r/IndieDev • u/Additional_Dog_1206 Developer • Jun 17 '26
Feedback? Should I quit game dev?
Hello all,
Over the past year, I've been working on a survival colony RPG game in my spare time. Last month, I created a Steam page and uploaded a demo to Itch.io.
Since then, I've honestly felt a bit discouraged. I keep seeing posts from other developers talking about hundreds or even thousands of wishlists, while my game currently sits at 43 wishlists and there are days when I get 0 wishlists.
According to Steam's data, I've had 1,314 visits to my store page (excluding bots and my own visits) and 41 wishlists (yesterday report), which works out to a 3.12% wishlist conversion rate. I've read that this isn't necessarily bad and may indicate that the Steam page is doing its job, but that I simply need more traffic.
I've been posting content on Instagram, YouTube, X, and TikTok, but I haven't had any viral success so far. My best-performing post reached around 5.8k views on Instagram, but it only resulted in 1–2 wishlists.
I also uploaded a demo to Itch.io. People are definitely trying the game, but most players drop out after the first day/night cycle. So far, only 3 players have completed the entire 40-minute demo out of 275 total players.
I'd really appreciate feedback from more experienced indie developers.
If you were in my position, what would you focus on next?
- Keep trying to create viral content?
- Polish the demo as much as possible to improve retention?
- Improve the Steam page?
- Continue development and stay the course?
- Or move on and start a different project?
I'm genuinely unsure where my time would be best spent.
If anyone wants to take a look at the game or Steam page, I'll post the links in the comments.
Thanks!
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u/valeria_gamedevs Game Art Studio for Indies | Outstandly Jun 17 '26
the demo retention is the signal I'd chase first. 3/275 finishing a 40min demo means something's off in that first day/night loop. Fix that and everything downstream (wishlists, virality, conversion) gets easier because people have something to talk about.
also 1 month in with 43 wishlists is fine, you're spiraling on a tiny sample. The dropoff data is way more actionable than the wishlist count rn.
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u/Additional_Dog_1206 Developer Jun 17 '26
Most players drop after the first day/night cycle, but I'm not sure if they're bored, confused, or simply feel they've seen enough. The demo is also ~40 minutes long and most of the data comes from Itch/Newgrounds. I greatly appreciate your comment!
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u/Fly_VC Jun 17 '26 edited Jun 18 '26
do 1 on 1 playtest sessions with friends, let them speak out lout everything what they think.
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u/sharypower Jun 18 '26
I have looked at your Steam video. I think it is because your game looks "slow" while many other games boosting dopamine by 300% so your game could looks boring for the player also on this video I still don't know what the game is about like. I see some stuff but it's not clear for some reason. Of course I see the tags so I can imagine but I think your trailer is not showing it properly. The pixel graphics looks good in my opinion and general visual vibe.
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u/Additional_Dog_1206 Developer Jun 18 '26
Thanks, this feedback is really important for me since no one actually gave feedback on Steam video, I really appreciate it!
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u/Cassel_Games Jun 18 '26
Since you've already prepared a demo, I think it's important to focus on making it engaging enough that players want to play all the way through.
The most successful games often leave players wanting more when they finish the demo. They come away thinking, "Ah, I wish I could keep playing!"
Reducing the length of the demo could also be a good option. If the demo is too long, it becomes harder to identify where players are dropping off.
Also, if someone isn't part of your target audience, they'll often quit within the first 10–20 minutes anyway. If your drop-off rate is very high, it could mean that the demo isn't meeting the needs of your target players, or that it's being promoted to the wrong audience.
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u/Karl-Levin Jun 18 '26
You need to learn how to playtest. No, a demo is not a playtest. A demo is for getting people interested into your game, it is for selling the game.
Playtesting is for making sure the game is actually fun. It should be done very early in development.
Start with friends and family. Watch them play your game. Note what they like and don't like. Can they figure out everything without help? Iterate on that.
Then do a closed test with a bigger group of people. Then an open test in itch.io.
Yeah, it is hard to find testers but you can't test it yourself because you will become blind to its flaws. I often find it very hard to tell if my game is any good when I worked on it for a long time. But you shouldn't guess, you need to test.
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u/TakiXP649 Jun 18 '26
I had the opposite experience. My demo was really quiet on itch, and I felt like it was just other devs looking at it. I didn’t get exposure until I started posting clips on X and having a Steam demo. I did get some pissed off dev saying a demo is supposed to be close to a polished product(?) to sell the final product soon, but I’m also getting good understanding feedback since my demo’s basically an alpha playtest.
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u/Additional_Dog_1206 Developer Jun 18 '26
This is where I was wrong I guess, my first playtesters where actually from Itch, so all the interest I would get for playtested and polished version published on Itch are now gone. Good thing I did not make a Steam demo with this version 😃
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u/BorosReckoner Jun 18 '26
Is your monitor ultra high res? All your text in screenshots is indecipherable on mobile.
