Mr #PitchYaGame

15 days till #PitchYaGame. This is also pretty cool. A map of subscribers to our Substack from across the world. 41 states across 93 countries. 👀 pitchyagame.substack.com 📨

"Should I #PitchYaGame on Nov 6th?" If your game is an idea OR concept. If your game is a prototype. If your game is in alpha. If your game is a mechanic / gimmicky (i.e. cloneable) If your game doesn't have a live Steam / Store page. I would NOT #PitchYaGame; personally. 🫡

Equally if you're posting stuff anywhere regardless of the above its best to be mindful of how much and what you're sharing. Remember you don't have to give away EVERY little detail. Protect your IP. Don't show your hand too early and don't show ALL of your hand if you do. 🫡

Took the #PitchYaGame website down; won't be putting it back up. Knew there was a reason I stopped buying domain names all those years back. 😶 If you want to stay up-to-date on PYG hit up the substack.

pitchyagame.substack.com#PitchYaGame Live | Liam Twose | SubstackRecognition for Independent Video Games LIVE in June across all major social platforms. Click to read #PitchYaGame Live, by Liam Twose, a Substack publication with thousands of subscribers.

We'll also still be posting announcements etc. My account, plus @indiegamelover.com and via @pitchyagame.bsky.social Substack is at pitchyagame.substack.com

23.36% of the year left, what you doing with it. 🧐 Locked In?! OR.. Checked Out?

Stop scrolling! 31 days until #PitchYaGame is back. 🫡 This will be the last ever November PYG 😭 In addition, with the landscape the way it is, if your video game is in the; idea, concept, prototype or alpha phases, I would suggest that it's too early for you to take part.

For those who didnt get the memo: we announced it post june event iirc, as a means to consolidate PYG into a much stronger, all eyes on "June" event.

5 Sept

Just fixed one of the recent, most persistent, most evasive bugs in my game. Guess who's fault it was. 🤫

store.steampowered.comSave 35% on Sandustry on SteamExplore and mine fully destructible worlds. Automate increasingly complex production chains. Delve deep to uncover an ancient civilization’s powerful secrets and learn to love the sand in this factory...

24 Aug

PSA: to all #GameDev, what ever you do, if you care about ever releasing your video game.. DO NOT play #Sandustry on Steam by Lantto Games; published by @hoodedhorse.bsky.social! 🧐 (do! it's awesome! 🤫) store.steampowered.com/app/2764460/...

24 Aug

Genuinely had so much fun with it. A little too much. 😅

18 July

The feeling of quietly chipping away at your #IndieGame's core... knowing that real soon, it's about to become all about pure content and progression. 😌 Trust the process. 😤

18 July

A solid foundation, more stable for entering into Early Access. The only real thing EA should be lacking, is content and progression. Also, ideally, not years and years worth.

When you realize your videos / screenshots / media aren't doing your #IndieGame the full justice it deserves. Seriously, I'm sitting over here right now, in awe of the game I'm creating. This is some of my best work. Ever. But to truly get it, you'd have to experience it. 😌

Next iteration where I decided that the starter unit was to be a shop unit with garage at rear. With the adding bonus of separating (and compartmentalizing) "different" activities in the game.

There's a tonne more iterations between. But if we fast forward to present day, there's a "real" game forming now, and real soon; once the new UI is in, it'll be a progression and content drive in the lead up to a demo (and hopefully early access).. 😤 bsky.app/profile/liam...

Mr #PitchYaGame@liamtwose.bsky.social

I'm making a game where you run your own arcade. 🕹️ Make money, or automate it and just play games. Important factors; Quality, Detail, Built with love, Lot's of games planned + Nods to others.. [Insert Coins] if you would play it?! 😌✋💰 #ScreenshotSaturday #RetroGaming

First time with a proper street scene, and better garage unit..

Inside the garage unit..

First time I swapped out the mannequins..

First garage... although felt more... bunker looking back..

Especially when you compare it to what it looked like when I first started it.

And how many iterations it's been through to get it to it's true(r) vision.. A step-up from grey boxing, the Sci-Fi iteration..

