If no one cares about your game does it make sense to keep making it?

[EpicFILE]

I think it depends on the goal.
If you want to sell it, you definitely need some players.
If you want to make games for your own satisfaction,
then just make it even when you're the only one to enjoy it.

For me video games is an advanced art form.
It's rather easy to create illustration on your own,
make music on your own, write stories on your own.
Games aren't like that. There's a lot of stuff going on.
So for me, making game purely for my own satisfaction is a hard thing to do.
At least I want a financial reward for making video games,
or at least a lot of people enjoy my game despite being free.
Game making is not my priority right now.
Right now I'm doing what I genuinely enjoy doing.
However, I do want to make games when I have money
to pay people and help me make my games.

That being said, some people can really make good game on their own.
I believe that if we have a lot of passion about something,
we can do whatever we want to do.

If you're unsure whether you want to keep making games or not,
maybe it's time to ask whether you're really passionate about
making games.
Do you make games primarily for your genuine passion or for external rewards?
If you have genuine passion for making games, you'll keep making games
even when you're the only one to enjoy it.
And slowly you're becoming better at making games.
Slowly you can make high quality games.
High quality works naturally attract people, as long as you share it.

If apparently you're not fully passionate about making games,
maybe you're actually passionate about something else.
I encourage you to really question what
you're really passionate about, and do that.
Because above all else, what's most important is that we enjoy what we do.

 

[Biestmann]

---

Marketing isn't solely for commercial. Promoting a free game is also marketing. Your game's page is marketing. You telling people that you have a game is marketing. You telling people what that game is, is marketing.

I know what you mean and I agree, but the term can easily be misconstructed which I think already happened with this thread's OP. It's good to break things down more, because marketing is a broad term in the end.

Even with that game, though... you got your first response more than a year after your post... how did you even remain interested in continuing development if no one bothered to reply?

Game dev is a personal journey. If you check updates I gave on the first page and compare it to those I gave later, my style of documentation improved in many ways. I would often read my old posts again and remark "Wow, I have come a long way", even if no one else was there to make that remark at the time. You also have to learn to praise yourself, and to draw satisfaction from what you create from within. I know that may make it sound easier than it is to put into practice.

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

Problem is, I'm interested in what others seem to not be...

Even with that game, though... you got your first response more than a year after your post... how did you even remain interested in continuing development if no one bothered to reply?

That's exactly why you need to tell people about your game.. You won't find the people who wants your game if you keep your game a secret...

For the 2nd one, focus, dedication and hope. As Harlekin said before, you need to think about why you are doing this.. Most of us here are here because we like the process of making games, the process itself matters to us more than the result of that process.

Heck, if you ask a lot of people here especially the older ones like me, how many projects they scrapped and discontinued, I'm sure they will tell you that they have a lot of those. Most of the times, failure is needed so that you learn. We keep improving, and for some, it will be what will make them succeed in the future.

 

[HarlekinLehl]

To me, this sounds a bit like someone who just picked up rpg maker and thought " I'll make a game and people are going to enjoy it" Without realizing that the market is so full of games that people don't even have enough time to play all the games they want to play.

For someone to pick up your game, of all the millions of games they could play instead. (That includes triple A games and all the others) you got to have a very unique game and/or market it very well, even if it's free.

I just got myself xbox game pass for 1 dollar. So why should I play your little free game, when I could play doom eternal instead? Or halo master chief collection? Or any number of turn based rpgs they have on there?

Wether your game is free or not does not matter, you are still competing with every other game out there for the players time.

 

[Nereid]

Well, it's not like RM can compete with the latest consoles, if people are comparing them... games have generally been 3D since the 90s, so if people care about that specifically no amount of marketing will persuade them, I assume...

 

[lianderson]

This one plays video games because they are fun. This one does the game make because it is fun. If you are having fun, then keep having fun!
Down with the players. Down with them all!

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

There's a lot of good 2D games out there who gets a lot of player, and your player-base target are those people who plays them, not those who only wants 3D... If you're marketing your 2D game to players who wants 3D then ofc you'd fail...

And oh, don't compare your game to games made by AAA studios or full-team indies. There's no point in that.

 

[HarlekinLehl]

Well, it's not like RM can compete with the latest consoles, if people are comparing them... games have generally been 3D since the 90s, so if people care about that specifically no amount of marketing will persuade them, I assume...

