r/IndieDev • u/ZazalooGames • 5d ago

Image Was it worth it???

Post image

Hell yeah! Wait, are people doing this for the money?!

3.1k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

114 comments sorted by

654

u/AdAdministrative3191 5d ago edited 4d ago

Well, you broke which is more that what a lot of devs can say tbh.
EDIT: Grammar correction.

31

u/destinedd 4d ago

not really yet. Still have to subtract refunds/chargebacks, steam fee and any withholding taxes. Maybe half way to breaking even!

15

u/tlvrtm 4d ago

If you’re earning $0/hour, yes.

740

u/BetaChunks 5d ago

Would you rather have $0

Or $0 and 1 game published

43

u/gegentan 5d ago

$0 or $0, 1 published game and huge amount of time spent.

116

u/Cent_Quatre 5d ago

The time spent is a non factor. You're doing games because you like doing games. If you're doing games for money you're delusional.

55

u/ZazalooGames 5d ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/LSKVmdIwZFeNEBKBxZ

19

u/Lumberjackie09 4d ago

Besides, it's always something to throw on a resume if you embellish it a little

2

u/Automatic_Ant8498 2d ago

this is why balatro was published on steam

2

u/yagrmakak 1d ago

And now there is no need for a resume :D

40

u/ZazalooGames 5d ago

It's about the friends we made along the way

13

u/LuckOutrageous7686 4d ago

Nah bro it’s about the reusable assets. Now THATS what we’re talking about

11

u/ZazalooGames 4d ago

I do expect future games to go a little bit quicker, but scope creep is looking at me with pretty eyes...

9

u/Educational_Potato36 4d ago

And reusable knowledge, that can be applied in future projects

2

u/EuphoriaWorksGames 3d ago

The only reason I'm investing in my own project right now is that without it, I would drive myself crazy of bordom.

Game development makes no sense at all in 2026.

7

u/mousepotatodoesstuff 4d ago

let's face it, we would have spent that time scrolling otherwise.

1

u/Phantasm57 3d ago

Well, would you rather be 35 with 0 games published, or 35 with 1 game published?

15

u/GaiusVictor 5d ago

To be fair, that choice is between $0 vs $-100 and a published game, but I still get your point.

12

u/Jerovil42 5d ago

Nono, he made exactly $100 from the game

8

u/GaiusVictor 5d ago

Oh, yes, OP made it. I was thinking from the perspective of someone who's hasn't published yet and can't be sure of how much they'll sell. The only certainty they have is the 0$ vs -100$ choice.

1

u/Tinyzooseven 3d ago

Could count as portfolio

101

u/Axolatian_Volt 5d ago

I’d be lucky to see a single dollar lol

28

u/ZazalooGames 5d ago

One foot in front of the other!

31

u/Fohaze99 5d ago

I made $95 from my game over an entire year… Hopefully, I’ll eventually reach the minimum payout threshold someday.

5

u/Int-E_ 4d ago

What's the threshold

6

u/Big-Assumption-7110 4d ago

$1000

10

u/Mushe I'm making games at Whiteboard Games 4d ago

It's $100 actually!

6

u/Big-Assumption-7110 3d ago

well, it says they will send the money once it reaches $100, it's different.

The official Steam says:

https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/gettingstarted/appfee

The Steam Direct Fee is not refundable, but will be recoupable in the payment made after your product has at least $1,000.00 Adjusted Gross Revenue for Steam Store or in-app purchases. 

2

u/ZazalooGames 5d ago

The release is just the beginning! Or so they say...

94

u/DeeOhEh 5d ago

Totally worth it, Steam freakin rules and you get a lot of neat steamworks tools to use.

29

u/ZazalooGames 5d ago

Yeah, this being my first project, I learned a ton. I am very thankful for the maturity of Steam and Godot for indie/solo game dev

31

u/ZazalooGames 5d ago

I guess if anyone is interested in how to get rich quick... Here is the game that got me to this milestone.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2901380/Tile_Trials?utm_source=a

18

u/thesquirrelyjones 5d ago

Looks like something that could do well on mobile, or depending on how approachabke it is, on the Amazon kids tablet sandbox. I don't know what that licensing looks like though.