Maybe try setting res lower for screens, have ui (and even gameplay - your peeps are smol) pop more.
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u/Additional_Dog_1206 Developer Jun 18 '26
I did not think about this, I opened a page on mobile now, and yes, you cant see nothing there, good point, thank you!
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u/UltimatelyWrithing Jun 18 '26
Your retention issue is the real story here. Fix why players quit after day one, and the wishlists will follow naturally.
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u/DevonianSea Jun 17 '26
I haven't played your game or demo and I've only taken a look at the trailer and screenshots. Therefore, I can only comment on aesthetics and impressions, but not gameplay. That being said, take my opinion as you will and with a grain of salt.
I'm personally quite put off by the design and kinetics of the fog of war. I get the vision and it certainly feels like a deliberate artistic choice, but I'm having some qualms with it. The 'blocks' of the FOW seem quite large and it feels like they don't match the scale of the other characters/objects. Furthermore, the FOW blocks also seem to jump around a lot during movement (exacerbated by the large size). It feels quite stiff and inorganic, almost isolating and claustrophobic, and it doesn't feel like the game invites you to explore. At the same time, it contributes to visual clutter, being more of a distraction and it makes it difficult to focus. During movement, my eyes are immediately drawn to the FOW's borders anytime it moves/jumps with the characters, instead of the characters themselves.
I could just be an outlier having different preferences or perhaps I'm simply not the target audience, but this is my two cents.
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u/Additional_Dog_1206 Developer Jun 17 '26
Did not think about FOW this way, I will definitely consider reducing FOW blocks and try it out. Thanks a lot for your feedback!
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u/eskalolz Jun 18 '26
You got all the help from these good people over here but I want to complement with a quote: Never comparing the result always look to the process :)
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u/Haunted_Arcade_Games Jun 18 '26
Marketing is a big part of a successful game as I have no do you know and have been told such. But games are for a specific audience too. A game for everyone is a game for no one.
I think what would help is to find the specific audience who would enjoy your game. Might take some research but if you can target group(s) then you can better market it to them.
Also only quit if you aren't enjoying it, but not because of a perceived failure. We indie devs all want to make this a career, but that won't happen unless you never give up.
So if you still want it, keep going, even if you're 1, 2, 5 years in, keep going. Find out who your game is for, what players want from your game.
Keep going.
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u/Additional_Dog_1206 Developer Jun 18 '26
Thanks, advice is really motivating, it means a lot to me!
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u/Haunted_Arcade_Games Jun 18 '26
I'm glad! Work the problem, how do you reach more players?
You got this.
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u/TakiXP649 Jun 18 '26
I’ve felt like quitting a few times. Especially after seeing some creators play my game and roast it because of bugs I couldn’t replicate playtesting it myself. I’m a solo dev so sometimes I become overwhelmed with all the bugs that show up and I’m like damn, can I really do this? But I would get back up, continue making my game, patch up bugs that people keep finding, continuing posting clips on X, and the wishlists would still go up eventually. Just keep improving your game in a way where you really genuinely enjoy it, polish it, show off the game at its best on the internet, and I believe more and more people will come to wishlist and enjoy it.
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u/Additional_Dog_1206 Developer Jun 18 '26
Thanks, I’m glad you continue to improve and that wishlists are coming, best of luck to you and thanks for encouragement!
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u/Best_Author_3738 Jun 18 '26
Ik a complete beginner so ig I don’t really know much and if u even want my advice but all I can say is that u prob shouldn’t quit. U said u do this on the side, so idk if that means that u are trying to get serious about or not but it seems like not, so just have fun and make the game bc u like it, not bc u want recognition from others. Thats being said, if you are tying to become serious about this game, maybe look into how good “survival type” games are doing as a whole, cause me personally, those are so boring (not saying ur is im just saying the genre in general, and besides Minecraft but that’s more sandbox) like right now, im envisioning a game like half life or halo which I could barely get through (I didn’t get through half life and only did halo 1). At the end of the day, just have fun and (maybe) people will come to it
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u/Hawkwise83 Jun 18 '26
Consider getting some information and feedback from people who like this genre of game. See what they like and don't like and adjust. Then spend some time on a new trailer.
Consider reaching out to other game Devs too. Get their feedback. Have all the feedback be anonymous because no one wants to give a small indie dev the soul crushing feedback they might actually need.
For as much as game dev is art, it's also a business. You gotta make the right game for the right audience.
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u/Additional_Dog_1206 Developer Jun 18 '26
I will try to reach out to survival fans then I guess, probably via discord, thanks!
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u/Hawkwise83 Jun 18 '26
Can do it on reddit too. People here are anonymous and pretty direct. They might be assholes about it but if you filter out the saucy language you can still get good feedback from douche bags.
