Post-mortem
Releasing Your First Game
by Axel Born
Original : 17/11/2022
Translated & Updated : March 2023
| Before Starting |
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| Context & Disclaimer
These slides were initially done for a talk during in November 2022 for Toulouse Game Dev, in french.��This is a translated version of it for #notGDC 2023, in March 2023. There were some slight changes & a bit more context added to some slides, but it’s not impossible that some parts still lack a bit of context without the spoken comments.��For parts like sales & marketing data, the numbers weren’t updated and still date back from November.
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Toulouse Game Dev Meetup on November 17, 2022
| Who am I ?
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| What will be covered
With a practical case : Skew Pong
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| What is Skew Pong
Physics-based Pong, Local Multiplayer
Released on :
Price : 1.99€ / 2.49$
Team size : Solo dev + 1 composer/sound designer
Dev time : 3-4 months on free time��Budget : 0€*
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| How the project started
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| Why continue this game ?
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Ludum Dare results (out of 2000+ games)
| Before Starting to Work |
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| What’s a first game ?
=> Lots of mistakes
=> But also, lots of learning
Rarely a commercial success but more of a learning experience
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| Defining objectives & expectations
Objectives :
Expectations :
Don’t forget to stay reasonable, ie. don’t expect to become rich or have making a AAA game as your goal.
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Skew Pong’s example :��My objectives :
My expectations :
| Define the frame
Again, stay reasonable, don’t drop your job to go full time or put all your savings into it.
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Skew Pong’s example :
| Have everyone on the same line
=> You avoid any future problems�Ideally, all of this should be put under written form
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Skew Pong’s example :��I had a composer/sound designer join up to make the audio of the Ludum Dare version of the game.�When I decided to keep on working the game, asking him if I could use his work was the first thing I did.
Here’s the rough deal we had :
| Scoping properly |
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| Scoping small is important
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| Finishing a game is long
Pareto’s Principle (80/20 rule) applied to games :
Lots of annex systems to do in a proper release
Localization, settings, success, analytics, saving, etc…
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| Development isn’t the only thing
=> All of this takes time in addition to the dev
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| Production / Be well organized |
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| Be regular in your work
Working on your game must become habit
* It’s ok to take breaks when needed.��* The important here remains to find whatever works best for you to stay productive and keep it healthy.
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| Structure the project & split it in tasks
Short-term goals :
Milestones / Long-term goals
Deadlines :
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| Work in Iterative
Work with 1 or 2 weeks long cycles :
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| Use project management tools
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Hack’n’Plan is what I use for my projects
| Make the most of those tools
Kind of tasks, estimated time, priority, etc…
The goal is to have a clear vision on the project
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Adding a trail behind the player :�-> more satisfying to move (game feel)�-> a small visual improvement
A setting to change the length/width ratio of the terrain :�-> improves ‘marketability’ as it allows for slightly more varied screenshots�-> more content�-> adds a bit of replayability value (for players that tinker with the different match settings)
Example : Custom tags in Hack’n’Plan that tell how tasks impact the game��-> Helps in prioritising tasks
| Have your Game Tested |
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| The importance of playtesting
=> Helps make the game better
�* That’s even more true when you’re working solo or lack in experience making games.
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| Take a step back
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| How to find testers
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| A Few Isolated Slides |
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| Localizing your Game
Low-cost solutions :
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Polyglot Gamedev Project
| Know how to Describe & Pitch your Game
How would you describe it in a short paragraph ?
In just a few games ?�In a few key words ?
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| (Optional) Making a company & other administrative stuff
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| Publishing on Steam |
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| Steamworks
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| Registering & Steam Direct
Forms to fill : Identity, company, bank info, tax info, etc…
/!\ For non-US devs, make sure not to lose 30% in withholding tax if your country got a tax treaty.
=> You’ll have to put your ‘foreign’ TIN properly�=> ie. for France, it’ll be your SIRET or NIF (tax id)
‘Refunded’ after 1000$ of sales
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| The main steps
You can do steps 1 and 2 as soon as you want.�It can take a few days for things to get approved.
�/!\ Don’t do them at the last moment as there’s a chance your page or build gets refused if something is wrong.
