Hey everyone,

After a long stretch of solo development, Battle of Folks is finally out on iOS and Android!

It's a medieval isometric pixel-art wave-defense RTS — if you've played They Are Billions, Age of Darkness, that's the closest comparison. You build up defenses, manage resources, and hold off increasingly brutal waves of attackers.

A few things I focused on:

- No account or login required — just download and play

- Free to try with limited waves, one-time unlock for the full game (no subscriptions, no ads)

- Handmade isometric pixel art, built with Flutter/Flame

- Good controls on mobile device and a good onboarding (you can decide how you want to play)

This was a one-person project — dev, art pipeline, publishing, everything. Happy to answer questions about the build (tile rendering, Flame engine quirks, etc.) or the game itself.

App Store link / Play Store link

Would love your feedback — especially on balancing and the early waves difficulty curve!

I am also working in the future to make a PC version of the game.

I don't fully understand what had happened, but my game is pretty much destroyed. I tried everything to get it back, but nothing worked sadly.

I (stupidly) did all of my work in one scene, and unfortunately did not use any version control. I still have the models, scripts, anim, textures, etc. However, I was pretty lazy and didn't make many prefabs for important objects, or areas in my scene.

I have already moved alll important assets, scripts and the few prefabs I had into a new stable project and I connected it to a GitHub repository.

I know the answer is "you have all the stuff, it should be pretty easy for you to do it again" and while that may be true... I am feeling so unmotivated now, seeing months and months of work completely ruined in like 3 seconds.

I guess my questions for everyone are: Has this ever happened to you? Did you rebuild your entire game again? How did you handle the motivational blow? Am I being a crybaby?

Edit: Thank you to everyone for the humor and the advice. Please learn from my mistake if you are like me.

Mini Pit Manager, web/mobile → mizuki.gallery/mpm

I've wanted a motorsport manager I could play with friends, without all the shenanigans of running a full F1/GT team (more casual, I mean), so I built one, but it also works fine for single-player, most likely better than the MP...

You take a team through full weekends: set the car up in Practice, scrap for grid position in Quali, then juggle tyres, fuel, weather and safety cars on race day. Manage a six-part car between rounds. Every career generates its own circuits; you're never learning the same 24 tracks twice.

Each season the board hands you a target based on the team's pedigree. Miss it too long, and you're in the transfer window hunting for a seat, while retirements and driver swaps reshuffle the grid around you. The AI drivers have personalities: fast-but-reckless, strategy nerds, guys who fold under pressure.

Multiplayer is async, share your career link, a friend picks a team, you both race the same weekend inside a 24h window (ghost replays, not live wheel-to-wheel). Up to 22 humans on one grid.

Solo dev, still rough in spots. Teams and drivers are made up, F1-flavoured, not licensed, but if you know... you'll get it.

Would love a roast.

mizuki.gallery/mpm

Just wondering if anyone else has come up with "The best game concept idea ever" that brings great joy and tickles at the thought of the game being a reality, and then when you actually are in the process of making the game, the drive and sparkles dissappear (usually due to coming up with a new shiny game concept idea) and you are left creating a game you lack desire to finish. I have about 20 of these shiny ideas that I have actually attempted to build. Only 2 seem like they are worth building now...

As my game was an early prototype I put ai as placeholder while the artists were at work (the music artist is still working as we speak so there are still ai placeholder songs in the demo it's better than having no music rn imo)

It cost me more than 5000€ (27 music track, 200+ 2D sprites etc) but it was well worth it I absolutely love it :D

Here's Go Next on steam if you're interested !