They can very much compete. Many RM games scratch that retro itch for many people. Many RM games are on the shorter side so people can enjoy them without having to dump countless hours into them.

RM games or rather indie games in general have unique mechanics that triple A companies don't touch because they just keep making the same things that sold well in the last couple of years. Indie is a niche that fills a void triple A don't.

Well, not so much a niche anymore but the fact remains true.

(You can totally make a 3d RM game tho lol)

 

[coyotecraft]

It makes sense that nobody cares about your game because you haven't made it yet.

 

[Nereid]

a niche

Of course, if it was a niche within a niche, then... I guess, that might be an issue...

 

[KazukiT]

I can understand your sentiment, however, just like what a lot of people said already maybe having a link to your game or dev log may help pull in viewers. Although I haven't posted a dev log myself so take my "dev lof" idea with a grain of salt.

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

I feel like you're not really meant for this (at least right now) as you seem to only focus on the negative aspects and reasons on why you fail, instead of trying to learn how to do it. Take a break, and reevaluate what you want to do, and if you can actually commit to it.

 

[Nereid]

Well, I'm personally committed, but it would be... something, if even one person would be interested... and not after scouring the world looking for that one person, honestly... this should surely not be like looking for relationships...

 

[dopan]

If no One cares about your Game,.. Atleast you self should care about it..since that One, is the most imported One.​

not much other stuff to say to this.. try to stay motivated or take a break till motivation comes back

 

[Helen1701]

I'm not ready for mass rejection...

It's funny how some games are sold, I can't even get anyone to play mine for free...

The thing is, if you aren't advertising, and nobody knows about your game, they don't get the chance to form an opinion (positive or negative).

Now, when you advertise a game, people are going to play it, and when they do, they will form an opinion. You can't guarantee that all of those opinions are going to be positive. Nobody can please everyone. But there is no reason whatsoever to assume that everyone is going to reject your game, why would they? You make it sound as though you have no faith in your product, and that sort of attitude isn't going to lead you to success either.

 

[TheoAllen]

I'm gonna put this here for a sake of a meme.

Spoiler

On a serious note though, I hope the OP goes well and finally gets their motivation back. Because personally, I think we have shared enough perspective and motivational replies

 

[Nolonar]

Well, I'm personally committed, but it would be... something, if even one person would be interested... and not after scouring the world looking for that one person, honestly... this should surely not be like looking for relationships...

Consider this:

GTA 5, one of the most successful games ever made, has sold "only" 155 Million copies in the 8 years since its release in 2013. That's not even 2% of the entire Earth's population in 2021 (7.9 Billion).

If you're "looking" for that one person, you'll have to go through hundreds to find them.

There's a reason why we use advertisement. Instead of looking for one person among hundreds, we let them look for us instead.

 

[ShiraCheshire]

Here's some writing advice I was given once: You should quit. You won't succeed. If you hear that and say "But I want to do it anyway," then you know you have something worth doing.

That's how I knew I really truly wanted to make a game. I agonized endlessly over it, wondering if anyone would ever play it once it was done, wondering if people would hate it. But once I considered that, and still wanted to make it anyway... I knew it was worth doing. Even if I'm the only person who likes it, it's a project that's important to me and I want to see it through.

If your project isn't that important to you, maybe it's time to reconsider. I don't mean give up entirely, but maybe you should think a bit on why you're making what you're making. See if you can make it an idea you love so much that you just can't stop yourself from working on it, even if no one else cares.

Side note- You say you can't get anyone to play your game, and that made me think 'I should give it a play, see what it's all about!' But you didn't link to it in your post or your signature, so I didn't have any way to go to your game. If people can't find your game, they can't play it.

 

[SigmaSuccour]

If no one cares about your game does it make sense to keep making it?

If no one is caring about your work, then your work is not caring about them.

If you show care to the player, through your game. (By giving them what want/need.)
Then they will care back.

That's... it.
That's the natural law of society and humanity.

You're failing at that?
Feel demotivated?
Go back to being a student, learn some psychology, then come back here to a more informed game making.

 

[The Stranger]

Go back to being a student, learn some psychology, then get back to a more informed game making.

Man, when did making games for fun become so deep and need such qualifications? xD