Chronicles of Vaeltaja: In Search of the Great Wanderer

[Rand]

Will there be ******* or ******* in the game?

Every single ******* time there's a developer...
I thought only women, not gays, could be on the rag.

Hey remember when the Codex started censoring users to make gay game devs who couldn't handle free speech feel more comfortable with the forum? Really makes me think

Just because you CAN **** in the bed, doesn't mean anyone welcomes you doing it when they're in it.

[Vergil]

Will there be ******* or ******* in the game?

Every single ******* time there's a developer...
I thought only women, not gays, could be on the rag.

Hey remember when the Codex started censoring users to make gay game devs who couldn't handle free speech feel more comfortable with the forum? Really makes me think

Just because you CAN **** in the bed, doesn't mean anyone welcomes you doing it when they're in it.

[Stack of Turtles]

Will there be ******* or ******* in the game?

Every single ******* time there's a developer...
I thought only women, not gays, could be on the rag.

I mean... it was a valid question, he answered the question well, what's the problem?

[Tweed]

Dev seems p.based to me, rolls with the punches and doesn't afraid of anything.

[Witchgrove Games]

I released an update today with some bug fixes and other improvements. I've decided to delay the 'Islands of the Prophets' update until the end of November. The reason can be found here with the patch notes:

Patch notes at Steam

[rusty_shackleford]

It's on sale

[Witchgrove Games]

Thanks @rusty_shackleford !

Here's the official announcement with some small details about the next content update:

Sale Announcement at Steam

[Witchgrove Games]

A new update has been released today and it brings a new overworld area, a new dungeon, new equipment, graphical improvements and more. Details can be found here: Patch notes at Steam

[maidenhaver]

Translation's rough, but what's the tone? Is it mostly straight, or is it silly?

[Witchgrove Games]

Translation's rough, but what's the tone? Is it mostly straight, or is it silly?

There is some humour, but overall the tone is rather serious and I've tried to achieve a melancholic atmosphere through out the game, even though the graphics are quite colourful. But the colourful graphics are there to bring contrast to the bleakness of the gameworld. You could say that the inspiration for the overall tone comes from old fairy tales - wondrous worlds full of misery and suffering, or something like that. The game deals with mature topics, but tries to do it without unnecessary violence, gore or profanities.

[rusty_shackleford]

35% off, support developers who post on the HQ. Remember to leave a review.

[Tweed]

It's not on sale enough.

[Acrux]

It's good.

[Tweed]

Buy it for me then.

[rusty_shackleford]

Buy it for me then.

Sent, now get taking notes for your review.

[Tweed]

My and my big mouth.

[Witchgrove Games]

Talking about sale, the game will probably never get steep discounts (more than 50%). The harsh truth is that 99,8% of purchases happen when the game is on sale. This means that after taxes and Steam fees I end up getting approximately 5$/sold copy, which is not much for over three years of work (and that's just the active development time). If I would start to offer deeper discounts, it would only lead to people waiting for even bigger discounts. Of course I could always raise the price to 50$ and then offer bigger discounts, but that would probably make the situation even worse.

I know the production values are not much with this game and I'm definitely not a proper pixel artist (I had zero experience when I started this project), but I think the game has improved a LOT since it was released in early access and I only see it getting even better with each update.

I don't mean to whine, just state some observations I've done during the past few years, but it's a weird situation overall: Many rpg enthusiast (myself included) want deep rpg experiences without any DEI or any other modern ********, but only a handful are ready to support developers who are trying to do that. I understand that many are not willing to support early access projects these days and that's very understandable, I've experienced some disappointments myself in the past. But one of the harsh truths is that early access is sometimes the only option to try to get at least some kind of funding, especially for a game as niche as this. Sure, there are other ways too, such as Kickstarter or Indiegogo, and it would have probably been wiser to try them first. I've realized that I was very naive in some things when I started this project, and even though I knew this game represents a very niche genre, I thought there would be enough players interested in a proper rpg, even with grid-based movement. I thought that over time I just might be able to prove this game is worth the time and money, but now I mostly think it's just wishful thinking.