I am building a GTM plan statement of work for a client. The is the plan we created with two 2-hour phone calls. Used Claude to organize notes from the call and create the document. This is just the framework built on launch, resources and open spaces for his game to find coverage. If you need help DM me and or check out my free newsletter Game Developers Marketing Resource: https://gdmr.beehiiv.com/

STATEMENT OF WORK

Game Launch Marketing, PR, Community & Storefront Strategy

Client: Consultant: / Strategic Entertainment Engagement Term: September 1, 2026 – November 30, 2026 Strategic Calendar: September – December 2026 Engagement Type: Three-Month Marketing, PR and Launch Support Engagement

1. ENGAGEMENT OBJECTIVE

Strategic Entertainment will develop and execute a focused three-month go-to-market program designed to prepare the game for Steam Next Fest, increase wishlist velocity, improve storefront conversion, generate media and creator awareness, establish a sustainable community presence, and support the transition from demo to commercial release.

The engagement will prioritize activity that can be effectively executed by an independent development team without creating unnecessary ongoing operational requirements.

The campaign will use September as the foundation and audience-building period, October as the demo, showcase and Steam Next Fest activation period, and November as the commercial launch, PR and optimization period.

A December holiday strategy will also be prepared during the engagement so the developer has a defined plan for maintaining momentum through the Steam Winter Sale and year-end promotional period.

2. PRIMARY GOALS

The campaign will focus on six primary goals:

1. Increase Steam wishlists and wishlist velocity
2. Improve Steam and itch.io storefront conversion
3. Generate awareness through targeted games media, creators and showcase opportunities
4. Create a manageable community strategy appropriate for a one-person studio
5. Maximize participation in Steam Next Fest
6. Convert Next Fest attention into launch sales, reviews and continuing visibility

• Success will be measured primarily through changes in:
• Steam wishlists
• Wishlist velocity
• Demo downloads
• Demo-to-wishlist conversion
• Store page visits
• Store conversion rate
• Trailer engagement
• Social engagement
• Press coverage
• Creator participation
• Earned media reach
• Launch sales
• Steam reviews and sentiment

3. SCOPE OF WORK

A. GO-TO-MARKET STRATEGY

Strategic Entertainment will create and manage a detailed work-back schedule covering all major marketing, communications and platform milestones.

Work will include:

Finalize launch positioning

Refine the game's elevator pitch

Establish core audience segments

Define key marketing messages

Develop launch messaging hierarchy

Establish demo marketing strategy

Develop Steam Next Fest strategy

Establish commercial launch strategy

Create holiday promotional strategy

Identify appropriate promotional beats

Establish campaign KPIs

Review campaign results and adjust strategy throughout the engagement

The strategy will prioritize frequent public-facing development and marketing updates rather than waiting for a single "perfect" launch moment.

4. STOREFRONT OPTIMIZATION

Strategic Entertainment will audit and provide recommendations for the game's Steam and itch.io storefront presence.

Steam Storefront

Work will include:

• Steam store page audit
• Short description review
• Long description review
• Elevator pitch development
• Metadata review
• Tag recommendations
• Genre positioning
• Search discoverability recommendations
• Capsule art review
• Logo readability review
• Screenshot sequencing
• Trailer positioning
• Call-to-action review
• Demo placement strategy
• Pricing presentation
• Founder/launch discount messaging
• Wishlist conversion recommendations

Particular attention will be paid to improving the visibility of the logo and title treatment whenSteam capsule artwork is displayed at small sizes.

itch.io Testing Program

The existing itch.io storefront will be used as an experimentation environment before major Steamcampaign beats.

Current baseline metrics include approximately:

800+ page views

1.65% click-through rate

Strategic Entertainment will review opportunities to test:

• Metadata
• Tags
• Short descriptions
• Page headlines
• Screenshots
• Trailer placement
• Calls to action
• Pricing language
• Positioning
• Promotional copy

Insights from itch.io performance will inform Steam storefront decisions where applicable.

5. DEMO STRATEGY

The recommended demo structure will utilize the game's first two onboarding campaigns as the public demo experience.

The third campaign will remain reserved for the commercial release.

Strategic Entertainment will review the demo from a marketing and onboarding perspective and provide recommendations regarding:

1. Opening player experience
2. Tutorial messaging
3. Demo length
4. End-of-demo messaging
5. Wishlist calls to action
6. Full-game teaser messaging
7. Steam page links
8. Community/social prompts
9. Survey or feedback opportunities

The developer will retain responsibility for implementation and technical stability.

