Hi all,

I'm an indie dev working on a cozy 2D pixel-art magnet fishing adventure about the beauty of surprise. It is called Magnetic Catch and I just released the demo on Steam.

This is my second game, and I'm working on it with a small team. We started with the idea about a year ago.

Since I take research for my games very seriously, I bought a magnet and went magnet fishing several times. It was the best way to get inspiration for the game. Of course, you will find a laptop in the full game as well ;)

If you like what you see, play the demo or leave a wishlist. It would mean a lot!

We’re making GlagStone, a story-driven 1-bit city builder set on a northern island.

Hi everyone!

3 years ago, I gave up going on walks with my human to make the game I'd been dreaming of for the past 20 years. And now, it's finally about to be released!

It's a horror game, and I personally created a monster that looks just like my stupid human.

I'll keep this short because my human will be coming back to play Minecraft on the computer any minute now.

Basically, the game is about avoiding a monster that looks like my human, retrieving confidential documents, and escaping. It's also going to be part of the upcoming Steam Next Fest!

There's a Steam page linked below, so please check it out!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2847290/The_Maze_In_Dark/

Oh, I can hear my human coming. All I have to do is act cute next to him, and he absolutely loses his mind.

Anyway, thanks for reading!

Wild how much a bit of water changes the whole mood, and the tilt-shift blur turns the sparkles into little bokeh dots. Even the road and grass look better now.

How do you approach water in your games? Do you use custom shaders or your own unique approach to simulate bodies of water.

In Made by Hand, I'm trying to make a woodworking simulator where you don't just click a button to craft - you have to actually measure, cut, and sand the wood yourself.

I decided to cut all the typical shop management mechanics to focus 100% on tactility and game feel. I want the magic to come entirely from the satisfaction of the tools interacting with the wood (like the exact way a lathe removes layers). To give the gameplay a satisfying ending, you just post a photo of your item online for likes, and a drone takes it away.

Do you think a game can survive purely on the "juice" and meditative focus of a single mechanic, or do players inevitably need a deeper progression system?

Hi all! After many months working on it, the demo of Bocage, a cozy puzzle game is now available on Steam!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/4938320

If you like cozy or puzzle games, please take a look at it and tell me what you think!

We're making INARI, a one-hit-death kunai action platformer set in a steampunk Eastern fantasy world.

Our fox dashes across this rooftop in about five seconds. Our artist spent five days on it.

Could this count as craftsmanship?

Wishlist On Steam

I sampled 2,100 games released on Steam between March 12 and August 3 this year and compared 128 that crossed 200 reviews with 193 that are still under 10. I left out big budget games and old Early Access titles, so these are mostly smaller teams.

Five things separated them:

• 77% of the hits posted on Steam before launch, vs 22% of the others. The median hit’s first post went up about 3 months before release. Most of the others stayed silent until launch day.
• 84% had a GIF or video in their About section, vs 25%.
• 84% supported more than English, vs 42%.
• 76% used all 20 tags, vs 39%.
• 95% went past the 5 minimum screenshots, vs 63%.

It’s correlation, not proof. Bigger teams tend to do more of everything. Still, every one of these is free and in your control before a single player sees your game.

I built a free checker that tests your page for all five, plus a lot more. It also works on the App Store, Google Play, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, Epic, GOG and itch.io. No signup. Paste your link at theentityeffect.com.

I’ll also do a full page rewrite for free for the 3 pages that need it most. Run yours through the checker and comment your score with the link. If you’re cool with it, I’d love to share the before and after.

If a result looks wrong for your game, tell me in the comments. It's meant to be a forever free tool that helps you see your Page at a glance, and where you might need improvement. So feedback is how it gets better.

LMK what you think.

I run NIWO, a small team that works with creators on Douyin, Bilibili and Rednote to market Steam games to Chinese audience, charged based on per thousand views (CPM). I want to show you what that looks like, for free, with your own game.

How?

If you comment with your Steam link and tell me why your game would work for Chinese players, we will pick games from the comments, cut a short vertical video from your trailer or gameplay, and post it on Chinese social media. You pay nothing.

The only thing I ask is that you subscribe to:

- NIWO YouTube

- NIWO LinkedIn

- The Reddit Profile

You can find all the links inside this profile account.

Why we are doing this

The demand from Chinese players is real and from working in the game marketing industry for over 10+ years we have helped numerous large global publishers and studios with their China campaigns. However, in the past few years I have seen the popularity of indie games and alternative games surge to the point that growth and attention are shifting.

Developers who see their own game get views, wishlists and comments from Chinese viewers are far more confident about working with creators in China afterwards. That’s the whole motive. If the results are good, some of you will motivated to look more into the market for creator campaigns. If not, you still got free exposure.