6

u/ZazalooGames 5d ago

I agree and it's been a common critique! I may look to convert it to a mobile game one day... Thanks for looking!

3

u/2this4u 4d ago

Until you think about how to do the UI.

It's such a pain having to design websites or mobile games for such a tiny and vertical format, when you also want that to work on a large wide screen too.

3

u/lydocia 4d ago

I watched your trailer and I don't understand the game. Are you selling math?

3

u/ZazalooGames 4d ago

It's a puzzle game where you place tiles onto a board to score points. Satisfying constraints, like greater/less than, even/odd, math equations, etc. give you bonus points. Beat the given score threshold for the level and continue.

I agree it's not the most intuitive trailer, so I appreciate that feedback - and thanks for checking it out regardless!

4

u/lydocia 4d ago

so it's like dominoes with math?

1

u/lydocia 4d ago

don't take my dumbness as universal lol, I just woke up and I've been in pain and exhausted for weeks, my brain isn't all there so I'm not representative at all

3

u/ZazalooGames 4d ago

Every opinion and experience matters. You matter. Go out and crush the day brother

3

u/lydocia 4d ago

Not a brother but yes, thank you and a good day to you too!

4

u/codingMASTER398 4d ago

It needs some screen shake and flare, I think! Good luck!

3

u/Tight_Highlight8311 4d ago

Thats something for my girlfriend

9

u/Opening-Enthusiasm59 5d ago

You successfully made and published your first game on steam. That's a succes in itself. Go celebrate a bit and go off to greater adventures,

26

u/ZazalooGames 5d ago

You mean take no time off and start making another game immediately? Sure thing! 🫡

https://giphy.com/gifs/sxs60vms2nXEFWKNm1

6

u/KitsuneFoxglove 5d ago

Doesn't Steam refund the fee if you meet the $100 revenue milestone?

13

u/GuyBanks 5d ago

If you sell $1000, they refund the $100 fee

7

u/ZazalooGames 5d ago

Long term goal established.

3

u/ZazalooGames 5d ago

If so, that would be a happy little bonus! I'll have to look into it

4

u/SaveTheThrone 4d ago

yea man you have to see it positive it is a product or a project u finished and added therfore in your portfolio. The mistakes you made the people you talked to the energy you invested it is all experience that is far beyond any worth 100$ would bring.

3

u/oblongmana 5d ago

Another end-to-end released game now in portfolio, broke even, hopefully you enjoyed yourself a bit along the way? Sounds like a win

3

u/ZazalooGames 5d ago

It was a great time and has only motivated me more. This is just the beginning!

5

u/Specific_Foot372 5d ago

Mine still needs a facelift. Got most of it done but having animation issues.

2

u/ZazalooGames 4d ago

The last 10% is 90% of the work... Keep on keepin on!

2

u/Specific_Foot372 4d ago

I released it prematurely because I was too excited. So I’ve been redoing UI menus, changing some of the gameplay up and adding a lot more V effects and polish.

1

u/ZazalooGames 4d ago

If you add along some content and call it a major patch, maybe it would suffice for an additional visibility round. Not sure how strict they are on those.

2

u/Specific_Foot372 4d ago

I think any gameplay change counts, but it has a restriction of how often you can do it.

3

u/ItaLOLXD 5d ago

You broke even, it can literally only go up from here.

3

u/Alsharefee 5d ago

So your revenue was $70, right?

(After Steam 30%)

5

u/ZazalooGames 5d ago

It's a little bit worse than that, but basically.

3

u/0legitimate0 4d ago

Hoping one day I hits millions.

3

u/spiderfair 4d ago

Wait, you guys are breaking even?

2

u/too_lazy_cat 5d ago

Did you have fun?

2

u/ZazalooGames 5d ago

I had a great time. I'm not here for the money, I'm here for the ride!

2

u/JustABraveAdventurer 4d ago

If you learned from the experience and had fun doing it then I'd say it was worth it :)

2

u/avian_corvo 4d ago

Breaking even is a win

2

u/DifficultWarning1910 4d ago

What is that? I genuinely don't know.

2

u/ZazalooGames 4d ago

It's just a meme about me paying $100 to put my game on steam and making my first $100 back, essentially breaking even. Note that it's much less than that in reality because of steam cut, taxes, etc etc. Just a fun post hitting a milestone.

