crashes, & slow performance 2) The game was different than they expected (misleading marketing), 3) Not engaging with the community and posting/releasing frequently (i.e. dead game & lazy dev reviews), lastly 4) Absence of expected quality of life and/or accessibility features (no configurable controls, text too small or poor contrast, or missing feature specific to genre). Even if you nail all those things though, there will always be trolls.
Generally, if it's just trolls, they'll be drowned out by the good reviews though. I'd also add a pair of additional things: 5- Retconning your game or characters drastically from what your core following has accepted as cannon. A common trope with this is gender or race swapping your a character from the established cannon, usually to inject present day politics into your game. Fans are by definition very passionate about the characters and lore that's built into your game, and altering that will piss them off. 6- Insulting your fan base. This usually happens after a developer has violated one or more of the other 5 patterns above, but is especially common for the last 5 or 6 years in mainstream producers in all areas of entertainment. If you are a developer and did something bad with your game, insulting your core audience is not the way to patch things up. Communicating with them and finding out why they're so unhappy and what you an do to satisfy them is the way to dig your way out of such a hole. Unfortunately political extremism, pride or ego will get in the way and the developers will attack their fans, in many cases permanently damaging their reputation and relationship with the people who most love their past games and would otherwise have been the most likely to buy future games.
@@laniakeadev.2271 sometimes competition is not the reason for that. I know several gamedevs who really thought that they didn't need to do any marketing of the game whatsoever and that it's purely luck-based industry. They were really surprised to figure out that you need to work your ass off to promote your product these days.
He actually points that out in another video. I think it was "mistakes that will kill your indie game." It's very true. A successful game has hype built up even before release. Make a fan base that will be happy with the eventual release of your game.
Reason 6: Sony, PlayStation and Nintendo:. If a game is not on one of the above 3 platforms, then people won't know about the game as most people only play console games and don't look anywhere else besides consoles. I was one of those individuals. So, this is how I know and this can be especially true for people who don't normally play games.
Reason #0 it's a shitty game, let's be honest we can't all be making the next Fez or Hollow Knight Reason #0.5 it's early access and now people are starting to hate it, it's just an excuse for releasing an unfinished games for a year or two Agree with your points, found some games that were hardly promoted and were gems. for example Supraland And aesthetics is a nice word for it. not everyone is going to like the same styles
I think it was Sandy Petersen (game designer of doom) who said: "remember a game company has no value except for the employees" The computers don't hold value, as they are out of date the second they are purchased. The games have no value until they are sold and everything else just costs you money. kind of off topic ^.^ keep up the good work bud
Another reason could be : the game lacks features that people expect in the genre, or lacks content. For example an fps game with only 1 weapon and 1 enemy type. Or a puzzle game with only 3 puzzles.
True. I've seen reviews point out that the game in question is no more exciting than a browser game, with the main difference being that it costs money. The same reviews also mention that the free games had more content.
And when you adding your game on Steam, first 4 screenshots are the most important because of the quick mouse over only first 4 pictures will show up and some people just quick look at the pictures and scroll down to find maybe another game not yours...
On the topic of reviews it is kind of hard to get people to review a game when you clearly can't ask people to do so. Most platform holders do not allow you to ask for reviews.
I agree. Reviews are more of a by-product of success/failure, not something you can control up front. Good marketing gets you the sale, making a good game gets you the positive review (mostly).
Bad marketing. I think this is the one out of control for indie devs without a publisher (I faced a 10 hours a day campaign for months. I don't desire it for the worst person on Earth. It's brutal). The other points are easier to fix.
What's an example of a game that sold well without good aesthetics? I'm curious. My first thought was that it would be a game with a clunky feel to it (Totally Accurate Battle Sim for instance), but in that case, it actually fits the theme for everything to look a little off. Interesting stuff!
Building a game based on procedurally generated content that increases replayability is one way to increase the value. To increase urgency, try putting your game on sale less often. Try a portion of a game's screenshot for key art.
not such great advice for screenshots as key art. There is a reason why most companies use professional art in their icons etc. When you A/B test it, you just find out it works better because just screenshots made into icon come off usually as cheap...
@Frank Fox. I've had great success doing this very thing, especially early on with mobile games. It all depends on how it is modified, and enhanced to really stand out. You simply use only a portion of a screenshot. If you're creative, there are many tricks and enhancements here.
There are some simple things you can do with your game to prevent mass negative reviews. There are patterns in negative reviews on steam, so if you make sure your game doesn't do these things prior to release then you'll give yourself a huge head start. Patterns like 1) Bugs, crashes, & slow performance 2) The game was different than they expected (misleading marketing), 3) Not engaging with the community and posting/releasing frequently (i.e. dead game & lazy dev reviews), lastly 4) Absence of expected quality of life and/or accessibility features (no configurable controls, text too small or poor contrast, or missing feature specific to genre). Even if you nail all those things though, there will always be trolls.
"bad rewiev. No sex with character-x."
Generally, if it's just trolls, they'll be drowned out by the good reviews though.
I'd also add a pair of additional things:
5- Retconning your game or characters drastically from what your core following has accepted as cannon. A common trope with this is gender or race swapping your a character from the established cannon, usually to inject present day politics into your game. Fans are by definition very passionate about the characters and lore that's built into your game, and altering that will piss them off.
