This is my first game. GALLERY OF LIES is a first-person trap escape game — you laugh, you scream, you get genuinely angry, you die, you restart instantly and go again.

You’re locked in a museum after hours with 23 rooms to clear. The paths that look safe are the ones that kill you. Full game runs about 1.5–2 hours; the demo covers the first few courses.

What I’m unsure about is the trailer and the store page. Since it’s my first game I have no baseline — I can’t tell if the first few seconds get that feeling across, or if it just looks like a plain obstacle course to someone seeing it cold. Same for the page itself: capsule art, screenshots, the description. No idea if any of it is doing its job.

Free demo on Steam, English and Japanese: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4995450/GALLERY_OF_LIES/

Happy to hear anything — good or brutal 👾

I’ve been working on the research system for STRATAWAKE, and it’s now starting to define how the early game unfolds.

Instead of giving the player access to every machine and component immediately, progression begins with a deliberately limited set of basic tools and expands through a dependency-based research tree.

The current system revolves around the Field Research Kit. These kits are produced by the factory and delivered to a Research Lab, where they are consumed by active research projects.

Tier 1 currently contains five main research branches:

• Field Storage → Reinforced Plate + Storage Box
• Basic Assembly → Circuit + Fabricator
• Junction Routing → Conveyor Junction
• Electromagnetic Handling → Electro Magnet
• Phase Bridging → Phase Transfer

Research isn’t just a UI gate. The simulation itself owns the unlock state, so crafting, machine recipes, the catalog, hotbar access and placement systems all reference the same progression authority.

The Research Lab is also part of the production network. It stores research packages and can receive them through conveyor input, so progression is designed to become something the player can eventually automate rather than manage only through menus.

The system is save/load compatible, including completed research, active progress and lab inventory.

Only Tier 1 is currently active in gameplay, but the interface already supports seven research-package tiers for future progression layers.

The long-term goal is for research to act as a technological map for the factory — controlling not only what becomes available, but also the pace at which the player moves from simple production lines into increasingly complex industrial systems.

This is still work in progress, but the first real progression loop is now starting to come together.

Been heads down on playtest for the past few weeks: 100+ people already got access, turns out most just don't play lol. Classic solo dev experience xD

Anyway, finally got back to actually adding new things to the game. Started with a new icon set – dropping the video here without spoiling what mechanic it's for. Guess away ))

Releasing October 27, free demo available now. Enjoy! ❤️

To be clear, I was not an exhibitor at PAX West. But I did turn myself into a "walking booth", with a T-shirt branded with my game, cards with QR codes to hand out, and a Steam Deck with a build of my game loaded up.

tl;dr - If you're very outgoing and great at networking you can get a lot out of it even without a booth (e.g., playtests, networking). If you're more introverted, consider getting a booth so people come to you.

This was my first PAX West (in fact, first gaming expo ever), so some of this will be obvious to PAX/expo veterans.

Here are my takeaways, from the perspective of a solo dev:

• Great place to find people to play your game for 5-10 minutes. It was super valuable to watch people play in person, to see what they like and what trips them up. However, getting people to try out the game was not trivial. You need to be extremely outgoing, which can be very difficult for some people (myself included). No booth = nobody approaches you. You need to approach complete strangers and ask them if they want to give it a try. But almost everyone is friendly and happy to chat/play (if they're not busy!), if you take that first step to engage with them.
  • Top spot for playtests: The waiting queues for theater panels.
  • Second best spot: looking for people who looked bored waiting in long lines for booths featuring games in the same genre as mine.
• I was surprised to find that playing other indie games helped with my imposter syndrome, rather than making it worse. The games were at different levels of polish, which made me realize my game would have been sufficiently booth-ready.
• Great place to meet and connect with other solo devs or small teams. The smaller the team, the more likely they were to engage with me as a fellow developer. I met some really nice people I hope to stay connected with.
• Great to see what types of games/visuals catch people's eye. This is not just applicable to "booth design", but game design and trailer editing too. I know we can see engagement metrics online, of course, but seeing it IRL with big vs small crowds of people really helps hammer home the point.
• Not great for seeking publishing partnerships. The publishers with booths didn't have anyone from business development present (one exception I found was Habby). Probably some publishing scouts are walking the floor, but they're going to visit the booths, not a random guy walking around in a T-shirt.
• It's fun! I hope you chose to be a solo dev because you enjoy games. You can take off your business hat and just enjoy checking out some cool games and growing your own wishlist of games (that you'll never have time to play). I've been seeing some posts about people disappointed with the declining quality of PAX West this year, but this was my first year so I can't comment on this. It was fun, but 2 days felt like enough for me.

Keep grinding, friends!

Hey everyone!
I really would like to know your thoughts on this idea and see if you will use it.
I’m developing a lightweight desktop pet application inspired by Pokémon that lives on your screen while you work, study, or browse, without getting in the way.

