Game Dev Comics by Matt Hackett

Game dev comics from How to Make a Video Game All By Yourself author Matt Hackett.

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Last updated August 2024.

STEAM DEMO CHEAT SHEET Demos can now appear in New & Trending and New on Steam! When you launch your demo, email wishlisters: You can do this ONCE within a 2 week period. A demo can now have its own page (or not). Should you give your demo its own page? It's up to you! Some things to consider: Yes: Demo gets own page, Gets dedicated Steam reviews More pages means more discovery? No: Linked from main game, Simpler to manage just one page, Can focus on one URL to promote? STEAM NEXT FEST: Your demo can only appear in ONE, so pick the one nearest launch. Matt Hackett Aug 2024 valadria.com — August 6, 2024 Twitter, Mastodon, Bluesky

DO NOT RELEASE ON FRIDAY Something will break (doesn't it always?) Nobody wants to have to work all weekend There are so many other days of the week! Matt Hackett valadria.com — February 6, 2024 I still call it Twitter

Sorry but this is a NO overscoping zone! We are doing our best to: Keep it simple Focus on the core gameplay Reduce scope by Matt Hackett valadria.com — September 27, 2023 The app hilariously rebranded to "X"

STEAM DEV CHEAT SHEET Quick access to a collection of best practices & magic formulas: THE DISCOVERY ALGORITHM Maximize your game's placement in Steam widgets Earn 7,000+ wishlists before launch (some folks say you need 10-50k!!) Translate your Steam page (game later) (start with Japanese, Chinese, Koreon) Get 10+ reviews as soon as possible! (positive or negative, just need 10) WISHLISTS About 10% of wishlists could convert to sales in the first week (this number varies wildly!). ALL wishlisters are emailed at launch! -Discount 20%+ to email wishlisters after launch. STEAM CAPSULE The single most IMPORTANT element since it's seen the most. Clear, Readable, Game name, Genre/mood Steam's background color is #162838 TRAILER Steam users SKIM through trailers!! Start STRONG! Direct to gameplay 60 seconds or less End with ONE CTA: Wishlist it or buy it Logos: omit or move to the end STEAM'S MAGIC FORMULAS Beware these numbers are ROUGH! They just give us guesses about the data. One review represents about 20-55 sales. It's the New Boxleiter Number! ~30 is good So 100 reviews = about 3,000 copies sold. Guesstimate wishlist counts: Followers x10 = wishlists (e.g. 100 followers = 1,000 wishlists) First year sales can sometimes be roughly: First week sales x 5 = first year sales (e.g. $10k first week = $50k first year) Matt Hackett valadria.com — The October 10, 2023 edition! This time there's a video!

GAME DEVELOPMENT MAP rough sketch v3 Set sail: OCEAN OF IDEAS <- Tides of inaction Dream smashin' rocks Prototype Pond Desert of Dead Projects Clearing of Clarity "Real Project" On-Ramp SLOG SWAMP Bugs Bugs Bugs Bugs Bugs Bugs Bugs Bugs Bugs Bugs Bugs Bugs Bugs SCOPE CREEP CREEK Fjords of finishing Farmhouse of finishing Fairgrounds of finishing Factory of finishing Forest of finishing Fountain of finishing CONTENT MOUNTAIN Game Dev Event Horizon SHIP IT BAY CONGRATULATIONS! Where will you go next? Land of Neverending Updates (GOTO SLOG SWAMP) or "Dead Game" Island From Matt Hackett, author of How to Make a Video Game All By Yourself May 2023 valadria.com — May 10, 2023 LinkedIn, Twitter

STEAM DISCOUNT CHEAT SHEET Gamers who wishlisted your game are emailed when: Your game launches into Early Access Your game launches (or from EA to 1.0) Your game is discounted 20% or more STAIRSTEP DISCOUNTS Don't rush to the bottom. Do ramp up over time! DISCOUNT RANGES Minimum discount: 10% Maximum discount: 90% Minimum price: $0.49 USD Custom discount duration: 1-14 days LAUNCH DISCOUNT (optional) Begins the day your game launches Ends @ 10 AM Pacific on the 7th day You can discount up to 40% Valve suggests 10-15% You must wait 30 days between discounts Check out the official Discounting Steamworks Documentation at: Steamworks Documentation / Sales and Marketing / Discounting From the author of How to Make a Video Game All By Yourself @richtaur May 2023 valadria.com — May 8, 2023 LinkedIn, Twitter

THE SOLO GAME DEV STARTER PACK Good Ideas Funding Art Animation Business Development Community Management Game Design Legal Level Design Localization Marketing Music Narrative Optimization Production Programming Quality Assurance Sound Design User Experience Finishing valadria.com @richtaur — May 5, 2023 LinkedIn, Twitter

