Read on Twitter
A few days ago I asked Twitter to tell me what they DIDNT like about my game, Going Under. I thought it would be helpful to SPECIFICALLY ask bc indies never want to hurt anyone's feelings with critique. And it WAS helpful! Here's what I learned. THREAD: https://twitter.com/SmashyNick/status/1346510093827751936
There were obviously two main camps, those who bought+played the game and those who didn't. My initial question was more geared towards the latter category, as that's the group who I didn't manage to give me twenty dollars. However, the former had plenty lessons for the future.
For those who DID play it, a lot had praise for us mixed in with their critique. (Note: compliment sandwiches still feel good when I'm asking for critique, I appreciate all who did this)
Most of the praise was for art, sound, writing, vibes. Most critique came down to gameplay!
Most of the praise was for art, sound, writing, vibes. Most critique came down to gameplay!
The consensus seemed to be that we didn't do enough to justify being a roguelike. Runs feel too similar, builds don't have synergies nor do they feel like game-changers. The combat is loose and wacky, so it feels more unfair than more systemic roguelikes.
And that's bc lot of important decisions! Going Under isn't a roguelike, its a linear game with mini-roguelikes inside it. Naturally this makes each individual challenge less deep. Combat isn't as systemic but it fits the tone. Can/SHOULD we call it a roguelike? idk!!!!
Ultimately we had to balance making an Actually Good Roguelike and investing in the story/aesthetics/world. Maybe GU is a bad roguelike but a good game, so there are expectations to manage. I'm not interested or talented in making a Good Roguelike, so we prolly wont make another.
Also, seems like a lot of folks gave up halfway because the game was too difficult. Let's be honest, the presentation doesn't scream 'hard'. It was a conscious choice to make the game hard, I personally enjoy it that way, but maybe its better if people get to see the ending? idk
That being said...not finishing isnt the end of the world. Everyone leaves games unfinished, esp. roguelikes. I never finished Sekiro! As long as ppl enjoyed their time with it that's good enough (which seems mostly the case)
Watch the ending tho its lit:
Watch the ending tho its lit:
For those who DIDNT play it, this is the quote that struck me the most:
"a game made to comment on something (tech startups) rather than be a good game"
As much as this is totally understandable, I am making it my fucking mission to say to the world "Why not both?"
"a game made to comment on something (tech startups) rather than be a good game"
As much as this is totally understandable, I am making it my fucking mission to say to the world "Why not both?"
I don't like that we as developers have to pick between "fun" and "important". Between "addictive" and "artistic". A player should know what your game is about before they buy it, but boiling an entire creation down to a genre or X game + Y game is....so boring. Anyone feel me??
With that said, people mentioned that the screenshot I posted in the original thread makes GU look like a visual novel lmao, so there are lessons here for sure in managing expectations. Roguelike players especially, want a Good Roguelike, more than the weird offbeat thing we made
Finally, there was a lot of "I've never seen this game before" or "I'm broke and it was between this and Hades". A lot of you mentioned Hades! Lesson learned, don't make a game inspired by a cool game in early access, it'll prob come out the same week as you and be GOTY ;)
Also indie game marketing is hard and not real. "You guys should give keys to big youtubers!" is bad advice lol, we do that, everyone is doing that, but since Among Us all the influencers became friends and play the same game at a time. This week's game is RUST. We're trying tho!
Going Under was received very positively overall, so I felt like I could get critique without losing my mind. 130 replies later, I'm still standing! If you're a dev with your game out there and you can also muster up the strength, I would 100% encourage it, you will learn a lot.
Also all you motherfuckers owe me a Positive review on Steam. And if you don't have it yet you owe me a wishlist. And if you did like the game, buy the merch.
Content update coming later this month! Will we fix these problems? No! But we will next game!!! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1154810/Going_Under/
Content update coming later this month! Will we fix these problems? No! But we will next game!!! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1154810/Going_Under/
