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Show HN: I got laid off from Meta and created a minor hit on Steam
141–150 of 379 posts
Re: Show HN: I got laid off from Meta and created a minor hit on Steam
#142I still don't really get the appeal of roguelike games, to me it always just comes off either repetitive/boring/frustrating/etc. Could someone explain why they prefer it over just a "normal" game progression?
Maybe this will help a bit. I'm a drummer. Drums are literally all about doing the exact same thing for hours and hours on end, but with the goal of perfection. What's perfection? That's all in the eyes of the player. Been doing it 15+ years and don't plan on stopping.
I can do repetitive stuff like that for hours on end. A roguelike takes that and makes it a game with some slight variation to keep it interesting (kind of how a drum beat is the same thing, and then you change it to add some variation).
Re: Show HN: I got laid off from Meta and created a minor hit on Steam
#143Not to get too personal, but how did working on a video game affect your personal life? If you worked from home, do you have a wife/kids? Was anyone upset or disappointed you were working on a game and not getting another job at a big tech company? I don’t mean to be critical, but I’ve always faced pushback working on startups/side projects, and I’m wondering how that was for you?
if op was working at Meta for 10 years and they started at 2013 they probably have more then enough money stashed away to not worry about bills for a few years.
Re: Show HN: I got laid off from Meta and created a minor hit on Steam
#144Not to get too personal, but how did working on a video game affect your personal life? If you worked from home, do you have a wife/kids? Was anyone upset or disappointed you were working on a game and not getting another job at a big tech company? I don’t mean to be critical, but I’ve always faced pushback working on startups/side projects, and I’m wondering how that was for you?
It was discussed with my family (wife/kid) that this was going to be my near singular focus for a year, and it basically was. Luckily everyone was supportive because they knew how long I'd wanted to do this, and the fact that I already had a "good idea" with some proof on my hands certainly made it easier. Having traction helped convinced everyone, myself included, that it would be a worthwhile investment of time, an…
Honestly very impressive to plan a one-year game project and have it take one year!
How many planned features did you have to cut? ;)
Re: Show HN: I got laid off from Meta and created a minor hit on Steam
#145Earlier quoted context omitted.
Have you considered switching careers rather than quiting. I took a two year break from tech and did English teaching. The pay was low but it sustained me with my savings and I had tons of mental energy to work on my side projects. Any job that's easy to clock in and clock out, where the work gets done on the same day, no deadlines. Can do wonders for your mental energy. When I returned to tech I had a pretty impress…
Thank you so much for the suggestion. I’ve thought about it, but I don’t feel like I have any strong skills outside of coding. I can draw decently as an amateur, but not at a professional level. I genuinely love coding and often do it in my spare time. My burnout isn’t caused by coding itself but rather by poor management and working on assignments that feel meaningless.
I get that. Honestly I never thought I was skilled enough to teach until I tried it. There are a lot of jobs out there that are easy to learn and adapt to.
Before teaching I did a cleaning job which was satisfying. Headphones in and end my day with the satisfaction of a clean office for the workers tomorrow. City gardening jobs were also lovely. Being out in the sun does wonders for mood. Impossible to get stressed doing the job.
But yeah, it's always scary that bad management can ruin a good thing.
Re: Show HN: I got laid off from Meta and created a minor hit on Steam
#146Incredible work, Brian! I'm in awe of what you've done in such a short amount of time. I started an indie game company (still working on our first title) and had a few related questions if that's OK? 1) If you didn't need a salary or marketing help, would you still have signed a publishing deal? My sense is most of the publisher value lies in getting paid before the game launches, and with marketing around launch, bu…
Thanks Rand!
1) It obviously varies w/ each dev's situation, but I think your sense of the value prop is a fair default one w/o context. In my case, there were four reasons: 1) having a partner to help with (to me) "the unknown unknowns" (i'm only a dev and a novice designer, literally anything else would be my first time doing it, so i figured having an experienced partner there would be wise) 2) the advance was nice just from a "bird in the hand" mindset 3) they helped me connect with a really good artist (critical to the project's success imho) 4) having a big name behind you can't hurt, and bigger publishers do have more relationships with the ecosystem (streamers, platforms, etc) to help your game succeed.
2) EA is appropriate for certain kinds of games. But I knew exactly what Ballionaire was going to be, and felt it could be achieved in a year. I knew that this mechanical space was going to be rapidly saturated, once all the games inspired by LBAL (including Balatro!) started appearing. So I was determined to get the game out before that happened, which set a certain scope and pace, obviating EA.
3) The trailers were a really good promotional tool, very effective. But most of the paid promotion was sponsored streams, not traditional "marketing" (ads). I think the game has a natural tendency for organic spread, due to its fun/simple premise, watchability/streamability, low price point, and so on. It's just an easy game to see, and say "ooh, I wanna try!" because it's instantly understood how to play, and IMHO is very inviting aesthetically.
My takeaway: Make sure your hook is glowingly radioactively good. Don't overbalance. Leave in some jank. Scope down and finish quickly. And avoid tropes. Stand out. (Of course this only works for a certain kind of game!)
Re: Show HN: I got laid off from Meta and created a minor hit on Steam
#147Earlier quoted context omitted.
It was discussed with my family (wife/kid) that this was going to be my near singular focus for a year, and it basically was. Luckily everyone was supportive because they knew how long I'd wanted to do this, and the fact that I already had a "good idea" with some proof on my hands certainly made it easier. Having traction helped convinced everyone, myself included, that it would be a worthwhile investment of time, an…
Honestly very impressive to plan a one-year game project and have it take one year! How many planned features did you have to cut? ;)
None. What I delivered is what was in the contract.
Re: Show HN: I got laid off from Meta and created a minor hit on Steam
#148Incredible work, Brian! I'm in awe of what you've done in such a short amount of time. I started an indie game company (still working on our first title) and had a few related questions if that's OK? 1) If you didn't need a salary or marketing help, would you still have signed a publishing deal? My sense is most of the publisher value lies in getting paid before the game launches, and with marketing around launch, bu…
> My sense is most of the publisher value lies in getting paid before the game launches, and with marketing around launch, but curious if those are wrong assumptions? Don't publishers pay you a cut AFTER sales start coming in?
Yes and some provide funding during development which they recoup later. Every deal is different. Raw Fury provides funding in advance for some.
Re: Show HN: I got laid off from Meta and created a minor hit on Steam
#149Not to get too personal, but how did working on a video game affect your personal life? If you worked from home, do you have a wife/kids? Was anyone upset or disappointed you were working on a game and not getting another job at a big tech company? I don’t mean to be critical, but I’ve always faced pushback working on startups/side projects, and I’m wondering how that was for you?
> but I’ve always faced pushback working on startups/side projects
You mean from your SO?
I think most sane people don't have issues with their SOs' side projects, but they have issues with that their SOs 1) not spending enough time with family and 2) being the main income source of the family but not making enough money.