GAME MARKETING CHEAT SHEET Rough draft! Fundamentals & general wisdom. Any corrections? What's missing? Marketing Channels Ads Reddit TikTok Blogs Review sites word of mouth Email Steam ... and more! Search engines Streamers So many more Hooks What's unique? Your hooks should be: Surprising Desirable See Ryan Clark's CLARK TANK! Marketing Funnel Attention - Saw a tweet Interest - Cool Steam page! Desire - Wishlisted Action - Purchased! When to Launch Avoid holidays Avoid big sales Push PR -> outgoing promo Pull PR <- incoming interest Press & Media Contact directly Include game key in the initial email Give at least 2 weeks prep time From the author of How to Make a Video Game All By Yourself @richtaur valadria.com — May 3, 2023 LinkedIn, Twitter

WHERE IS YOUR GAME ON THIS CHART? Do you love the game you're making? Is it also marketable or nah? You love it? MAX I DO love it!! It's cool! Pretty good! It's OK Not so much Marketable too? MAX Super marketable!! Signs point to YES! I think So Maybe? No but I Do Not Care From the author of How to Make a Video Game All By Yourself valadria.com @richtaur — May 1, 2023 LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube

GAME DEVELOPMENT MAP rough sketch v2 CLOUDS OF INFINITE IDEAS Prototype Rain Land of Confusion Couldn't figure out what the game was Clearing of Clarity Lost caverns of depth & complexity Game got too complicated (or muddy) Swamp 6 times CONTENT MOUNTAIN Ran out of energy (or money) Finish line feels close, but ... Finishing many times Unknown unknowns Fear of failure or fear of success Final Stretch SHIP IT From the author of How to Make a Video Game All By Yourself The #1 Amazon bestseller! Get the paperback or eBook valadria.com @richtaur — Apr 26, 2023 Imgur, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube

STEAM DEV CHEAT SHEET First version! Got corrections or ideas? STEAM CAPSULE (Your Game) The single most IMPORTANT element since it's seen the most Clear Readable Game name Genre Hook(s) Hire on artist! THE DISCOVERY ALGORITHM Get 7,000+ wishlists before launch Get 10+ reviews ASAP (positive or negative, just need 10) The only punishing review status is OVERWHELMINGLY NEGATIVE (the rest are neutral for traffic) WISHLISTS About 15% of wishlists convert in the first week. ALL wishlisters are emailed at launch. Discount 20%+ to email wishlisters after launch. SALES ESTIMATES FROM REVIEWS One review represents about 20-55 soles. It's the New Boxleiter Number! ~30 is good So 100 reviews = about 3,000 copies sold. TRAILER (Viewers skip through trailers) Start strong Omit intro logos Direct to gameplay 60 seconds or less End with ONE CTA: Wishlist it or buy it WHAT ELSE? Reviews? Tags? Visibility rounds? From the author of How to Make a Video Game All By Yourself valadria.com — Apr 24, 2023 Imgur, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube

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Also translated to Japanese by @non_non_cha and @nicolith!

GAME DEVELOPMENT DIFFICULTY TIERS (v2.0) S+: FINAL BOSSES Funding Finishing Work/Life Balance S: @!#?@! Art Animation Business Development Community Management Game Design Legal Level Design Localization Marketing Music Narrative Production Programming Quality Assurance Sound Design Tech Art User Experience A: BRAIN MELTERS Online Multiplayer Elevators Moving Platforms Doors Ladders Stairs B: EXTREMELY DIFFICULT Starting Configurable Gamepads Optimization Tutorials Quaternions C: HARD Good Ideas D: EASY Ideas From the author of How to Make a Video Game All By Yourself The #1 Amazon bestseller! Get the paperback or eBook valadria.com Matt Hackett @richtaur — Apr 18, 2023 Imgur, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube

Mar 27, 2023 LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube

Game Development Difficulty Tiers S: Doors, Finishing, Marketing, Online Multiplayer A (brain melting): Shaders, Physics, Tutorials B (extremely difficult): Game Balance, User Interface, Level Design, Animation C (very hard): Optimization, Passing Certification, Collisions, Sound Design D (hard): It's all very hard :( v1.0 don't kill me — Feb 28, 2023 Imgur, Instagram, Twitter

What I like to do sometimes when I'm doing being outside and I'm not sleepy or hungry: Making games, Thinking about making games, Making tools, Reading about making games, Brainstorm game names, Talking about making games, Buying domain names, Playing games, Dreaming about making games. valadria.com @richtaur — Feb 7, 2023 LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube

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Matt Hackett at his keyboard with an amorphous chicken monster grinning nearby.

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Thanks for checking out my lil comics! I hope you loved reading them as much as I loved drawing them. ❤️ If you did, you're almost certain to enjoy my book:

How to Make a Video Game All By Yourself

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These comics are NOT in my book, but it does feature 33 hand-drawn illustrations, 27 inspiring quotes, and other bullet points! Pretend I said something convincing here – how 'bout: you can make your own video game.

You really can make your own game! I've done it a bunch and I'm just some guy.

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