Exactly how we will post your short

1. we read your Steam page and watch your trailer to find what makes the game easy to understand in a few seconds.
2. we cut a vertical 9:16 short, usually 20 to 30 seconds, from your own trailer or gameplay. I leave out menus, popups and clutter, and I use the moments where the game looks and sounds best.
3. we add Chinese subtitles. If your Steam page has a Simplified Chinese version, I use that text. If not, I translate your English description into Chinese.
4. we write the caption with your game name and as much detail as the platform allows: genre, hook, price, release status and the Steam link.
5. we post the short on Chinese social media: Douyin, Bilibili, Rednote depending on which channels fit the best.
6. we send you the links and the view, like, comment and save numbers afterwards, including what Chinese viewers actually wrote about your game.

We don’t edit or change your game. Your original video stays yours.

How the Chinese market for Steam games works

Steam is available in China, and Chinese is one of the biggest languages on the platform by user count. Most Western developers never think about this audience because they think Steam is banned in China which is not true. Chinese players buy PC games, wishlist them and talk about them a lot. Which means you can still sell the game via your steam page as more than 70% of Steam users in China find a way to access the global store anyways. Its the largest gaming market globally and probably the only major market growing still with 5% per year. Do not sleep on it.

Why are your current campaigns not reaching Chinese players? There are 3 reasons:

• The platforms are different. Chinese players don’t discover games on YouTube, Twitter or Reddit. They use Douyin (the Chinese TikTok), Bilibili (long and short video, very gamer heavy), Rednote (Xiaohongshu, strong for recommendations and reviews) and Heybox. Your normal marketing never shows up there.
• Language is the biggest barrier. A game with a Simplified Chinese page, Chinese subtitles and a Chinese caption converts much better than the same game in English only. Many players will not buy a game they cannot read.
• Trust comes through creators. Chinese viewers trust gaming creators and community recommendations more than ads. A creator saying “this game is worth buying” often does more than any banner.

Because of that, a good Chinese short can move a game that is invisible in the West. Cheap, cozy, strategy, survival, co-op, horror, roguelike and anime style games often do well, but I have seen surprises in other genres too.

The opportunity

I won’t promise numbers I can’t back up, because results vary a lot by game. This is the logic of how it works:

• Chinese players are a very large group on Steam, so even a small share of them is a lot of buyers for an indie game.
• A game that is not yet visible to them starts from zero competition for attention on these platforms, so one good short can bring wishlists you would never get from Western channels. There are countless of stories on Reddit.
• If a short brings 100,000 views and just 0.5% of viewers wishlist the game, that’s 500 wishlists. If 10% of those buy at 10 dollars, that’s around 500 dollars from one short, and it keeps working while the video stays up. Shorts that do well can have 10 times those views. Think about it.
• The real virality comes when a game is promoted consistently by several creators in Chinese, with a localized page. That’s where a small test turns into a real market.

IN SUMMARY

Comment with:

1. Your Steam link
2. Why your game would work for Chinese players (genre, art style, hook, anything you have noticed)

AND subscribe to:

- NIWO YouTube

- NIWO LinkedIn

- This Reddit Profile

You can find all the links inside the profile account.

We will go through the comments, pick the games that fit based on our experience, and post the shorts. Please DM your email + game name as well so that we can share the links and numbers with you.

7 years ago, I decided to make my dream game.

The idea was pretty simple: A cozy little hometown filled with interesting characters and merchants, surrounded by a dangerous world full of monsters, haunted dungeons, and exciting loot. You'd venture out, fight your way through dangerous areas, and (hopefully) make it back alive with a backpack full of treasures.

I've always loved Halloween, ghosts, and pretty much everything spooky, so naturally I wanted the entire world to revolve around that theme.

There was just one tiny problem: I had absolutely no idea how to make a game. 😅

But I started learning, and after a few months, i had actually made something playable. It was super simple, barely had any content, and definitely had its fair share of issues. But it was my game, and I genuinely enjoyed playing it.

I called it Ghostworld and decided to publish it on the Google Play Store to see if anyone else would enjoy it.

It got 3 downloads. Me and my two brothers. 😂

Still, I was incredibly proud. i'd gone from knowing absolutely nothing about game development to actually finishing and publishing a game.

Eventually, I moved on, but the idea of Ghostworld never really left my head.

Fast forward 7 years.

I stumbled across my old project and thought: What if i gave this another shot?

Opening the old code was... an experience. Let's just say there was absolutely no saving that spaghetti. So i decided to rebuild Ghostworld completely from scratch.

I'm still far from being an amazing programmer or artist, but i've learned a lot since then, and tools like Claude have been a huge help along the way.

And after quite a bit of work, I finally have something that feels like the game I originally imagined.

The gameplay is basically a mix of extraction games, roguelites, and Diablo-style character building, all wrapped up in a cozy, spooky fantasy world.

The core loop is:

• Raid haunted dungeons filled with monsters, secrets, and treasures.
• Escape with your loot before things go horribly wrong.
• Upgrade your gear and become stronger with every successful run.
• Create unique builds with crazy synergies, abilities, and effects.
• Fight powerful bosses that put your builds to the test.
• Team up with friends and take on the dangers together.

