GameDev Platform 

💰 Common mistake: pricing your game by effort
 
“I worked on it for 3 years, so it should cost $25.”
 
Players don’t pay for your development time.
They pay for what they think the game is worth.
 
✅ Before choosing a price, check:
- what similar games cost
- how much content they offer
- replay value
- how polished your game feels
- what players in your niche already expect to pay
 
⚠️ Don’t automatically go cheaper just because you’re indie.
 
A low price can make a good game look disposable — and leaves less room for future discounts.
 
🎯 Rule to remember:
Price against the market and perceived value.
Not against the hours you spent making it.

⚡ Quick test before building something new:
 
Ask:
 
Can something I already made do this job with one change?
 
Need another enemy?
 
Before creating one from scratch, try changing:
- speed
- attack pattern
- range
- behavior
 
Same base enemy.
Different player decision.
 
🎯 Variation is cheaper than duplication.
 
For solo devs, that difference can save days.

👀 1-minute test: give the game to someone who knows nothing about it.
 
Don’t explain the controls.
Don’t tell them where to go.
Don’t rescue them when they get confused.
 
Just watch.
 
Where they hesitate, click the wrong thing, miss an objective or ask “what do I do?” — write it down.
 
🎯 The useful part is not what they say is confusing.
It’s where you can see them become confused.
 
You already know how your game works.
Your player doesn’t.

🤖 Common mistake: chasing new tech
 
AI can write code, generate assets and automate boring work.
Unity now has AI tools directly inside the editor.
 
That doesn’t mean your game needs an “AI feature”.
 
⚠️ The trap:
- adding AI because everyone talks about it
- switching tools just because something new launched
- building the pitch around technology instead of the game
- spending weeks learning a tool that solves no real problem
 
✅ Better approach:
Ask one question:
 
Does this make the game better or development faster?
 
If yes — use it.
If not — ignore the hype.
 
🎯 Rule to remember:
New technology is a tool.
It is not a reason for your game to exist.

🧾 Small game dev purchases are sneaky.
 
€12 plugin.
€8 UI pack.
€20 environment.
€15 sound pack.
 
None of them feels expensive.
 
But do that repeatedly and suddenly you’ve spent far more than you remember.
 
✅ Quick fix:
Create one simple line in your project sheet:
 
TOTAL SPENT: €_
 
Update it every time you buy something.
That tiny number changes how you make buying decisions.
 
🎯 If you don’t track small costs, they stop feeling like costs.

⏱ Common mistake: working without a finish line
 
“Work on combat” is not a task.
 
Neither is:
- improve UI
- make level better
- polish enemies
- work on Steam page
 
Those tasks can eat an entire week because they have no clear end.
 
✅ Make tasks finishable:
 
Instead of:
“Improve combat”
 
Write:
“Add hit sound to 3 weapons”
 
Instead of:
“Polish tutorial”
 
Write:
“Fix the 2 places where testers get stuck”
 
🎯 Rule to remember:
If you can’t clearly say when a task is finished, it’s probably too big.

🧪 Your demo is not a smaller version of your game
 
Its job is simpler:
prove that the game is worth playing.
 
Before publishing, give the build to someone who hasn’t seen it before.
 
Watch for 3 things:
- where they get stuck
- where they get bored
- whether they reach your best mechanic
 
⚠️ Don’t explain anything while they play.
If you have to explain it, the demo isn’t doing its job.
 
Steam’s own build review won’t catch most bugs or design problems — that QA is still on you.
 
✅ Quick fix:
Fix blockers first.
Not every animation.
Not every missing prop.
Not every tiny bug.
 
🎯 Rule to remember:
Polish the path to your hook before polishing everything else.

⏱ 1-minute launch drill

Open your current build and ask:

What could I show from this game today?

Choose only one:

* one clear screenshot

* one 10-second gameplay clip

* one mechanic GIF

* one before/after comparison

If you cannot show anything yet, don’t build a full trailer.

Build one small moment worth sharing.

🎯 Marketing becomes easier when you collect proof of progress while developing — instead of trying to create everything at the end.

💼 A publisher is not a rescue plan

A publisher can bring:

- funding

- marketing

- localization

- console ports

- platform contacts

But none of that is automatic.

Before signing, ask:

- What exactly will they deliver?

- Which expenses are recouped first?

- How is “net revenue” calculated?

- Who owns the IP?

- What happens if they stop marketing the game?

- Can you recover the publishing rights?

⚠️ Common mistake:

Developers focus on the revenue split and ignore everything deducted before that split begins.

A “good percentage” can become a bad deal if costs, rights, and obligations are unclear.

🎯 Rule to remember:

Don’t ask only what the publisher takes.

Ask what the publisher is contractually required to give.

⚠️ Myth: your game must be perfect before release

Trying to match AAA quality usually creates one result:

the game never ships.

Your first release does not need:

- every planned feature

- endless content

- perfect animations

- support for every platform

- months of invisible polishing

It needs:

- a working core loop

- stable performance

- clear controls

- enough content to prove the idea

- no problems that destroy trust

✅ Quick fix:

Split every remaining task into 3 groups:

- Must fix — blocks play or ruins the experience

- Can wait — useful, but not essential

- Cut — costs time without strengthening the core

🎯 Rule to remember:

A smaller released game can earn money, feedback, and experience.

A perfect unfinished game earns nothing.