10-06-2020, 03:50 PM
Copying my post from Patreon:
Shores of Hazeron is a game that you’ve clearly put a lot of passion into. I can understand the frustration of putting so much time into a project that never seems to get the momentum you need to see it through. And I get the attraction to putting it on Steam: it either pulls in enough people quickly to fund the changes you want to see, or it fails and you can wash your hands of it entirely. There’s no more limping along hoping to find a way to finish everything by yourself. If you go this route, and it sounds like you’re pretty set on doing just that, I will buy the copy on steam, wish you the best of luck, and hope that the game meets with huge success. Everyone here wants to see the game achieve mass appeal.
I share concerns expressed above though that there are big risks. I’ve introduced people to the game only to have them give up on the experience after not figuring out the interface or after they get stuck in terrain and must restart. I hate that they are missing out on such an amazing world, but I understand – entertainment time is limited and any barrier to entry motivates them to look elsewhere. Intuition tells me this will cause a brutal reception on Steam because the vast majority of gamers will play for 30 minutes, demand a refund, and leave a scathing review. They will never see the deep universe you have created or enjoy the sense of exploration that most games cannot hope to offer. They will miss out on everything that appeals to me in this game and discourage others from even trying. Hazeron is not ready for Steam.
Like everyone else, I have suggestions: targeted advertising, adding more Patreon tiers, allowing voluntary contributions from software developers, artists, UI designers, maybe even looking into a deal with an established publisher. There are inherent risks in all of these -- someone might steal code, or Patreon tiers might lean towards pay-to-win, etc. -- but if you are at the point where you are ready to go all-in, the risks don’t really matter anymore and you can simply make sure you’re on the path that has the best odds of success. I’m sure you’ve spend much longer considering these options than any of us, so you certainly have reasons for going the route you’ve chosen. I hope it all works out because I would love to still be playing Hazeron in a decade, one way or another.
Thanks for everything so far, Haxus!
Shores of Hazeron is a game that you’ve clearly put a lot of passion into. I can understand the frustration of putting so much time into a project that never seems to get the momentum you need to see it through. And I get the attraction to putting it on Steam: it either pulls in enough people quickly to fund the changes you want to see, or it fails and you can wash your hands of it entirely. There’s no more limping along hoping to find a way to finish everything by yourself. If you go this route, and it sounds like you’re pretty set on doing just that, I will buy the copy on steam, wish you the best of luck, and hope that the game meets with huge success. Everyone here wants to see the game achieve mass appeal.
I share concerns expressed above though that there are big risks. I’ve introduced people to the game only to have them give up on the experience after not figuring out the interface or after they get stuck in terrain and must restart. I hate that they are missing out on such an amazing world, but I understand – entertainment time is limited and any barrier to entry motivates them to look elsewhere. Intuition tells me this will cause a brutal reception on Steam because the vast majority of gamers will play for 30 minutes, demand a refund, and leave a scathing review. They will never see the deep universe you have created or enjoy the sense of exploration that most games cannot hope to offer. They will miss out on everything that appeals to me in this game and discourage others from even trying. Hazeron is not ready for Steam.
Like everyone else, I have suggestions: targeted advertising, adding more Patreon tiers, allowing voluntary contributions from software developers, artists, UI designers, maybe even looking into a deal with an established publisher. There are inherent risks in all of these -- someone might steal code, or Patreon tiers might lean towards pay-to-win, etc. -- but if you are at the point where you are ready to go all-in, the risks don’t really matter anymore and you can simply make sure you’re on the path that has the best odds of success. I’m sure you’ve spend much longer considering these options than any of us, so you certainly have reasons for going the route you’ve chosen. I hope it all works out because I would love to still be playing Hazeron in a decade, one way or another.
Thanks for everything so far, Haxus!