I realize that I've ended up in a strange situation. There are people who see the cosy graphics, but get disappointed in that the game is deeper and more demanding than it first seems (weird, right?) and there are people who hate the art style and won't even bother trying, even though otherwise it could be a game they would enjoy a great deal if they just would give it a fair chance. I get that the art style is not for everyone, but I want to create something that looks like I've created it myself, not something that looks like every other game. At least I can say it's not another Unity asset store slob.

Many don't realize that it's not a small task to create an rpg, especially when you do it by yourself, and if you have no budget, it is even harder. And then there's the marketing, which is even harder than the development without money. The game would probably be already finished if I didn't have to do the marketing also. It's extremely time consuming and it usually feels useless, but still I have to do it, mostly through social media, which I've always hated already in the first place. 30$ to boost some facebook post doesn't sound like much, but with these sales and constantly increasing living costs it's not that cheap. And now that the world is more polarized than ever before, I've been told that I should make an account in another new social media to promote the game, because that's where 'everyone' is these days. Just what I need, another useless social media platform to waste my time.

Sure, Steam wishlists grow each day a little by little, but they are just wishlists, not confirmed purchases, and probably only a fraction of those wishlists will eventually turn into purchases. I try not to think about money, but there are a lots of days when it feels like it's not worth the effort. I usually work 10-14 hours/day on this game, but there have been much longer days. 26 hours straight is the longest so far, which happened when releasing an update with a severe bug that I noticed too late. I don't even remember when was the last time I had a normal circadian rhythm or slept 8 hours straight.

Sounds tempting, huh? I'm not even sure anymore what keeps me going, insanity or the love for rpgs, but it's definitely not the money as there isn't any. Of course tide can always turn and this just might end up being profitable someday, but I'm not holding my breath. I feel blessed that I have a very supporting and understanding wife - she's the one who keeps up my faith in this project in those days when I feel like this is just a fool's errand.

Would I recommend this to anyone? Sure, if you don't value your mental health and have a budget for it.

But like I said, I don't mean to whine about this. I made a choice and I just have to stick with it and face the consequences. In the end the only way worth of traveling is the way of the warrior.

[Oyster Sauce]

Chronicles of Vegeta

[rusty_shackleford]

Just a little bit of feedback after going thru the Steam page: this screenshot stood out to me the most. Perhaps consider using it without UI as a main marketing screenshot?


The group is huddled around the campfire for warmth and safety from what lurks in the dark. The stars twinkle above. There's a member of the group on watch, and someone — maybe something — approaching in the distance.
This is, as the young kids say, 'kino'.

[rusty_shackleford]

I understand that many are not willing to support early access projects these days and that's very understandable, I've experienced some disappointments myself in the past. But one of the harsh truths is that early access is sometimes the only option to try to get at least some kind of funding, especially for a game as niche as this.

I think non-roguelike RPGs uniquely underperform in early access due to the nature of the genre. Genres that aren't story heavy and/or are centered around short runs are just going to do much better in early access. I have no stats on hand to base this off of, so I'm just going with my gut on this one.

[edit]
Hope you don't interpret this as you should force the game out before it's ready tho

[Tweed]

Just a little bit of feedback after going thru the Steam page: this screenshot stood out to me the most. Perhaps consider using it without UI as a main marketing screenshot?


The group is huddled around the campfire for warmth and safety from what lurks in the dark. The stars twinkle above. There's a member of the group on watch, and someone — maybe something — approaching in the distance.
This is, as the young kids say, 'kino'.

Campfires always sell, always.

[Witchgrove Games]

@rusty_shackleford Thanks for the feedback! That's a good point and now that you showed that screenshot, I realize it even has old minimap UI. I've been actually thinking about enhancing the campfire screenshots for some time now, but first I have to finish the upcoming dungeons for the 'Islands of the Prophets Part II' update.