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| Do your Steam Page
Recommendation : How to make a Steam page from Chris Zukowsky
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| Uploading builds - Steampipe
Build = a version (1.0, 1.1, etc…)
Depots = ‘variants’ (ie. Win, Mac, Linux)
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| Have a build approved
Ex : Gamepad support, Steam features support, etc…
* except for NSFW games
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| Steamworks API
Achievements, Stats, Leaderboards, Cloud Saves, Enhanced Rich Presence, Remote Play Together, etc…
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| The Release |
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| The release
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| After the Release |
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| Taking a step back
After the release :
After a bit more time :
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| The Updates
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| Release on Itch.io
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| Sales & Other Numbers |
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| Sales Data on Itch.io
Numbers as of 15 November 2022
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March 2023 Update :
No change, still has only 1 sale ever
Free webgl demo plays
Note / Context :
Game was put on Itch months after the initial release, just to see if it might sell a few copies there
| Sales Data on Steam
Numbers as of 15 November 2022
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Prior to Steam’s 30% cut
-> 128*0.7 = 90$
March 2023 Update :
The game is now at :
Return % went down to 11.9% (16 units)
Median time played rose up a bit to 11 minutes
| Sales (details)
Numbers as of 15 November 2022
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* This graph doesn’t always put points on 0
Release�|
Summer sales�|-----|
Visibility round
Sale�Update�|
Update
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Visibility round�Update
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Update
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March 2023 Update :
Game did ok numbers in Autumn Sales & Winter Sales
+ its best numbers since release during an anniversary sale in February 2023 with an update to the game
| Wishlists (details)
Numbers as of 15 November 2022
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Release�|
Summer sales�|---|
Visibility round
Sale�Update�|
Update
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Visibility round�Update
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Update
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74 wishlists at release
| Visits & Impressions
Numbers as of 15 November 2022
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Release�|
Summer sales�|---|
Visibility round
Sale�Update�|
Update
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Visibility round�Update
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Update
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| Other
Numbers as of 15 November 2022
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Release�|
Summer Sales�|---|
Visibility round
Sale�Update�|
Update
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Visibility round�Update
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Visibility Rounds
| Game Stats
Numbers as of 15 November 2022
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* This graph doesn’t put points at 0
* Average is skewed as it includes my own game time & some of the dev time
| Analytics/Stats & Achievements
Numbers as of 15 November 2022
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* My own stats weren’t counted there
| Analysis of the Commercial Failure |
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| Les bases de Steam
Steam/Valve goals = $$$
=> The more a game is likely to sell, the more they’ll promote it
The main metrics :
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| Steam’s filters
Wishlists :
Sales :
Reviews :
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| Analysis of the Game itself
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| The Steam Page
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| No participation to Steam events
Events = Major sources of internal traffic
=> Couldn’t take part in the event
=> Lost a full week of launch visibility
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Remote Play Together
Sale
| Too few communication
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| Itch.io in a few words
=> No sales
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| Marketing attempts |
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| Tracking links with UTM Parameters
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| UTM Stats
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2 posts on r/Games’ Indie Sundays (20/02 et 27/03)
368 visits, 3 wishlists
+ Good visibility even if the posts weren’t very popular��+ Doesn’t require to build a prior following to make a hit
– Quite random��– Beware of the 10:1 ratio for promotion posts and individual subreddits rules
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A few tweets (release, updates) on dedicated account
71 visits, 1 wishlist�+�Links in bios
28 visites
+ Putting a link in your bio is always good
– Maintaining a dedicated account takes a lot of time��– You need a lot of followers for it to have a real impact
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| Discord
Link in profile
105 visits
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Partage de la release sur quelques serveurs où je suis actif (not tracked)�
+ Link in profile is always good
+ Surprisingly not that low* (though it’s also linked to my high activity on Discord)
– It’ll never have a big impact
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| Ludum Dare
A small post-mortem at release + link on profile & jam version’s game page
55 visits�
+ Could give a small initial boost
– Very small audience outside LD jams periods
– Specific to games that were made in LD
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| Twitch
Link in profile
11 visits�Few dev streams on the weeks prior to release (not trackable)�
+ Has potential if you’re regular & enjoy it
– Requires a lot of time investment
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| Databases/listing websites
IndieDB
Indie Game LaunchPad
Tweets about your game, but no interactions on these
IGDB
Used as source for Twitch’s categories�
+ Relatively fast to do and needs no maintenance
– No visible impact
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| The End |
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| Contact & Links
Portfolio/Website��Discord : @axelvborn��e-mail : axelvborn@gmail.com
Twitter : @axelvborn
Mastodon : @axelvborn@mastodon.gamedev.place
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