Game-ending bugs related to localization and language settings should be resolved prior to campaign amplification.

6. STEAM NEXT FEST STRATEGY

The October 2026 edition of Steam Next Fest will serve as the central discovery event for the campaign.

Recommended Campaign Structure

• October 1–8 Public demo launch and awareness campaign.
• October 9–18 Demo optimization, PR follow-up, creator outreach and wishlist acceleration.
• October 19–26 Steam Next Fest activation.
• October 27 onward Transition from wishlist acquisition to commercial launch conversion.

Steam Next Fest activity will include:

• Next Fest messaging
• Demo promotion
• Social content recommendations
• Press outreach
• Creator outreach
• Steam announcement planning
• Storefront optimization
• Wishlist calls to action
• Player feedback monitoring
• Mid-event adjustments
• Post-event conversion strategy

7. PUBLIC RELATIONS

Strategic Entertainment will create and execute a targeted earned-media campaign supporting the demo,Next Fest and commercial release.

PR Development

• Strategic Entertainment will:
• Edit existing press materials
• Develop approved messaging
• Review developer biography
• Review game description
• Refine elevator pitch
• Develop key talking points
• Create media positioning
• Review trailers
• Review screenshots
• Organize press assets
• Develop press outreach angles

No external communications will begin until materials and positioning have been approved by the developer.

PR Outreach

Outreach may include:

• PC gaming media
• Indie gaming publications
• Strategy/gameplay-focused publications
• Steam-focused outlets
• Gaming newsletters
• Indie discovery publications
• Relevant YouTube creators
• Twitch creators
• Podcasts
• Newsletter writers
• Appropriate regional or technology press

PR will focus on creating several discrete reasons for media to cover the game rather than relying exclusively on a single launch announcement.

8. SHOWCASE & FESTIVAL STRATEGY

Strategic Entertainment will identify relevant showcase, festival and promotional opportunities occurring during or immediately following the campaign.

Potential opportunities will be evaluated based on:

• Eligibility
• Audience fit
• Timing
• Submission deadlines
• Steam visibility
• Creator participation
• Press participation
• Expected development workload

Steam Next Fest will be the primary showcase event.

Additional independent or genre-specific showcases may be pursued when they provide meaningful exposure without distracting the developer from product completion.

9. COMMUNITY STRATEGY

The community program will be designed specifically for the operational limits of a small independent studio.

Becuase you're a solo dev, Strategic Entertainment does not initially recommend building a high-maintenance Discord community unless player demand justifies the moderation and management requirements.

Instead, priority will be placed on scalable channels including:

• Instagram
• Steam Community
• itch.io
• Relevant Reddit communities where appropriate
• Creator communities
• Existing developer social channels

The objective will be to establish a consistent public presence without requiring the developer to become a full-time community manager.

Community Content Pillars

• Recommended content themes may include:
• Development updates
• Gameplay clips
• New mechanics
• GIFs
• Character or enemy reveals
• Behind-the-scenes development
• Developer commentary
• Player feedback
• Demo improvements
• Patch notes
• Milestones
• Wishlist pushes
• Review highlights
• Creator coverage
• Launch countdowns

Strategic Entertainment will advise on cadence, messaging and campaign timing.

10. PRICING & COMPETITIVE REVIEW

Strategic Entertainment will conduct a competitive pricing review based on comparable games including:

• Genre
• Scope
• Playtime
• Production quality
• Developer profile
• Player expectations
• Review performance
• Historical discounting

The working pricing strategy to be evaluated is:

Launch promotional price: approximately $9.99

Long-term standard price: approximately $15.99–$16.00

Final pricing recommendations will be presented following the competitive review.

11. REPORTING & OPTIMIZATION

Strategic Entertainment will review available campaign data throughout the engagement.