Also, you might be right about the early access period. Even though there are days when I wish I could move on to a new project, I'm fully committed to this game and don't want to rush it. Players will notice if quality starts to drop at some point. The good thing is that after the next update I can focus on the last overworld areas, so it will keep things fresh for me and offer some new challenges. New areas and dungeons usually boost the motivation to a new level as the progress is much more visible than when working on mechanics. I'm actually very excited to continue working on the next area, Autumn Valley, once I'm through with the Islands.

And thanks everyone for the support! I rarely open up, but sometimes it's very therapeutic. And even though this can sound like a ****** job, I still love it and I enjoy working on this game and testing my own limits - I just need to learn to take couple of days off every now and then. I've learned a lot in these past few years from the engine, game development and myself. And I'm pretty sure I will be better prepared for the next project when the time comes. At least now I have working rpg mechanics ready for the future, though I think the next game will be something a bit different and smaller in scope, just for the sake of my own sanity.

[Tweed]

NO KEYBINDS! -9999 WORST GAME EVER SINCE VEILGUARD

[Unhelpful Contrarian]

Talking about sale, the game will probably never get steep discounts (more than 50%). The harsh truth is that 99,8% of purchases happen when the game is on sale. This means that after taxes and Steam fees I end up getting approximately 5$/sold copy, which is not much for over three years of work (and that's just the active development time). If I would start to offer deeper discounts, it would only lead to people waiting for even bigger discounts. Of course I could always raise the price to 50$ and then offer bigger discounts, but that would probably make the situation even worse.

I know the production values are not much with this game and I'm definitely not a proper pixel artist (I had zero experience when I started this project), but I think the game has improved a LOT since it was released in early access and I only see it getting even better with each update.

I don't mean to whine, just state some observations I've done during the past few years, but it's a weird situation overall: Many rpg enthusiast (myself included) want deep rpg experiences without any DEI or any other modern ********, but only a handful are ready to support developers who are trying to do that. I understand that many are not willing to support early access projects these days and that's very understandable, I've experienced some disappointments myself in the past. But one of the harsh truths is that early access is sometimes the only option to try to get at least some kind of funding, especially for a game as niche as this. Sure, there are other ways too, such as Kickstarter or Indiegogo, and it would have probably been wiser to try them first. I've realized that I was very naive in some things when I started this project, and even though I knew this game represents a very niche genre, I thought there would be enough players interested in a proper rpg, even with grid-based movement. I thought that over time I just might be able to prove this game is worth the time and money, but now I mostly think it's just wishful thinking.

I realize that I've ended up in a strange situation. There are people who see the cosy graphics, but get disappointed in that the game is deeper and more demanding than it first seems (weird, right?) and there are people who hate the art style and won't even bother trying, even though otherwise it could be a game they would enjoy a great deal if they just would give it a fair chance. I get that the art style is not for everyone, but I want to create something that looks like I've created it myself, not something that looks like every other game. At least I can say it's not another Unity asset store slob.

Many don't realize that it's not a small task to create an rpg, especially when you do it by yourself, and if you have no budget, it is even harder. And then there's the marketing, which is even harder than the development without money. The game would probably be already finished if I didn't have to do the marketing also. It's extremely time consuming and it usually feels useless, but still I have to do it, mostly through social media, which I've always hated already in the first place. 30$ to boost some facebook post doesn't sound like much, but with these sales and constantly increasing living costs it's not that cheap. And now that the world is more polarized than ever before, I've been told that I should make an account in another new social media to promote the game, because that's where 'everyone' is these days. Just what I need, another useless social media platform to waste my time.