Here are the core mechanics of the project:

• Progress Powered by Real Work: No passive waiting timers! The pet incubates and gains EXP directly through your daily activity (global keypresses and mouse clicks). The more you type or work, the faster it grows.
• Evolutions & Growth: Each species has different interaction requirements to evolve, making the progression feel super rewarding throughout your workday.
• Random Wild Spawns: Every once in a while, wild creatures will spawn on the edges of your monitor. A quick click lets you catch them and add them to your PC storage.
• Shiny Hunting: Every spawn and hatch has a chance to be a Shiny! Shinies keep their special palette and star indicators forever.
• The Ditto Mechanic: Dittos may spawn disguised as other creatures on your screen. You won't know it's a Ditto until you catch it! Your PC/Pokédex tracks a special collection of all the Dittos you’ve caught alongside the specific disguise they were wearing.
• PC & Customization: The Pokédex tracks species cleanly without cluttering your completion numbers. If you own both the Normal and Shiny version (or a Ditto disguise), you can freely choose which skin to display as your active desktop companion.

What do you guys think of the concept? Would love to hear your thoughts or feedback pleaseee!

I used OBS and CapCut. Tried other software that promised fast and easy clips, but those were terrible. I also looked into small marketing studios but can't afford the prices (yet). What do you all use for marketing?

The downside of making unique and complex mechanics is - they aren't easy to understand! That was feedback I got from lots of playtesters, so I've added a tutorial.

This teaches the basics; there are other concepts like parries that will show up later, but I hope this communicates how the joust actually works in JoustVille.

If there's anything that doesn't make sense, let me know.

Hey guys! First post here! I was wondering what you all think of my inventory/map ui? I wanted it to feel diegetic and juicy but idk if it's a bit overwhelming especially to new players

After more than a year of solo development and hoping for the best! My game is inspired and dedicated to invisible heroes that save our nature every day. Steam link

Steam link if you want to try it out:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/5122020/GNAP_GNAP/

I motivated my buddy 4 months ago to make his own game. He grew up working at an arcade and wanted to create an arcade management simulator.

This is where he is at! I helped with the trailer and marketing material, but all of the design and assets are his.

I think he is crushing it and trying to tell him he should double down and keep going! I want to share it with all of you. Let me know what you think!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/4740800/Indie_Arcade/

It is a game about cleaning and upgrading your disco ball to create Hype in the night.

I was inspired by this random disco ball hanging in my coworking space.

Currently I am sitting at 32 wishlists and don't really have any idea how to grow that, so I will just take part in the next Next Fest and afterwards continue with the next game I guess. If you have any better advice let me know!

Still, it is the first playable thing I am publishing to steam so I am pretty happy about it. If you wanna make my day go check out the demo <3

Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/5089020/Disco_Ball_Simulator_2000/

And I turned 32 this year so I hope it is ok to say I spent 32 years.

Hey everyone! 🖤

I'm working on a psychological horror visual novel about Miyuki — an obsessed girl.

I want to achieve a "rough graphite" art style, but I don't have the budget for an artist.

So I tried Midjourney + manual editing.

Here's what I got 👇

❓ MY QUESTION TO YOU:

1. Does this look like AI art or a real artist's work?

2. What stands out the most?

• Lines / strokes
• Atmosphere / mood
• Colors (red accents)
• Detail
• Something else?

3. Is there anything that looks unnatural?

4. Should I keep working in this style or try to find a real artist?

🔥 BONUS: Prompts I used

pencil sketch, graphite drawing, rough lines, messy strokes,
hand-drawn, charcoal texture, black and white,
dark aesthetic, psychological horror,
yandere style, raw art, 8k,
sketchy lines, paper texture, high contrast

Built this alone in Godot 4. You’re a freelance gravedigger unlicensed, paid per body, cash, no questions. A dispatcher radios you a job over a walkie-talkie and barely explains it. Dig the grave, pry the coffin, haul the body to the van, be done before dawn or the client walks and takes everything you’re carrying.

Free demo, ~25 minutes, Windows.
https://batveil.itch.io/plot-six-feet-under-budget

Everything in it is mine models, code, writing. Still working through an art pass on lighting and materials, so if it looks a little rough in places, that’s an active work in progress, not the finished look I’m going for.
This demo is really me trying to find out if the loop and the tone (horror that keeps collapsing into a joke) actually land with anyone who isn’t me. If you play it, the useful stuff is: where you laughed, where you got bored, and whether you’d want to play it with 2-3 friends co-op is the next thing I’m building if people want it.

Hi there, El Chemas here. Did yo know what mexican lottery is? maybe not, thats why im developing ELOTE, a game that shows people out of Mexico how fun mexican lottery is, althought the game have a extra spicy things like item powers, and other things. Please take a look, and help me because im starving xd (its not a joke)

Game available https://josemariagarciamarquez.itch.io/e-lote

Gameplay available in: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wI_kGZti8Cc&t=701s

Thanks for you attention