Metrics may include:

• Steam page traffic
• Wishlists
• Wishlist velocity
• Demo downloads
• Demo engagement
• Store conversion
• itch.io traffic
• Social engagement
• Press activity
• Creator activity
• Player feedback
• Reviews
• Sales

A campaign recap will be prepared at the conclusion of the engagement identifying:

• Campaign results
• Highest-performing activities
• Lowest-performing activities
• Audience learnings
• Storefront learnings
• PR results
• Recommended December actions
• Recommended longer-term marketing priorities

Hope this helps the curious and the lost.

My name is Cam and I've been composing game music for over 10 years, including 5 years in-house at a game dev studio handling music production, design and implementation. I also have a Master's Degree in Music Composition and have really taken the time to invest as much as I can into this craft.

I'm currently looking for some more collaborations and opportunities. I love what I do, really care about the work I produce, and want to find some like-minded game devs to collaborate with. While I’m looking for paid work, I'll do my best to work with the audio budget of a game as I understand the needs and budgets of indie games can vary greatly.  If interested, please reach out and tell me a bit about you and your game and we can go from there!

Contact: [campbellfloodaudio@gmail.com](mailto:campbellfloodaudio@gmail.com)

And for further listening, check out my portfolio.  You'll hear my favorite tracks I've written over the years and get a good idea of my voicing and style.

Portfolio: https://campbellflood.com/music/

Disclaimer, this is all my opinion, I'm not claiming that my perspective on this is "the correct one" or anything, and I'm not a marketing expert. The purpose of this post is to start a conversation about the increase in early access releases, particularly ones which are still far from release. Also, this is gonna be a little rant-y, sorry in advance

__

This is honestly pretty frustrating for me as a consumer, and is therefore something I've been thinking about a lot as I've been trying to get into game development myself. Broadly speaking, I just dislike early access releases. It feels like a watered down release to me. I can't tell you how many times I've looked at a game, thought it looked really interesting, saw that it's in early access, and immediately lost a good half of my excitement. Excitement that doesn't come back in full when I hear about the full release. Now, this is very much a "me-problem" I'm guessing, but the following is not.

I encounter too many games in early access for years on end, missing massive portions of gameplay, severely unpolished, and even facing major changes. Take for instance "Travellers Rest." It's been in early access for 6 years. I bought it, I enjoyed it, but man, it felt very overtly incomplete at the time, 2 years ago and 4 years after the early access release. Little Witch In The Woods was in early access for I think 4 years, and I use the word "was" very loosely, because it still feels like an early access game. Last month they released a patch completely redoing the intro scene.

Both games, as well as many other early access release games I see, are full of the same reviews: "giving this a good review because it seems like it has good potential", "wait to buy this until the full release", "don't buy this, it's never coming out of early access".

For what my opinion is worth, I beg you, please either don't do early access at all, or do it when your game can provide a complete and reasonably polished experience. I'm fine if you give me my ice cream sundae and I have to wait for the cherry or sprinkles, but don't make me wait for the ice cream, or brownie...or spoon.

Finally after years of learning procedural generation, how to set rules and parameters to have a very organic looking world, I almost completed my procedural world generation.

All it takes as input is a few splines for freeways, a landscape and it will create cities, biomes, suburbs, waypoints, freeways, intersections, splines, buildings, props... And it's resulting points cloud to send to unreal pcg.

So no need to to manually create nav path as the tool create it itself.

This is a screenshot of a test I made. The roads and cities will follow the terrain slope.

This goes way further than the matrix demo which was the starting point (I reverse engineered how they did it and built mine). It can create a single cities just like multiple cities with suburbs, influence zone and even create literally countries with a specific set of parameters

28.12.2024 is when I opened Godot for the first time and started blasting. What an journey it has been so far.

