The amount of genius talent that is being wasted making addictive products for Meta is borderline criminal.
Congrats on shipping a huge hit
Show HN: I got laid off from Meta and created a minor hit on Steam
51–60 of 379 posts
Re: Show HN: I got laid off from Meta and created a minor hit on Steam
#52Earlier quoted context omitted.
Steam takes 30% and the publisher ( https://rawfury.com/developer-resources/ ) takes 50%, so the dev should end up with 35% of revenue (which then needs to be taxed etc.).
Maybe a dumb question but... in the age of Steam, what does the publisher do these days? Advance funding? What do those numbers look like?
Really depends on the deal, but porting, marketing, localization and cash advances are common ones (Porting for the switch for example is known to be a big one, even for experienced solo/indie devs)
Re: Show HN: I got laid off from Meta and created a minor hit on Steam
#53How much impact to you think internet influencers had on your sales? I recall seeing it being played there first.
Re: Show HN: I got laid off from Meta and created a minor hit on Steam
#54200,000 units is a far cry from just a 'minor hit' - congratulations! During the project, what was the biggest instinct you had that was ultimately validated by its success, but still surprised you? What was a lesson you learned that you didn't expect? How was working with a publisher? What did they do right and what did they do wrong?
Honest answer? Dancing stick figure guy on the title screen. I did it very early in the project, in a fugue state at 3am. It lingered and lingered there, with ppl wondering "Is this real? Is this the actual title screen?" and luckily by the end I think everyone had drank enough psychedelic koolaid to agree - stick figure man stays. The artist made some better art for his hands/feet, and that was that. He's divisive,…
> Embrace the jank
Love this! I wish you would be been involved with the release team for Helldivers II.
Re: Show HN: I got laid off from Meta and created a minor hit on Steam
#55Amazing work! Questions: - How/why did you decide to talk to a publisher? When in the process did you feel like you had a good enough prototype to do that? - What have been the pros/cons of working with a publisher? When, in your opinion, should someone do that vs. self-publishing? - What was your confidence level throughout various stages of the project? Was there a point before releasing the game where you maybe go…
I worked with a publisher for a few reasons: 1) I didn't know what I didn't know, and didn't want to "find out" AND make the game at the same time. I needed a partner for the business/marketing end. 2) An advance (funding) helped de-risk things for me. 3) I needed help to find an artist. I was having no luck on my own. Even with the traction the game had!
Publishers actually came to me. In a weird coincidence, I happened to show the game in a Discord where localthunk, the Balatro dev, was hanging out, and he shared it with a few big streamers. The prototype was streamed to thousands of people like ~5 weeks into its development, and the publishers started showing up immediately. Not normal. Very lucky.
I started very confident, and stayed relatively confident, for myself, but there were some weird days where you'd get a paranoid feeling: "Wait, all you do is drop a ball in this game. Why do people like it? Are they just blowing smoke up my ass? Am I having a manic break, thinking the gmae is good? It really can't possibly be good enough, right? Making successful indie games is something other people do, not me." Needless to say the demo getting reception in October 2024 Steam Nextfest (before being released in December) was hugely validating and was like the "pinch" I needed to prove it wasn't a dream.
Next is healing and recovery ... and supporting Ballionaire. Working on a creative project intensely for a year at the exclusion of almost everything else in your life, esp. at my age -- doesn't leave you in a great state when it's over. It was self-imposed crunch mode. It's not easy to be bounce back creatively or energetically.
Thanks :)
Re: Show HN: I got laid off from Meta and created a minor hit on Steam
#56Good lord that Steam page and the trailer have a ton of appeal. It’s no wonder you’ve got a hit on your hands! Reviews are very good too. Congratulations!
Re: Show HN: I got laid off from Meta and created a minor hit on Steam
#57How much impact to you think internet influencers had on your sales? I recall seeing it being played there first.
100%, it was really the only form of promotion the game had, besides the demo itself, and the trailer. Ballionaire was accidentally designed to be verrrrrrrry streamable.
Re: Show HN: I got laid off from Meta and created a minor hit on Steam
#58200,000 units is a far cry from just a 'minor hit' - congratulations! During the project, what was the biggest instinct you had that was ultimately validated by its success, but still surprised you? What was a lesson you learned that you didn't expect? How was working with a publisher? What did they do right and what did they do wrong?
Honest answer? Dancing stick figure guy on the title screen. I did it very early in the project, in a fugue state at 3am. It lingered and lingered there, with ppl wondering "Is this real? Is this the actual title screen?" and luckily by the end I think everyone had drank enough psychedelic koolaid to agree - stick figure man stays. The artist made some better art for his hands/feet, and that was that. He's divisive,…
The minute I read “dancing stick figure” I knew exactly what game we’re talking about.
I’m not a stoner and am not really into stoner culture but I’ve watched that figure dance for like 10 mins once, entranced by it. I dunno what exactly it is, but it’s just an absolute home run.
I’m not joking, I’d pay for an app that’s literally just that guy dancing to some music.
Re: Show HN: I got laid off from Meta and created a minor hit on Steam
#59What does roguelike mean? I've played the original Rogue, but haven't been a gamer for decades now. I'm not seeing how this is connected?
Sorry, but you said ask anything lol.
Re: Show HN: I got laid off from Meta and created a minor hit on Steam
#60Very cool! - What choices did you make to give yourself more time to work on this project? - At what point did you begin getting feedback of some sort? - Were there clearly things you wished to include in the game but had to cut out in the interest of time? How did you decide what would be "good enough"?
I very explicitly, with my family's support, set up the expectation that the game was my #1 priority in 2024. I only took one small vacation, during which I still worked. My wife and I would watch one 30 minute tv show at night, and do the crossword in the morning, and other than that, aside from meal time, the expectation was that I would be working on the game by default (not that I worked non-stop, just that the default was "the game"). It was fully 7 days a week for like 30% of the project. Involuntarily, I sacrificed exercise and diet too :( I just couldn't manage the discipline. I also absolutely annihilated the quality of my sleep.
I got feedback from my wife within a few days, the first time she saw the game. Even she, a non-gamer, could tell that there was something compelling about the idea. And if you look at an above response, you'll see that I explained that the prototype, about a month into dev, go streamed to thousands of people. The feedback was VERY early and very positive. I wouldn't have been brave enough to keep at it otherwise, knowing myself.
I wish meta progression was better, what shipped was a compromise with respect to time. "Good enough" was just purely just vibes and an editorial eye. No articulable criteria. Just a lot of vibes and trusting my intuition (a skill I gained verrrrrrry late in life)