I absolutely love games where you find an item, realize it interacts with another item in some completely broken way, and suddenly your entire build comes together.

I want that feeling of "Wait... does this actually work?!" followed by absolute chaos.

And I think I'm finally getting there.

The other day, i was supposed to be testing some mechanics, but i found a hammer and ended up spending hours just running around smashing everything in sight because it felt satisfying.

At some point I realized i'd completely forgotten I was supposed to be developing the game. 😂

That was probably the moment I felt like I was onto something.

There's still plenty of work ahead, but for the first time, Ghostworld really feels like the game I dreamed about 7 years ago. Oh and i named it Escape From Darkon i thought i would be a fitting name😅

And honestly, even if it ends up getting just 3 downloads again, I'm already pretty happy I decided to bring it back. The game is currently in the review process for the App Store and the Play Store so it will be published very soon, you can already get notified once it's live here: https://escapefromdarkon.com/

Although this time, I'm hoping to convince at least one person outside my family to play it. 😅

I'd love to hear what you think!

I released a game I spent a year developing all by myself just 24 hours ago.
I'd heard a lot about how brutally competitive the indie game market has become recently, but I tried not to let it get to me.

Even after release, instead of worrying about sales,
I focused on fixing the bugs I hadn't managed to resolve and polishing the game a little more.

Then a day passed...
And I was genuinely terrified of checking my sales.

I'd heard stories about how countless games on Steam don't even make a single penny.
But I finally gathered the courage to check my page,
and I couldn't contain my happiness when I saw that I'd made over $100 in revenue in just one day.

Maybe it's just an initial spark, and maybe I won't sell another copy after this.
But honestly, I'm just happy. hehhhhhhhhhhhhh

Hi!

I'm a software and game developer from Belgium and I've announced Malsort 2 days ago.

Since 2021 I've spent my weekends building an MMO backend. I started Malsort because Diablo II is my favourite game (along with Dofus) and I've always wanted a world that stays when you log out: a town full of other players, player-based economy (Dofus really shines there), and world bosses the whole server fights together.

Right now there are 7 classes with skill trees, ARPG loot, player stalls in town, parties and a world boss (more to come, of course!).

Early Access is planned for 2027. The Steam link is in the comments (a wishlist or follow really helps!).

Do you have any advice for a fellow dev? How is your wishlist/release going?

I think it captures the chaotic and fun nature of the game.

Also gets across the premise of only controlling one skate each.

What do you think?

I still can't quite believe I'm writing this.

Just two weeks ago, I launched the Steam page for Over Human, a game I've been developing entirely on my own, alongside my full-time job.

I've dreamed of making my own video game since 2013. I've started projects, abandoned them, lost motivation, and wondered more than once whether I'd ever actually manage to finish something.

For those unfamiliar with it, Over Human is a first-person sci-fi adventure set in a snowy world where drones can manipulate the weather, and you have no weapons to fight back.

I recently updated my Steam page, adding GIFs, improving the capsule art, highlighting some of the game's most important mechanics, and localizing the page into multiple languages.

And now, knowing that hundreds of people have seen my little project and decided to add it to their wishlists… that genuinely means the world to me. It's hard to put that feeling into words.

I know there's still a long road ahead. The demo is coming in November, and I'm working hard to make it something people will genuinely enjoy.

I'm not a studio. I don't have a team behind me or a big marketing budget. Just a computer, a lot of late nights, and a dream I've carried with me for over a decade.

For the first time, that dream doesn't feel so far away anymore.

This is the Steam Page if you want to know more about my game: https://store.steampowered.com/app/5237810/Over_Human/

Thank you for helping bring my dream to life.
Francesco

I've been working on this game for about 3 months.

It's a short PS1-style horror game set inside an old hydroelectric dam. You play as a night maintenance operator, checking turbines, water levels, gates, and fixing problems around the facility.

As the night goes on, the dam starts flooding, and you eventually have to enter the water yourself after realizing something may be living in the reservoir.
"Night Shift" is not the actual name of the game; it’s just a working title. It won’t be like typical job-themed games, so don’t worry.

I'm aiming for a 2–3 hour slow-burn horror experience focused on deep water, huge machinery, isolation, and very little combat.

Would you play something like this?

Hello there! I am a digital concept artist and character designer working for videogames, boardgames and cardgames! If you have something in mind for a project and are interested in my work, feel free to DM me or take a closer look at my portfolio: https://icmaduro.artstation.com/

I've been making this game where you're a small robot waking up in an old abandoned facility, and you slowly fix it up by cleaning everything. this is the cleaning part (with the suction maxed out, it's way slower at the start)

I really wanted it to feel satisfying, all the scrap flying into the nozzle and the moss growing back after. not sure if it's there yet.