Sure, Steam wishlists grow each day a little by little, but they are just wishlists, not confirmed purchases, and probably only a fraction of those wishlists will eventually turn into purchases. I try not to think about money, but there are a lots of days when it feels like it's not worth the effort. I usually work 10-14 hours/day on this game, but there have been much longer days. 26 hours straight is the longest so far, which happened when releasing an update with a severe bug that I noticed too late. I don't even remember when was the last time I had a normal circadian rhythm or slept 8 hours straight.

Sounds tempting, huh? I'm not even sure anymore what keeps me going, insanity or the love for rpgs, but it's definitely not the money as there isn't any. Of course tide can always turn and this just might end up being profitable someday, but I'm not holding my breath. I feel blessed that I have a very supporting and understanding wife - she's the one who keeps up my faith in this project in those days when I feel like this is just a fool's errand.

Would I recommend this to anyone? Sure, if you don't value your mental health and have a budget for it.

But like I said, I don't mean to whine about this. I made a choice and I just have to stick with it and face the consequences. In the end the only way worth of traveling is the way of the warrior.

It quite saddens me this game didn’t reach the success you wanted.

Even though your game isn’t my cup of tea for the reasons you stated I would think that there be enough of dictated RPG audience that would ensure a reasonable success.To elaborate further I been burned by to many times on early access ever buy a game half finished again m. Even back in the day when its was new concept the very idea of buying incomplete product always rub me the wrong way.In terms of the pixel art style it’s not that I disliked it per say but since it be overused a lot for the past decade or so I grew tired of it. Personally you have to do something really special for me to take notice .( Risk of Rain, Hotline Miami, The Binding of Isaac)

People give a lot of **** on the state of the I unoriginality of the industry ( rightfully so) but more often then not they buy the safe more well known product as a habit instead of risk something that unfamiliar ( I very guilty of this as well) with little word of mouth.This isn’t always the case but it’s something I noticed with when talking to people.

I hope you don’t give up and continue your passion in games .Being indie dev is hard and extremely competitive market with the toughest part just breaking through the noise and getting any public attention.

[Witchgrove Games]

@Tweed I've been working from time to time with key binding, but there's been some issues with it that I haven't been able to overcome yet and that's why I haven't mention anything about it yet. -9999 worst game ever since Veilguard doesn't bother me, if it was number 1 worst game since Veilguard, then I would be worried. (I hope you didn't just confirm that you actually have played Veilguard...)

@Unhelpful Contrarian Thanks for the encouraging words! I understand what you mean. I'm not giving up on the development, but I just might give up with the marketing. X used to be a good platform for marketing, but these past weeks I've noticed that it has become quite useless.

I've also thought about developing some smaller and cheaper game on the side to reach more audience and financial support, but haven't decided yet. I already have a small prototype as my stress release project, but I'm not sure if I'm up to working on two different games at the same time. That would also delay the final release of this game with couple of months at least. So I'm thinking about it as some sort of last resort.

Edit: Now that the key binding came up, I just noticed that one of the core plugins I've been using has been updated with key binding options some time ago. I have to update the plugin in the game and do some testing to see if it works with this project. If everything works without issues, I will add the key binding in the next update. But there's always a possibility of incompatibility issues with other plugins I'm using.

[Unhelpful Contrarian]

@Unhelpful Contrarian Thanks for the encouraging words! I understand what you mean. I'm not giving up on the development, but I just might give up with the marketing. X used to be a good platform for marketing, but these past weeks I've noticed that it has become quite useless.

I've also thought about developing some smaller and cheaper game on the side to reach more audience and financial support, but haven't decided yet. I already have a small prototype as my stress release project, but I'm not sure if I'm up to working on two different games at the same time. That would also delay the final release of this game with couple of months at least. So I'm thinking about it as some sort of last resort.

Edit: Now that the key binding came up, I just noticed that one of the core plugins I've been using has been updated with key binding options some time ago. I have to update the plugin in the game and do some testing to see if it works with this project. If everything works without issues, I will add the key binding in the next update. But there's always a possibility of incompatibility issues with other plugins I'm using.

