Developer Thoughts & Project Exposure
Added 2023-06-11 21:30:24 +0000 UTCHi!
Since Road to Vostok has been featured on multiple gaming outlets recently (PC Gamer / PC Gaming Show / Insider Gaming) I decided to utilize this moment and share some of my thoughts that these have raised.
I don't remember ever reading about these kinds of moments when it comes to developers and how they see the world in this sense, so I think this might provide some value or insight related to what I think and how I operate around this project.
First, I think Road to Vostok is a really "hard to sell" project if you hear about this for the first time. Survival games in general (especially indie / solo-dev projects) are proven to be very tricky when it comes to developer dedication and delivering a good product.
Every time when I give some interviews or I see this project featured on some media, I basically know that if somebody else would "pitch" this idea to the me, I would be super skeptical. It's unfortunately a statistic fact and a common phenomenom in this genre that these promising games usually tend to fail in some way or the delivered end product is not what has been promised.
My ideology around this topic is trying to maximize the transparency, provide free demos that act as "hype control" and in general trying to built a track record over time that builds trust + validates that initial pitch and the claims that the developer claimed.
I'm totally self aware and "grounded" in a sense that there's a long way ahead and it's going to be hard thing to pull of what I'm trying to do. This might sound weird but I'm actually sometimes kind of worried that all this exposure might set unrealistic expectations or put a spotlight on this project that demands much more than just developing a good indie game. What I mean by this is that as long as there's just one full-time developer, time becomes really valuable and each non-development related task is not progress, even though marketing is super important nowadays.
It's a fine balance of trying to put some effort on marketing and still maintaining a good development pace. Even though I have +10 years of gamedev experience, I'm still learning these things as I go and I have not had these kinds of dilemmas before, so there have been many lessons learned moments behind the scenes recently :)
I think from now on until the Public Demo 2, I will cut down some marketing efforts and try to be as focused as possible on building something that will do the marketing for me eventually. This basically means that I'm going to politely turn down multiple "exposure events" and keep a relatively low profile, since that's the best way to make progress when you're a solo developer.
I will be as active here as I have been before, I will continue making RtV videos and updates as planned, but when it comes to "extra" interviews and different shows I will switch my approach a bit. I think this is the best mindset and approach that I can currently make and what's best for the project.
Hopefully this gave some insight to my thinking and to some things that has happened recently :)
- Antti (Developer)
Comments
I've been following you for a while now at least on Steam and youtube. You've made a lot of great decisions so far so keep doing what you're best at ! You've done such a great job and a lot of people are really happy of what you're doing with your own game. Keep a low profile if it's what you need, people that genuinely love your work will wait the time that you need ! Btw -> Love the cat addition ! GOAT dev right here !
NuckZ
2023-06-12 10:31:50 +0000 UTCI agree with you. I was skeptical first, but when the first demo was released it reassured me. I even support the project on patreon since ^^
Shamnolya
2023-06-12 09:37:46 +0000 UTCI understand your situation and the struggle. I believe youtube reviews are a good way to have some exposure. If your make a good demo 2 some youtuber might review it and you will gain more whishlist. Good luck to you =)
Shamnolya
2023-06-12 09:32:52 +0000 UTCTo be honest, I think we were all skeptical about the project when we first heard about it. But with your efforts, your transparency and your honesty, it has developed into trust, at least with the people who have been following the project for a while. I think the biggest problem is to explain to a new audience what Road to Vostok wants to be. People see the style in some trailer and expect another multiplayer shooter or a total stalker copy with mutants and so on. I hope this problem will solve itself in the course of development. So far all your choices have turned out to be the right ones and this one will be no different. Thanks for sharing so much with us.
SavRoyale
2023-06-12 07:37:24 +0000 UTCGreat to see you have such grounded views and the ability to self reflect in this way. I think the teaser on the PC Gaming Show was just about as high profile as you'd want to go this early in the project. I think your worries about gaining too much of a spotlight are valid. Advertising too much, while most of the game is still in the design document and not playable, might invite even more hate and doubt than having a similar style to Stalker/EFT already does. While the transparency and communication you have is great and clearly works to convince some people (case in point: I'm typing this on your Patreon,) the only thing that's ever going to work for the larger gaming audience is an actual game. No matter what you do, most people will hear and think "oh another ambitious survival fps game in early access" and shrug it off. That's all to say that, yes, focusing most of your time on getting demo 2 out sounds like a good idea, and I think we all appreciate you sharing these thoughts with us. "Mitä nopeemmin, sitä nopeemmin."
Andex
2023-06-12 06:56:38 +0000 UTCCan't wait to see what becomes of this, I have faith in you as a dev, take it at your own pace and good luck!
Cameron
2023-06-12 00:36:11 +0000 UTCLove what you are doing man, keep going! i don't think of it more as trying to "pitch" than allowing it to be able to speak for itself. back when public demo 1 was released one of my friends had shown me the gameplay and I felt it spoke for itself, especially the transparency of the progress and process being taken to build a final product.
MartianV2
2023-06-11 23:55:18 +0000 UTCYou seem to be able to step back and view things with the proper lens. Meaning, you're not trying to see what's in the distance with reading glasses on. Honestly, imo you have set very realistic expectations while also making it challenging enough to keep yourself engaged with the project. Nowadays it seems that developers are just pumping out what they can without any real care for what the end product is. For christ sake, the biggest fps games in the industry basically function by telling you there is a carrot, but never actually put the carrot in front of your eyes. " don't worry the carrots coming, i promise" - every modern developer. You're transparency has done well to build trust, and while there have been a few things here and there that you haven't been able to deliver in the time frame that you wanted, you've still made incredible progress and like I said, there is that trust factor. Keep doin your thing, and if you have to slip into rogue mode for a while, so be it. JUST MAKE SURE WE GET OUR WEEKLY ITEM CHALLENGES!! lol
M1XED_BAG
2023-06-11 23:52:39 +0000 UTCI'm thankful that you can recognize your limits and that shows your expertise in this field. I can't help but talk about RtV with friends when a new video comes out. It has me and others interested. Not just that, I personally try not to compare it to other games that are "out" (in "beta" I guess) when I describe it to other people, because I feel that puts expectations on the game that weren't intended especially if, down the road, you decide to change something. It's a highly contagious thing people do in other games and in my opinion always backfires. ([Game name] in space! Or [game name] in 2D top down! Or [game name] but call of duty, etc. I don't want to even really name the game...). All this to say, I appreciate the efforts you put forth. I'm excited for the future builds and for whenever 1.0 releases! You got me hooked from the first test build.
Skilletfan93
2023-06-11 21:41:05 +0000 UTC
