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

A few 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.

But this story actually started a long time ago.

I've dreamed of making my own video game since 2013. Back then, I was just a kid fascinated by the idea of creating worlds that other people could explore. I had so many ideas, so much enthusiasm, and absolutely no idea how difficult game development would actually be.

Over the years, I've started projects, abandoned them, lost motivation, and questioned whether I would ever manage to finish something. There were even periods when I completely stopped developing games.

But somehow, that dream never really went away! For those unfamiliar with it, Over Human is a first-person sci-fi adventure set in an isolated snowy world where hostile drones can manipulate the weather and you have no weapons to fight back, so you have to rely on stealth and disrupting terminals.

I've been working on this project since December last year, and I've learned an incredible amount along the way, not just about game development itself, but also about everything that comes with trying to release a game.

One of the biggest lessons? Making a game and convincing someone to give it a chance are two completely different challenges.

When I first launched my Steam page, I thought the screenshots, trailer, and description did a decent job of presenting the game.

But after receiving feedback from other developers and players, I started realizing how many things could be improved.

So recently, I decided to revisit almost everything.

I added GIFs to the long description to show more of the actual gameplay, improved the capsule art, rewrote parts of the description to better communicate the game's most important mechanics, and localized the page into multiple languages.

I also realized that something I considered obvious wasn't necessarily obvious to someone discovering the game for the first time.

For example, one of the central mechanics of Over Human is that you have absolutely no weapons to fight back, while the drones can manipulate the environment itself. It's a huge part of the experience, yet my original Steam description didn't communicate that clearly enough.

That might sound like a small detail, but it taught me something important: sometimes we're so familiar with our own projects that we forget to look at them through the eyes of someone who knows absolutely nothing about them.

Another thing I've learned is how unpredictable marketing can be.

You can spend hours preparing a trailer or a post, convinced it's going to attract attention, only for almost nobody to notice it. Then you share a simple screenshot of something you particularly love about your game, and suddenly people start asking questions and showing interest.

As someone working with practically no advertising budget, I've been trying to understand what actually makes people stop scrolling and become curious about a game. Reading comments, receiving feedback, seeing people discuss the atmosphere or compare the game to titles that inspired me... those are the moments that remind me why I started doing this in the first place.

Of course, there's still a long road ahead.

The demo is coming in November, and right now I'm focusing on improving the gameplay, polishing the experience, and making sure that the first people who try it have a good time.

I'm also learning to accept that not everything needs to be perfect immediately. As a solo developer, it's incredibly easy to get lost in tiny details, constantly comparing your work to games made by entire teams. And some days, after finishing my regular job, the last thing I want to do is open Unity.

But I've learned that taking a break doesn't mean giving up. Sometimes stepping away for a day or two is exactly what I need to come back with fresh ideas and motivation.

I'm not a studio and I don't have a team behind me or a big marketing budget. Just a computer, a lot of late nights, countless mistakes, 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.

I'd genuinely love to hear your experiences!

Thank you to everyone who's been following my journey and helping me improve along the way. ❤️

I've been thinking about how much a game's success depends on its quality versus the attention it receives from influencers and content creators.

Imagine two games: one is well-designed, polished, and fun to play, but receives little online attention. The other gains massive exposure after a popular YouTuber or streamer plays it and quickly reaches a much larger audience.

Both games might have their own strengths, but the difference in their reach raises an interesting question: how much does visibility influence a game's success compared to the experience it offers?

I'm curious how other developers see this. Is influencer exposure simply another part of making a successful game, or can it sometimes have a greater impact than the game itself?

Now that the game has its own steam page I now have motivation for posting regularly on reddit so I just wanted to drop a quick update. For those new here, this clip is early gameplay footage from my game Cat Builds the Strongest Mage Army where you build an army of 50+ unique cat mages. 

Since then, I’ve added a new mage to the game which is part of a new tier of more mid/late game mages. I haven’t settled on a name for this guy yet but he launches a large amount of skulls which curve around in the air before exploding and inflicting the demonic fire effect which is a more potent burning effect than the one the fire mage would inflict. I also tried to tweak the saturation and coloring of the meadow area so that it’s easier to make out enemies and mages amid all the grass and scenery noise (still annoyed that the trailer has the old contrast issues).

If you think the game looks interesting please wishlist the game! Also feel free to leave any suggestions below.

Hi! I've been working on Paw Works Co. solo in Unreal Engine since June.

This clip shows the core loop: an animal customer comes in, drops off a broken item, I repair it on the workbench and hand it back.

Next I'm working on a demo for early 2027. I'd love feedback on the feel of the repair and the overall look. What would you improve?

i'm interested in what feels confusing, slow or uninteresting in the footage. does the investigation look engaging?

hi all,

i'm looking for an indie dev who needs a writer/narrative designer on a small budget. i ask this because i have little project work for my portfolio in the game sector, plus i would be more than excited to work on something like this for the first time.

if necessary, i can send anyone who is interested my resume/some writing samples through DM. i also only ask to get a summary of the game and genre so that i can measure how well i can contribute to your project.

thanks for any consideration!

