To-Do List for Uploading to Steam

[AeroPergold]

So I have decided that I want to go back to making commercial games again. I know that made a kinda sort maybe flamey thread about my failures in making commercial games in the past but this time I want to do things right.

So I need a checklist of things I need to do to get a game onto Steam. I need to know what I need to do in order to make that happen. If anyone wants to provide a this checklist please organize it into things I need to do in chronological order as well as maybe as low/medium/high priority.

 

[Andar]

Basically you have to have a game first. And no, I don't mean that as a joke.


The first problem is that it usually takes years to completely build a game - especially as an independent developer. And the rules and regulations of Steam have changed over the years, so any checklist made today will no longer be valid after you finish creating your game in a few years.

 

[AeroPergold]

Basically you have to have a game first. And no, I don't mean that as a joke.


The first problem is that it usually takes years to completely build a game - especially as an independent developer. And the rules and regulations of Steam have changed over the years, so any checklist made today will no longer be valid after you finish creating your game in a few years.

Ok thanks. I know I need a game first but I kinda just need a general idea what things I need to do first if it involves dealing with copyrighting things, finding an audience and general marketing strategizing, and other things I need to do once I got a game going.

 

[MoonBunny]

Valve's own Steamworks documentation might be of use. Seeing as you'll need to use Steamworks to publish your game to the store anyway, it may be wise to start reading up on it now.

Documentation Home Page (Steamworks Documentation)

partner.steamgames.com

 

[Andar]

that (post#3, not the one above) has nothing to do with steam.

to keep copyright laws, you always need a licence and a source for every resource used in your game. That means no downloading from random internet websites, only using assets purchased with a licence to use them in a game (or from known, public websites giving free licences - not everything claiming to be free is legal).

looking for an audience and marketing are things that are mostly not worth your time as an independent developer.
correct marketing costs a lot of money for advertisements, and if you don't have a name already most of that work and money would be vasted - you're better off letting steam and/or a professional distributer (if you have one) do the marketing.
and looking for an audience has many traps that will just drive away all audiences if you don't know what you're doing. For your first game concentrate on what kind of game you yourself find fun to play - you can't please everyone because different types of gamers are interested in different features (for example anything requiring real-time reactions is a no-go for me, but for a lot of other gamers the faster games go the better). So trying to make your game fit an audience you don't know will always go bad.

 

[AeroPergold]

@MoonBunny thanks for the documentation

@Andar sorry if there is lacking in topic relativity, I just to need to get my hands on some information that I need for a future endeavor and I am asking the community what I need to do and thank you for your piece.

 

[PixelatedBree]

Hey Aero! I was just looking at this post by Randor yesterday that I found extremely helpful:

https://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/index.php?threads/how-to-publish-an-rpg-maker-game-on-steam.109918/

(Hopefully, I did that link right, still getting used to making posts on here)

 

[Spaske]

Dunno if they changed something but last time i checked, you just need 3 things:
1) steam acc
2) 100$
3) a game

But again, take it with a grain of salt since im really not sure if they changed it but if not, then yes, it truly is that easy to upload to steam.