Steam Algorithm Changes Gutted Indie Game Impressions
10 posts across 3 communities in the last 90 days; 50% from r/IndieDev.
“Hey, I have no idea how to advertise my game, I've posted on social media, on gaming sites, and even bought ads, but that doesn't help.”
“I am making a roguelite 3d game where you need to collect ingredients for potions, sell the potions and upgrade to get better ingredients. What would y'all suggest about marketing, I think about filming shorts, but I hate my voice... So what do you think, give me any advice you…”
“I'm just proud of how it looks, especially the geology thing - I was doing lectures about geology for our team, just to be sure that everything rock-related makes sense in our game. https://store.steampowered.com/app/4925790/Wilds_of_Lumithra/”
Independent game developers are grappling with challenges related to visibility, marketing, and platform changes. Concerns include Steam algorithm updates impacting impressions, navigating community feedback, and finding effective ways to promote their games.
SOURCES (27)
“Wjshlist at https://store.steampowered.com/app/5078140/16\_Bit\_Gold/ submitted by /u/LongPig24 [link] [comments]”
“I'm just proud of how it looks, especially the geology thing - I was doing lectures about geology for our team, just to be sure that everything rock-related makes sense in our game. https://store.steampowered.com/app/4925790/Wilds_of_Lumithra/ submitted by /u/matkaxziemia [link] [comments]”
“Work your land and find the gold! Wishlist at: https://store.steampowered.com/app/5078140/16\_Bit\_Gold/ #cozygame #indiegame #indiedev #pixelart submitted by /u/LongPig24 [link] [comments]”
“It's tough out there fellow indie devs, but keep at it - Happy Screenshot Saturday. submitted by /u/lootherr [link] [comments]”
“For those who have actually released indie games: how much did you make, how long did development take, and was it worth it financially? I'm especially interested in real experiences and numbers, even if the game made very little. submitted by /u/No_Plane_4704 [link] [comments]”
“If you have your own indie game/company what did you do to gain popularity/traction? What is some advice you can give to someone just starting out? submitted by /u/gamerMNC [link] [comments]”
“I managed to get enough of a third biome finished to record some footage and finally found someone to make music. Took that as an opportunity to remake the trailer and revamp the game page. Curious if people think it's now 'together' enough that I can turn focus back to the demo, or if I've still got work to do on the Steam page? Steam page here Feel free to drop a link to your own page in the comments and I can share thoughts on yours in return submitted by /u/barkit”
“I’ve been working on this open-world map as a solo dev for almost 3 years now. Would love to hear what you think — does it look interesting? Any cool ideas to improve it . The game is called Travelers . Wishlisting helps a lot :) im just at 700 now soo guys D: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4274030/Travelers/ https://www.instagram.com/coolgamingcompany/ submitted by /u/Much_Distribution_52 [link] [comments]”
“I would love some feedback on my trailer. Do you think simple casual puzzle games like this can grab attention on social media? Making regular content takes a lot of time, so I wanted to check on this sub first to see what players of the genre think. Short description of the game: Sun Temple is a classic style puzzle game with a 3 star system like old mobile games. It has a simple mechanic used in a unique way. It also has a special endless mode where levels get procedually generated to create”
“The game features a nostalgic atmosphere, caves are procedurally generated and change appearance each time you enter. Also Includes puzzle elements where you organize the items you dig up. submitted by /u/Endlesskeks [link] [comments]”
“I'm making my first indie game, and I'm trying to learn more about marketing. How do you market your game? What strategies have worked best for you? Which ones brought the most wishlists, players, or sales? Also, are there any strategies that didn't work well or weren't worth the time? I'd really appreciate hearing about your experiences, whether you're a solo developer or part of a small team. Thanks! submitted by /u/Capital-Citron7595 [link] [comments]”
“Just curious how I would pitch my game to creators for them to feature. I know there's a lot of Hidden Gem and indie game reviewers out there. Is there any unspoken rules about doing this I've never stepped into this kind of field before, if anybody has some successful experience with pitching their games and some YouTubers or tiktokers or streamers that might be interested in showing off an idle RPG would be awesome. Thanks in advance for the advice! submitted by /u/ToughUsu”
“Hey, I have no idea how to advertise my game, I've posted on social media, on gaming sites, and even bought ads, but that doesn't help. submitted by /u/IndieEagle [link] [comments]”
“I am making a roguelite 3d game where you need to collect ingredients for potions, sell the potions and upgrade to get better ingredients. What would y'all suggest about marketing, I think about filming shorts, but I hate my voice... So what do you think, give me any advice you can! P. S. The game's name is POTION BAZAAR, it will be published on Steam submitted by /u/Weak-Associate9517 [link] [comments]”
“Heyy, I am an Indie Dev (more-so a guy who happens to like creating all sorts of goofy games wishing that hopefully one day they'll see the light of day lol) and I started posting my Devlogs on my YouTube Channel. The thing is... I started this YouTube channel about a year ago, and I grew lowkey a massive audience with over 104k subs (which IS massive imo in span of like 3-4 months), even received my silver youtube button lol, but this channel was focused on short ai stories (basically, imma”
“Heyy, I am an Indie Dev (more-so a guy who happens to like creating all sorts of goofy games wishing that hopefully one day they'll see the light of day lol) and I started posting my Devlogs on my YouTube Channel. The thing is... I started this YouTube channel about a year ago, and I grew lowkey a massive audience with over 104k subs (which IS massive imo in span of like 3-4 months), even received my silver youtube button lol, but this channel was focused on short ai stories (basically, imma”
“Just finished a trailer and would love feedback from other developers before I attempt promoting my game. I feel like I am experiencing tunnel vision on the trailer and the game itself and would appreciate another perspective. Thanks submitted by /u/bipbop-games [link] [comments]”
“Hi everyone! I'm the solo developer of Infinite Ruins , an incremental mining game that will launch on July 27 , and I've just opened a Steam Playtest to gather feedback before release. The game is all about managing teams of golems, unlocking upgrades, triggering elemental chain reactions, and digging ever deeper through mysterious ruins. I'm especially looking for feedback on: progression and pacing balance UI and readability bugs or technical issues anything that feels confusing o”
“Hi everyone, I’m the developer of Bhangarh: The Untold Story, and I’m getting ready to start email outreach to YouTubers, streamers, journalists, and gaming websites. I’m wondering what the current best practice is. Should I: Send a short email with a link to an online HTML press kit, Steam page, and demo? Attach a press kit directly to the email? Or do both? For example, I was thinking of sending something like this: —————————————————————————————— Hello, I’m Shyam, the developer of Bhangarh: Th”
“I wanted to finally finish a project so I tried to keep my scale relatively simple and created a survival game that is very in the vein of fnaf but in a space station with some extra mechanics and such. Right now it’s probably about 75% complete to be shipped I’ll be honest, idk how to market it. Right now I have a TikTok with about 500 followers from my art content so I plan on using that + maybe messaging some fnaf YouTubers? I’m mostly a hobbyist but I’d like to get it out there. submit”
“You can find the last one here: https://www.indiedb.com/games/forsaken-year-one/news/devlog-procedural-village-generation-part-2-road-placement Im wondering, Do you find it useful? Is it too basic? would you like more details? submitted by /u/headlessk [link] [comments]”
“TLDR: We need to convey that we make games inspired by science, but without scaring people off because the word "science" is quite heavy and evokes complexity I'm the junior marketing guy for a small indie studio. We make games inspired by scientific research. What that means is: We get passionate about a specific sciente-related subject (the latest one being the microscopic world of bacteria/viruses for instance) We work with scientists to prepare material, so we can base the game”