6- Insulting your fan base. This usually happens after a developer has violated one or more of the other 5 patterns above, but is especially common for the last 5 or 6 years in mainstream producers in all areas of entertainment. If you are a developer and did something bad with your game, insulting your core audience is not the way to patch things up. Communicating with them and finding out why they're so unhappy and what you an do to satisfy them is the way to dig your way out of such a hole. Unfortunately political extremism, pride or ego will get in the way and the developers will attack their fans, in many cases permanently damaging their reputation and relationship with the people who most love their past games and would otherwise have been the most likely to buy future games.
I’d say num.1 reason for why people are not buying your game is... That they don’t know your game exists.
Competition.
@@laniakeadev.2271 sometimes competition is not the reason for that. I know several gamedevs who really thought that they didn't need to do any marketing of the game whatsoever and that it's purely luck-based industry. They were really surprised to figure out that you need to work your ass off to promote your product these days.
Wholeheartedly agreed.
He actually points that out in another video. I think it was "mistakes that will kill your indie game." It's very true. A successful game has hype built up even before release. Make a fan base that will be happy with the eventual release of your game.
Reason #0 = It's not finished T_T, on the pile with the rest
Pravda :D
Reason 6: Sony, PlayStation and Nintendo:. If a game is not on one of the above 3 platforms, then people won't know about the game as most people only play console games and don't look anywhere else besides consoles. I was one of those individuals. So, this is how I know and this can be especially true for people who don't normally play games.
Keep up the awesome work!
Thanks for the good advice as always Tim, releasing my game in August and really appreciate all the tips you've helped me with.
Reason #0 it's a shitty game, let's be honest we can't all be making the next Fez or Hollow Knight
Reason #0.5 it's early access and now people are starting to hate it, it's just an excuse for releasing an unfinished games for a year or two
Agree with your points, found some games that were hardly promoted and were gems. for example Supraland
And aesthetics is a nice word for it. not everyone is going to like the same styles
I think it was Sandy Petersen (game designer of doom) who said: "remember a game company has no value except for the employees" The computers don't hold value, as they are out of date the second they are purchased. The games have no value until they are sold and everything else just costs you money.
kind of off topic ^.^
keep up the good work bud
Another reason could be : the game lacks features that people expect in the genre, or lacks content. For example an fps game with only 1 weapon and 1 enemy type. Or a puzzle game with only 3 puzzles.
True. I've seen reviews point out that the game in question is no more exciting than a browser game, with the main difference being that it costs money. The same reviews also mention that the free games had more content.
Agreed. Even ugly good games have consistent aesthetics. RimWorld as example one. Love that game. It's not pretty, but it is consistent.
And when you adding your game on Steam, first 4 screenshots are the most important because of the quick mouse over only first 4 pictures will show up and some people just quick look at the pictures and scroll down to find maybe another game not yours...
Another great topic! Thanks for sharing!
Tim you have my support on your card game! I'm looking forward to the kickstarter!
I love your videos. They add a lot of honest value to my game dev. Keep up the great work!
Would u post my game on your page? How do I contact u?
On the topic of reviews it is kind of hard to get people to review a game when you clearly can't ask people to do so. Most platform holders do not allow you to ask for reviews.
I agree. Reviews are more of a by-product of success/failure, not something you can control up front. Good marketing gets you the sale, making a good game gets you the positive review (mostly).
I thought I was subbed to your channel already, but I guess I wasn't on this account. 🤔
Anyhow, great video. 👍
Tim, the least I could do is subscribe to your kickstarter. You helped me grow so much as a recreational indie dev. Thank you !
U r the only dev who makes a deep analysis of this stuff... Thanks
Notification set!
Bad marketing. I think this is the one out of control for indie devs without a publisher (I faced a 10 hours a day campaign for months. I don't desire it for the worst person on Earth. It's brutal). The other points are easier to fix.
Thanks a lot for the great video! This video is especially useful for me because very soon I will launch my new game and I think I'm not hopeless.
I don't know if it's only me, but it's a bit annoying that the voice and the video aren't synced
Awesome camera setup and great info! thanks!!
Great video. I’ll keep these in mind as I continue to work on my first game.
What's an example of a game that sold well without good aesthetics? I'm curious.
My first thought was that it would be a game with a clunky feel to it (Totally Accurate Battle Sim for instance), but in that case, it actually fits the theme for everything to look a little off. Interesting stuff!
Dwarf Fortress is a good example. It’s fun and systemically deep but impossible for the average person to understand.
@@tim-ruswick True!!! Thanks for the example.
@@ac3_train3r_blak34 Cruelty squad was apparently designed to be as ugly as possible and has great reviews.
Slay the Spire
If only AAA studios would follow through with some of these.
Trailers and reviews are the biggest decision makers for me.
Reason number one, cracked games
Good luck with your Kickstarter launch Tim! I'm doing a Kickstarter right now for my game 'Unsung Warriors'. It's one hell of a ride! :)
Very informative video !
Good tips, thanks!
These were very well put together points.
signposting: good
Good stuff as always!
Building a game based on procedurally generated content that increases replayability is one way to increase the value. To increase urgency, try putting your game on sale less often. Try a portion of a game's screenshot for key art.
not such great advice for screenshots as key art. There is a reason why most companies use professional art in their icons etc. When you A/B test it, you just find out it works better because just screenshots made into icon come off usually as cheap...
@Frank Fox. I've had great success doing this very thing, especially early on with mobile games. It all depends on how it is modified, and enhanced to really stand out. You simply use only a portion of a screenshot. If you're creative, there are many tricks and enhancements here.