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Sagitar is a dynamic designer, passionate player, and founder of indie dev studio Wayward Prophet.
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Balancing development, forum contributions, and marketing?
Thanks again for the responses! There is a ton of awesome stuff to be done on this site (reading reviews, participating in events/discussions, actually playing games) it can be overwhelming. As most of you have said, it seems like it does come down to focus and trying to remember that actually working on your project is top priority.
Addit, your points about social media and the like were really interesting, as I definitely find myself falling into that trap. Submitting something here regularly should be much higher on the list than scanning through pages of Facebook or Reddit posts about games and game development.
It's also a really good reminder that this is supposed to be FUN at the end of the day. It's a hobby, and being able to relax and enjoy making games is important to not getting overwhelmed or going crazy from the inevitable tedium.
So, another question for the peanut gallery... how important do you think "giving back" to the community is? Are you more willing to play someone's game if you see them active on the forums or posting feedback about other people's projects? Or is a good game just a good game, regardless of the developer's other activities?
Addit, your points about social media and the like were really interesting, as I definitely find myself falling into that trap. Submitting something here regularly should be much higher on the list than scanning through pages of Facebook or Reddit posts about games and game development.
It's also a really good reminder that this is supposed to be FUN at the end of the day. It's a hobby, and being able to relax and enjoy making games is important to not getting overwhelmed or going crazy from the inevitable tedium.
So, another question for the peanut gallery... how important do you think "giving back" to the community is? Are you more willing to play someone's game if you see them active on the forums or posting feedback about other people's projects? Or is a good game just a good game, regardless of the developer's other activities?
Balancing development, forum contributions, and marketing?
Thanks for the responses so far! Definitely interesting stuff.
author=SnowOwlYet you still get a good amount of downloads for your games! Do you think having established a reputation for polished products on this site has helped? Like, do you think people who play your newest games are the same people who played your older ones and loved them? Because that seems like an ideal situation, where you have a solid, pre-existing audience base for everything you release, and you don't have to spend much time on trying to "sell" anything. Oh, and man am I jealous of your ability to churn out awesome games and move on to the next one. I find myself getting caught up on one single project for a looong time, even if the initial design is on a much smaller scale.
I don't think most indie developers, especially on this site, spend as much time marketing their games as you seem to do, me included. I just post the game up with a description and a couple of screenshots on a couple of sites and call it a day.
author=CashmereCatThat's a very good point, that number of downloads doesn't necessarily translate to quality of feedback. I'm definitely happy with the (more broad, I guess?) audience I've worked to find, but I would love more feedback from sites like this in particular. Especially from other people familiar with the RM software, who would understand more about the inner workings of these types of games and possibly have more -- or at least a different type of -- input to offer.
But generally the thing about this group is that it's very close-knit, and personally I would much rather have the approval of good developers than random people that don't know their games. Not looking down at them or anything.
author=SvielWould you recommend this strategy? I'm starting to consider it...
I sleep 4 hours a day and check RMN mostly during meal breaks q_q
author=yuna21This is really interesting too, and something I've thought about before... There are a handful of pretty active RM-focused communities out there, and I've found a game can get a really warm reception at one and be completely ignored at another. It's like each site has it's own personality and preferences, but I haven't quite worked out what they all are yet. Perhaps it's better to establish a home at one specific community and not worry about the others?
Maybe I should just stick to one community ( on the last site I was active I had just over 900 posts, which is nothing compared to the post count here. 0_o )
Balancing development, forum contributions, and marketing?
Okay, so this is something I've been thinking a lot about lately, and I think it's different enough from the occasional "how do I market my game?" topic that it warrants its own discussion.
I don't post here much (aside from updates on my own game) but it's not for any reason other than that I don't feel like I have enough time to get fully invested. I look at stat reports and am blown away at the number of post counts, review submissions, etc., that some amazing members of the community are able to submit. RMN is a fantastic resource and support forum for aspiring developers, and I would love to give back by being really active here. But whenever I get particularly inspired to do so, I realize there are so many other things holding me back.
Firstly, a full-time job. That's to be expected though -- it's only the lucky few indie developers who can count on this as anything more than a hobby. But when you add in time spent actually developing and trying to get something playable out there, the hours left in the day are already starting to dwindle. And then once your game actually IS released, you have to market it yourself. Reaching out to press, posting the link on forums, basically finding as big an audience as possible... That's hard work! Having worked in communications myself, I can safely say that part of the process is a full-time job in itself.