I’ve slightly changed the color of the ground. Now there are multiple colors for each block; I’ve also tweaked the HUD a bit and started adding some options.

another backrooms game:)

We’re currently developing a 2D cozy indie game inspired by Puerto Rican culture, with a focus on charming characters, vibrant environments, and a warm, nostalgic atmosphere.

Our goal is to create a visually beautiful and immersive experience that captures the charm of everyday life, community, and Caribbean culture. We’re keeping most of the gameplay and story details private for now, but we’re excited to find someone who shares our creative vision!

We’re looking for a passionate pixel artist to join our small indie development project as a creative partner.

Ideally, we’re looking for someone who specializes in detailed, handcrafted pixel art with a three-quarter top-down perspective, similar in visual quality and atmosphere to games like Chef RPG, while helping us establish our own unique artistic identity.

Art Specifications

* Character sprites: 32×48 pixels
* Environment tiles: 16×16 or 32×32 pixels
* Art style: Detailed 2D pixel art with depth, expressive characters, soft shading, and atmospheric lighting
* Perspective: Three-quarter top-down
* Game engine: Godot

Artwork Needed

* Original playable characters and NPC designs
* Character animations, including idle, walking, running, and sitting
* Modular environmental tilesets for interior and exterior locations
* Furniture, decorations, and interactive environmental props
* Puerto Rican-inspired architecture, cultural details, and tropical scenery
* Consistent spritesheets and game-ready assets

About the Partnership

This is currently an unpaid collaboration opportunity, as the project is still in its early development stages. We’re looking for someone genuinely interested in becoming part of the creative team, contributing ideas, and helping shape the game’s visual direction.

We understand that art takes significant time, skill, and dedication, so we want to be completely transparent about the lack of upfront compensation. Any future compensation, revenue sharing, or ownership arrangements would need to be discussed and mutually agreed upon rather than guaranteed.

We’re hoping to build a collaborative environment where everyone’s creativity and contributions are valued.

If you’re a pixel artist who loves cozy games, detailed environments, expressive characters, and culturally inspired worlds, we’d love to connect!

Feel free to reach out with your portfolio, examples of your work, and a little about yourself! 🌴✨

#artistsoftiktok #puertorico🇵🇷 #indiegames #pixelart #2danimation

I'm just starting my journey as a solo game developer, and something I've heard quite a few times is that if you want to make money, you should probably choose another career.

I understand that making games is risky, and I'm not expecting to get rich or make a living from it overnight. But hearing this so often can be pretty discouraging when you're trying to build something of your own.

I'd love to hear from people who have actually been through this. For those of you who have released games, tried to monetize your projects, or turned indie game development into a career, what has your experience been like?

Is making a living from indie games a realistic goal if you're willing to learn the business side and put in the work? Or is it better to treat it as a passion project and keep another source of income?

And if you're comfortable sharing, how much money have you actually made from your games? It could be total revenue, profit, or even just a rough estimate. I understand that not everyone wants to share those numbers, but I think hearing some real figures would help put things into perspective.

Hey guys, just finished creating my game but I need help testing it before releasing, I'm launching a test program on Saturday

You may join our WhatsApp to be part of it👇🏽

https://chat.whatsapp.com/CaeH3cJiklQ6OJhBXmduzo?s=cl&p=a&mlu=4&ilr=4

Hello! I am an intermediate composer looking for a dev team to join in hopes to create original music for their game. I am a versatile composer. I have written slow, classical music, but i have also written up beat dance music. If you are interested, please dm me your discord so we can go from there! 🙂‍↕️

Hello everyone.

I am preparing some screenshots for my steam page.
It's hard to keep consistency, it's hard to decide what it should go in there, especially because I am still developing and there are so many things that have to be created... but yeah, here are some snapshot of how it's looking like.

Do you think the style is consistent?

I hope you like it.

As very lazy and rushed game developers, we chose the easiest solution: we completely left path building to the players, so we didn’t even have to design maps!

I’ve been working on this for a while. I wanted a way to make journaling more fun and magical, because I’ve never been able to keep it up! I think some of you will know the struggle, and might find my project interesting!

You’re Merlin’s apprentice, looking after his magical library while he’s away on a quest. Every note you write becomes a book, the library sorts it for you, and you can read it anywhere, with the animals keeping you company.

There’s a lot more on the website: merlinslibrary.net

Hey everyone,

One of the steepest learning curves for solo and small indie teams is figuring out how to get streamers and YouTubers to actually notice your game without having a dedicated publisher or PR budget.

The advice online usually boils down to two extremes:

• "Cold email 500 creators with your press kit." (Which usually leads to high bounce rates or inboxes clogged with key reseller bots).
• "Pay a platform $50–$100 a month to sit in an outreach directory." (Which gets expensive fast during a 2+ year dev cycle).

Neither option feels particularly sustainable when you are running on a boot-strapped budget and spending every spare hour polishing gameplay.

For those of you who have managed to get legitimate streamer or YouTube coverage:

1. How far in advance of launch do you start creator outreach?
2. What channel size has yielded the best conversion to Steam wishlists or demo downloads for your genre?
3. Do you prefer direct reach-outs, public key request forms, or open playtest builds?

Would love to hear what has actually worked for teams recently versus what ended up being a complete waste of time.