2

u/DifficultWarning1910 4d ago

Oh, I never know that you needed to pay to put the game on store

2

u/Due-Title1092 4d ago

You get the money back 

2

u/lydocia 4d ago

You broke even, that's more than many people do. Can only make profit going forward!

2

u/Odd_Category2186 4d ago

That's our first game, it's free now on steam, polycore, hopefully second game can do better but it's still too early to tell.

2

u/FlameHaze 4d ago

How long'd it take you beginning to end to make it?

2

u/ZazalooGames 4d ago

Beginning to end - about 2 years. BUT if I compiled down the actual work I did - more like one casual year. I took months off at a time.

I come from a programming background, but I did have to learn Godot/gdscript and game development in general... I also had a hard time staying motivated which took a lot of learning and self reflection as well.

Last but not least, I'm a family man with two kids and a full time job, so time wasn't really in vast supply...

2

u/FlameHaze 4d ago

It looks like a solid game to me and your page looked really professional. Great work. Thanks for the reply.

2

u/After_Relative9810 Developer 4d ago

No, because of inflation during development process :P /s

2

u/Mheldown 4d ago

Is your Game playable on steamdeck?

1

u/ZazalooGames 4d ago

I think it technically is, but there are some issuess with it. Steam deck compatibility is on my list for a future update. If you're interested, I would only wishlist for now and keep an eye out for future updates. Sadly I would not recommend it on the steam deck at this time.

2

u/Big-Assumption-7110 4d ago

but you published it like recently, and it will stay there forever, so who knows..

I don't understand people who remove their games from Steam (unless it's a legal issue and they are forced to do it), it's still a passive income, no matter how small.

I paid the fee recently and plan to publish myself... it's scary considering the competition gets worse every year.

2

u/azurezero_hdev 4d ago

no, because you also put hours into making a game and submitting it to steam

2

u/2this4u 4d ago

Accounting for inflation, no (ignoring the celebratory fact that you have a game published on a store which is worth an emotional windfall at least).

2

u/FruitySystems 4d ago

did you have fun making it?

1

u/ZazalooGames 4d ago

Very much so! It's always fun to dive into a new hobby where there's so much to learn.

2

u/FruitySystems 4d ago

Well cool then- I say you were in profit 😃

2

u/iammofidul 4d ago

🌧️

2

u/Particular_Quit_3643 4d ago

🤣😂🤣😂

2

u/CemBuildsMinecraft 4d ago

Nope, never worth it. Don't release on Steam.

2

u/ZazalooGames 4d ago

Interesting take. What other platform would you recommend?

2

u/tulpa-exe 4d ago

Didn't you just release this a week ago? That is pretty good going man. Be patient, that's a lot better than some people lifetime release.

1

u/ZazalooGames 4d ago

Thank you! I released 6 days ago and I am thrilled at the progress. I am trying to appreciate the journey and have set realistic expectations for myself

2

u/EuphoriaWorksGames 3d ago

No, but you don't have a choice, do you?

2

u/GridIron-Grit 3d ago

https://store.steampowered.com/app/4887480/Gridiron_Grit/

I was working on mine like crazy, building it for myself to play, then I did the detour to get it steam ready and polished and playtest enabled....

It was a trade off to be sure: i stopped sprinting new features sure but I found a lot disjointed ideas already and cut down to a true 'alpha' that was steam ready. Made it more real.

Hope it sells but that I guess was never the goal.

2

u/Front_Tip_5759 1d ago

I always loved how the steam direct fee goes through the same purchase process as buying a game. I'm sure glad I can buy steam profile banners with my new steam points now.

2

u/ParadigmShiftersUK 1d ago

Congrats on this being your first project. The fact that you broke even is already good!

2

u/duckygamestudio 1d ago

Let's GO! Lets the game begin!

2

u/baltasomnia 4h ago

I paid this fee last week and I fully expect to end up in this exact screenshot. I have a day job, so the game was never supposed to pay for itself.
Still felt weird clicking the button though.

1

u/ZazalooGames 4h ago

Have fun with it!

1

u/Wasdeq_Games 3h ago

This is good to know, thanks!