Obviously this community (and the handful of other RM-centric forums) is meant for developers. Your widest audience is probably not here. And knowing that, I find myself spending less and less time contributing to this community -- which I'd really like to do! -- and more and more time sending emails, posting on reddit, Googling for blogs and sites that might be interested, etc. After doing that for a while, it's tough to come here and add anything close to an insightful comment/review. And even if I carve out a little time to do so, there's always the guilt that oh yeah, I'm supposed to be working my game, and oh yeah, friends/family/pets/other interests have to fit in there somehow too.
I don't think this is a problem specific to me, so I thought I'd throw it out there... Maybe some of the more active members of RMN could offer some tips?
How do you balance participating in this community (or any community) with actually working on your game? Do you see posting in these forums as a type of marketing for your projects, or are they entirely separate things? If you're actively working to publicize a game, should you just not stress out about developer-focused communities like this one?
Thanks for reading... I really appreciate everyone's thoughts on the matter! And sorry if this post came across as self-pity or something, I'd really just love to know how you folks balance your workload.
I don't post here much (aside from updates on my own game) but it's not for any reason other than that I don't feel like I have enough time to get fully invested. I look at stat reports and am blown away at the number of post counts, review submissions, etc., that some amazing members of the community are able to submit. RMN is a fantastic resource and support forum for aspiring developers, and I would love to give back by being really active here. But whenever I get particularly inspired to do so, I realize there are so many other things holding me back.
Firstly, a full-time job. That's to be expected though -- it's only the lucky few indie developers who can count on this as anything more than a hobby. But when you add in time spent actually developing and trying to get something playable out there, the hours left in the day are already starting to dwindle. And then once your game actually IS released, you have to market it yourself. Reaching out to press, posting the link on forums, basically finding as big an audience as possible... That's hard work! Having worked in communications myself, I can safely say that part of the process is a full-time job in itself.
Obviously this community (and the handful of other RM-centric forums) is meant for developers. Your widest audience is probably not here. And knowing that, I find myself spending less and less time contributing to this community -- which I'd really like to do! -- and more and more time sending emails, posting on reddit, Googling for blogs and sites that might be interested, etc. After doing that for a while, it's tough to come here and add anything close to an insightful comment/review. And even if I carve out a little time to do so, there's always the guilt that oh yeah, I'm supposed to be working my game, and oh yeah, friends/family/pets/other interests have to fit in there somehow too.
I don't think this is a problem specific to me, so I thought I'd throw it out there... Maybe some of the more active members of RMN could offer some tips?
How do you balance participating in this community (or any community) with actually working on your game? Do you see posting in these forums as a type of marketing for your projects, or are they entirely separate things? If you're actively working to publicize a game, should you just not stress out about developer-focused communities like this one?
Thanks for reading... I really appreciate everyone's thoughts on the matter! And sorry if this post came across as self-pity or something, I'd really just love to know how you folks balance your workload.
Cashmere wants to review your games
I'd love for you to take a look at my game World's Dawn. It's a farming sim so you can pretty much play it for as long as you'd like.
http://rpgmaker.net/games/1855/
Thanks for your time either way! You do good work here :)
http://rpgmaker.net/games/1855/
Thanks for your time either way! You do good work here :)
Celebrate RMN4 and Media submissions! Make a trailer!
I made this trailer a little while ago, but here you go! I'll have to resubmit it on my game page as well.
Concerning the game front-page download updates
author=Fallen-Griever
New stuff does deserve to be on the front-page, just not in place of popular stuff. Two seperate boxes to make it obvious...
I agree with this also. There could be one section for new content, and one for "Most Popular Games This Week" or something similar, determined by a set requirement of pageviews/downloads. That way everyone gets a fair chance to make an impression with any new content, whether it's a new game or just a patch, and it would be up to the people to decide if it was significant enough to feature in the popular section (which would be more prominently displayed).
This seems to be a pretty similar layout to Newgrounds. They have a list of "Latest Submissions" on the side, but all of the "Featured" content (which I am assuming is determined by comments/pageviews/downloads) commands more space and attention.
Giving Feedback: Pass or Fail
http://rpgmaker.net/games/1855/
I'd really appreciate you giving World's Dawn a shot. I haven't gotten very much feedback on the demo at all and would really like an experienced reviewer's honest opinion. Thanks!
I'd really appreciate you giving World's Dawn a shot. I haven't gotten very much feedback on the demo at all and would really like an experienced reviewer's honest opinion. Thanks!
Let's Try - Season 3
Just signed up on the form... I haven't received too much feedback on World's Dawn, so I'd really appreciate a playthrough!
Let's Try - Season 2
I'd love to see you try World's Dawn when you get a chance. The current demo is only about an hour long, so it shouldn't be too hefty an undertaking. Thanks so much! Keep up the great work.
Games - Tester
Games - Other
