First time here an I'd like to throw out some thoughts as a boring middle aged guy who was having a beer and thinking about his life and somehow ended up here. Firstly, I'm really glad to see you're in a better place and back on the horse, last I knew you were in a dark place and I remember thinking to myself "What a shame, this guy has potential." Secondly, while he has some lessons in my mind you're doing yourself a bit of a disservice by comparing your results to that of random space guy. Entirely different genres, entirely different audiences and entirely different games. Comparing past kongregate results doesn't mean much considering how things change and especially with his space results I can tell you that your average person see's his game and thinks "FTL wannabe." Its not a flashy enough game to attract the space action crowd and the space strategy with a bit of story genre has been milked dry. Meanwhile, the substantial RPG market is the same it's ever been and are so much more forgiving of gameplay so long as the story is good; just look at Tyranny, sure its got some flashy graphics but ultimately its the story that makes it a success and it is certainly no higher quality than anything you've done. You have a way of capturing the imagination, engrossing the player, its special... there is a reason I looked you up in this drunken nostalgic trip, not ubz (mudnblood), not sugarfree (caravaneer) or any of the other games I enjoyed. That being said, you definitely need to get out there and try to reignite some old fans. I had no idea Mardek was out on steam (purchased btw) and if it wasn't for a 40oz Steel Reserve I never would have known. You have a proven record, you had an enthusiastic fanbase, you've surely still got the talent; all that's left is to deliver a quality game and let people know that the wait is over. You seem set on getting an early start but I'd also caution you that people have an incredible distrust of indy devs anymore due to countless games that were hyped too soon and never materialized... no, not Star Citizen, I'm talking about The Seed, Examina-sui generis, Grimwood, and the countless other indy projects which despite being entirely viable and from formerly successful developers only served to get people all excited and smash their hope and goodwill.
Regardless of all the theorizing and whatnot, I just wanted to let you know that your art had an impact on my life and I'm sure there's plenty of others out there, waiting (albeit unknowingly) for your next masterpiece.
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Tobias 1102~4Y
Thanks for commenting; things like this are so valuable to hear. I just hope that I can live up to this eventually!
The scale of the project which currently seems most viable is such that I could conceivably have it out in a few months, rather than lingering forever in development hell and letting people down. I think something like this would definitely be my best bet, just as proof I can make things if nothing else.
I talked about this space game so much just because that postmortem came up on Reddit on the day I happened to decide to do research, but I find it interesting how a game which to me doesn't seem all that interesting still managed to be as profitable as it was. Gives me hope I can do even better!
Regardless of all the theorizing and whatnot, I just wanted to let you know that your art had an impact on my life and I'm sure there's plenty of others out there, waiting (albeit unknowingly) for your next masterpiece.
The scale of the project which currently seems most viable is such that I could conceivably have it out in a few months, rather than lingering forever in development hell and letting people down. I think something like this would definitely be my best bet, just as proof I can make things if nothing else.
I talked about this space game so much just because that postmortem came up on Reddit on the day I happened to decide to do research, but I find it interesting how a game which to me doesn't seem all that interesting still managed to be as profitable as it was. Gives me hope I can do even better!