Unfortunately marketing (specifically word of mouth ) is even more important for indie games in a lot of ways then regular AAA game. A well established Dev/ game that has name recognition will have a higher likelihood of people willingly parting with there money with little regard, unlike a small more indie game where an individual is more cautious in just spending $20 on unknown game.


Jeff Vogel( made the Avernum games) had similar points in the problems you face in his blog post


https://bottomfeeder.substack.com/p/the ... ideo-games

[Witchgrove Games]

@Unhelpful Contrarian Thanks for the encouraging words! I understand what you mean. I'm not giving up on the development, but I just might give up with the marketing. X used to be a good platform for marketing, but these past weeks I've noticed that it has become quite useless.

I've also thought about developing some smaller and cheaper game on the side to reach more audience and financial support, but haven't decided yet. I already have a small prototype as my stress release project, but I'm not sure if I'm up to working on two different games at the same time. That would also delay the final release of this game with couple of months at least. So I'm thinking about it as some sort of last resort.

Edit: Now that the key binding came up, I just noticed that one of the core plugins I've been using has been updated with key binding options some time ago. I have to update the plugin in the game and do some testing to see if it works with this project. If everything works without issues, I will add the key binding in the next update. But there's always a possibility of incompatibility issues with other plugins I'm using.

Unfortunately marketing (specifically word of mouth ) is even more important for indie games in a lot of ways then regular AAA game. A well established Dev/ game that has name recognition will have a higher likelihood of people willingly parting with there money with little regard, unlike a small more indie game where an individual is more cautious in just spending $20 on unknown game.


Jeff Vogel( made the Avernum games) had similar points in the problems you face in his blog post


https://bottomfeeder.substack.com/p/the ... ideo-games

That's very true. I've read Jeff Vogel's blog every now and then and it's been giving me lots of valuable information. I'm kind of counting on the 'word of mouth' once people really start to play the game. There's been some players which seem to play this hours at a time, but according to statistics, most seem to wait until it's finished and that' s something that I thought might happen. The positive side of things is that when I get feedback from those who have played the game, it's mostly very positive. I get negative feedback very rarely and usually it's about graphics and that there is no character creation. But there's actually a story related reason that there is no character creation, but the story is not yet so far that it starts to make sense. Anyway, people seem to enjoy that there's a lot to explore and secrets to find. Also I think one of the key aspects for enjoyment is that the game doesn't underestimate the player by forced tutorials or explaining everything.

But I'm not giving up. I enjoy making the game and I have bunch of other games planned for the future. But I don't want to rush things either, what ever I end up making, I want to make it properly and as good as possible.

About the key bindings... It seems that I had already updated the plugin, but apparently it needs some work to make the key bindings work with the existing project. I will look into this in the coming days and see if I can make it work.

[Shillitron]

but I think the game has improved a LOT since it was released in early access

I'm gonna need a higher bar than this to buy your game and play it.

I've read Jeff Vogel's blog every now and then and it's been giving me lots of valuable information.

Flipping the same game over and over with "developer art" living paycheck to paycheck..
The #1 thing to learn from Vogel is why you should not make games how Vogel does.

[Witchgrove Games]

but I think the game has improved a LOT since it was released in early access

I'm gonna need a higher bar than this to buy your game and play it.

I've read Jeff Vogel's blog every now and then and it's been giving me lots of valuable information.

Flipping the same game over and over with "developer art" living paycheck to paycheck..
The #1 thing to learn from Vogel is why you should not make games how Vogel does.

Yeah, that I've definitely learned.

[Unhelpful Contrarian]

Flipping the same game over and over with "developer art" living paycheck to paycheck..
The #1 thing to learn from Vogel is why you should not make games how Vogel does.

He fills a niche that has a dedicated audience which pays the bills and leaves an ok profit.

I would say that pretty good formula and one most indie game devs would want to achieve.