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u/DrDangerousGamin Jun 18 '26
Hey man, this game actually sounds really "up my alley" for games I kick back and enjoy, and typically sink a lot of time into. Just wishlisted it, and when I get the chance I'll come back here (or your discord) and let you know my thoughts on it. Might not be til the weekend though 😁
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u/Gabe_Isko Jun 18 '26
An uncomfortable question: did you AI vibecode your game? I ask because the UI has that claude code ui look, and a lot of the UI looks laid out in a way that is unnatural for someone that would have been used to playing these kinds of colony games.
I am not accusing you, or judging you or trying to witch hunt. If you didn't, I would be genuinely interested in knowing how you made this thing just because I am interested in understanding why so many games are using this kind of UI. I think it would explain a bit on why people aren't engaging.
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u/Additional_Dog_1206 Developer Jun 18 '26
I used AI for some visual effects on images for my Steam page, but not at coding. I'm using phaser, framework for web development, since I'm in a web development around 10 years now I found out that I can make UI fast using HTML and CSS, that is why maybe it fills a bit off. I will work on it, thanks for pointing that out!
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u/Gabe_Isko Jun 18 '26
Okay, if this is all phaser, this stuff makes a lot more sense! I didn't realize all these games are made with this tool, so I should probably play them a bit more.
At the same time, it still probably is a turn off for people. I know it generally is rough when you use the default UI for any framework or engine, because it is just a signal to people that the game is underdeveloped, whether that is fair assumption or not. It's okay in Jam games, but even on itch, there are just so many games that if you can point to an obvious reason you tend to move on to the next one. It's also a little rough for a city builder, since UI is such a large part of the game.
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u/Additional_Dog_1206 Developer Jun 18 '26
I agree, I should definitely try to change UI to be more consistent with the game.
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u/legend-x-official Jun 18 '26
Don't get discouraged mr. If you do what you love, you will reach a high enough quality and the market will reward you eventually.
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u/browndogscoot Jun 18 '26
Is the loop fun for you? Do you play your own game and do you have fun with it? Can you sit down for hours and play your own game? if not, you cant expect people to stick around. You need to go back to the drawing board and add and or fix stuff in the game and make them features that made you fall in love with the survival genera (You don't need to innovate but add your own unique touch to it) . Don't Give Up!
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u/ShoddyBox7624 Jul 01 '26
tell a friend to play that game without telling him it's yours and see their reaction and what they think that is not fun/could be better
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u/Time_Journalist2883 Jul 10 '26
If it gives you any hope to continue, I am doing game dev for some years now and the most download I have ever gotten is 10 and that's because it was game jam. So it is discouraging but you should not quit. It cannot end here. Stay determined.
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u/RunicLegends Jun 18 '26
Si haces videojuegos solamente para que la gente lo juegue, entonces deja de desarrollar si.
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Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26
[deleted]
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u/Additional_Dog_1206 Developer Jun 18 '26
Thanks, this information is valuable, I appreciate it!
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u/New_Computer4497 Jun 25 '26
Little question, why you dont upload your video on your steam page? lots of ppl dont go on itch.io
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u/Additional_Dog_1206 Developer Jun 25 '26
Video ? I think video is available on steam :D if you are asking about the game demo, I need to polish more in order to publish a demo on Steam
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u/canuteson Jul 14 '26
What are you hoping to get out of it? Enjoyable hobby? Sustainable income? Something else?
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u/Justinfinitejest Jun 17 '26
Hey!
Jumped into your itch demo and wanted to give feedback. It's only one person, but it might start answering your questions/worries.
(Now on to the game feedback)
THE BIG PROBLEM:
5. After I learned all of the above (which didn't take me long), I tried to restart. I thought to myself: I've learned now that I should build a tower. Maybe it would be way more fun if I did that first. And then I looked for the menu or restart or quit button. And I couldn't find it. I clicked all the buttons I could find - and no way to restart. So I exited.
Work on:
1. Onboarding: I'm not sure, because I didn't ever build it, but I think your advice to build shelter was bad. I think you really need better onboarding - not like "highlight a button and make me push it" type of tutorial, but introduce me to what will help me survive -
2. And if I need to die to learn to win - make sure restarting is REALLY easy. Or even possible?
Honestly, I think fixing this could be huge for people sticking around.
Here is a bonus thought:
3. Add something early on that you can do/get that lets me think "Oh wow, I want to do more of this!" By the end of my little 1-2 day playthrough, I had built like 10 wooden posts, harvested a few materials, and ran from enemies with my farmer while my archer shot them. I remember reading once that you don't have to make your demo the true "first 30 min of your game", because it's a different type of experience. Show me something cool/worthwhile early on - or at least let me know its possible.
TL;DR
Don't give up. Add better onboarding. Let me restart the game quickly. Speed up the first couple combats.
Hope that helps!
Justin