Aside the development, there has been:

• 2 genre switches (Survival -> RTS -> Horde Survival)
• IGN posting my trailer on the same day Steam Page went live
• My meme video going viral, gathering 9600 likes and 650k views (2 posts combined)
• Gaining my first 60 wishlists this weekend (62 adds, 2 removals)

Check out the Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/5066610/Villages_on_Wheels

Loop Chomp is a free one tap arcade game you play right in your browser at loopchomp.com. A little chomper orbits a ring eating snacks while spike bars sweep across the track, and you tap anywhere to flip its direction and dodge. That's the whole control scheme, one tap. No download or sign up required !

Hey everyone ! To let the freight lift travel between floors, I'm learning to use Blender to cut holes in the floor.

I've been developing an indie turn based rogue-like called Under the Bed. It's about a kid in the 90s/early 00s going through a dreamscape created by the Sandman. Here's the issue: I went to make the r/ for it and when searching "under the bed" on reddit EVERY SINGLE result is a NSFW subreddit. Lmao. Is this is real issue or will people still be able to find the subreddit without sifting through p*rn?

Not an actual in-game screen shot, just where my camera happened to fall in editor while setting up a cinematic... But it made me smile!

Still really early in development, most of the actual gameplay isn't there yet.

Right now I'm mostly working on the systems behind everything, and the camera system only recently started working properly.

A lot of what you see here is still temporary and I'm changing things constantly.

Feedback has honestly helped me a lot so far and I've already changed parts of the game because of stuff people pointed out here.

So yeah, feel free to be harsh lol

Lighting, camera movement, the giant, the Earth in the background, scale... anything that feels weird, tell me.

I'd rather fix it now than realize it months later.

The game is called Eye of the Giant btw.

Steam page is here if anyone wants to follow it while I'm building it:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/5101340/Eye_of_the_Giant/

And yeah, I'm genuinely open to criticism, don't hold back :D

Tower Petroleum is a TD where the deckbuilding lives on the board: upgrade turrets, enhance them with modules and assign heroes for unpredictable synergies

September 1: kids go back to school - our playtest goes back to work. It's open to everyone - no keys or waitlist.

Inside:

• 58 cards
• 6 turrets
• 16 monster types
• 19 elite affixes that recombine into randomized champions
• roguelike runs on procgen maps at three difficulties named Hard, Ruthless and Impossible, because we don't lie about the first one
• and the campaign chapter where you make The Choice

Honest disclaimer: it's a work in progress. Some art is placeholder and some text is rough. But campaign chapter, challenge runs, the meta tree - all playable end to end.

We've had no luck finding playtesters the normal way, so we went all in and made the playtest alway public instead. We'll be updating it daily, like really.

If you play even one run and tell us what annoyed you, we'd be genuinely grateful.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3232480/Tower_Petroleum/

I was supposed to just tune the existing ship explosions but then I thought: wouldn't it be cool if the hull starts burning with smoke and steam when the fire hits water too?

This why it takes forever but I think it's worth it.

These are early builds, so a feedback can actually help us decide what works, what doesn’t, and which ideas are worth developing further!

🃏 Prison Card Game - A prison-themed card game inspired by games such as Slay the Spire and Vampire Survivors.

⛏️ Prison Escape - An incremental prison escape game where your goal is simple: Get out of prison!

🌱 Farm Game - A chill incremental farming game focused on growing and developing your own farm.

🚑 Hospital Emergency Room - A 3D hospital management simulator with a humorous twist.

Want to try them out? Sign up here:

https://forms.gle/3kSDoBvAdCaEJ9sD9

Thanks! ❤️

Little features like this are fun to add. Here's hoping the players are at least 10% as excited about it as I am.

i have been doing in and out pixel art for 2 or so years and i have come across these types of sprite that in neon colors and i somehow i understand what they do? but i never understood whether they make these neon sprites inside pixel softwares like aseprite or in game engines?
i kinda google alittle but i didnt really understand much

I just published a new update to Pets Therapy - Desktop Pets with the new feature where Pets gets picked up by a school bus which drives them to school! 😀 What do you guys think of this feature?