Mr #PitchYaGame reposted

William Davis

@willdavis.bsky.social

24 June

My first one was in 2023. Not long after I started doing the public daily counter. @liamtwose.bsky.social did me a huge favor by putting my not even a game yet ugly baby in this section on the pyg site. There was a LOT missing, but just showing up daily in the community wss enough to be noticed.

William Davis@willdavis.bsky.social

Yeppers. I have this neat little section in my discord where I take screenshots and save links to all the people mentioning or showcasing my game. At least the ones I am aware of. Then I put those in my pitch deck under traction/visibility. "Look what I can do when i'm broke."

23 June

Braking News: all #Gamedev across the UK halted amid record heatwave.

Newsflash, I'm making a game that surface level, is not unique; majority of games aren't. I'm fully aware of similar games. 🤫 I'm making it my own; immersive, packed with depth, detail & I'm testing the hell out of it! Most importantly I'm making it because it's fun. 😌

Mr #PitchYaGame@liamtwose.bsky.social

So, please, if I could make just one request; while I navigate it's potential future, it would be that I really don't need reminding that "there are similar games" etc. 😤 I know ball. I do my homework. And I would request people don't do the same to others. Thank you. 😌👌

22 June

TLDR: Surface level my game is not unique. On a deeper level, it is. 👀 Which is why I'm excited to see how it's received; when the time is right. Now.. if you could see what I see, behind the scenes.. Know that I'm deliberately holding back on a lot of the "cooler" stuff. 🤫

Mr #PitchYaGame@liamtwose.bsky.social

Another bonus to developing it, is it's enabling me to build up frameworks that I can migrate to other games / stuff in the near future. 😤 Plus, the more enjoyable you find the process; and the premise, the more you will put into your game. This, for me, is that game.

Most important thing, getting it to a demo. Super close now. Albeit, this game is longer-tail than I initially determined (got caught up in the excitement a little) so looking at some other more bitesize projects. Including a horror one I've already done a fair bit of work on.

20 June

Arcade(s) always need fitting side hustles. One of ours. We #Gacha! 👀 #ScreenshotSaturday #RNG

Game Dev's: You're gonna hit technical hurdles; You're going to hit brick walls. There'll be time's you'll feel like you're just not cut out to scale these mountains. What's really important in those moments is that you don't act on impulse. Pause. Take a moment. Regroup. 😤

Projects all have honeymoon periods. At the very least you want a portfolio of stuff you've finished. What you don't want is a digital archive of stuff you've started, hit all the same hurdles with and binned off, only to make room for the next shiny new project idea.

All that said, regular reflection and project assessments are equally important. To know whether it REMAINS the right one. Could just be that all you need to do is scope it down, or to pivot slightly. Sometimes we do bite off more than we can chew. All part of the journey. 😤

The tougher times'll have you giving up in a heartbeat if you let them. Been there; Done that. All too easy to give up when the going get's tough. One of the hardest battles as game devs is making it to a finish line; prototype, beta, demo, EA, 1.0 At the very least, hit one.

When your #GameDev solution to a problem with screens constantly fighting with each other, is to clear "all objects" on the screen, and you're gassed it works.. Then you realise you just reinvented CLS from the 80's/90s. 😅 That.

en.wikipedia.orgCLS (command) - Wikipedia

For those that don't know CLS = Clear Screen, which basically cleared the entire screen. An old command originating from the BASIC era, and also used in MSDOS. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CLS_(co... Ok now I'm just showing my age. 😶

13 June

IndieGameLover | #PitchYaGame Nov 6

12 June

Yeet game was strong on this one. 🔥 God I love #GameDev! 😅

Mr #PitchYaGame reposted

@indiegamelover.com

12 June

🎉 #PitchYaGame Sheet is complete! bit.ly/ThePYGSheet 👀 Surprise, decided to sacrifice sleep to finish the Bsky portion as fast as possible. 😅 💗 Over 1600 pitches (1k X, 600 Bsky)! 🤗 PLZ Share, wishlist, & aid the #indiegames 🔀 #indiedev #gamedev #screenshotsaturday

11 June

PSA: Please take into consideration that we run #PitchYaGame entirely voluntarily. Alongside full-time jobs, life, family et al. We don't get paid. Thus, putting together resources like the sheet requires "insane" levels of work. We're human. So to see / receive flack over said sheet hurts. 😓

11 June

For context regarding just "how" much work is involved. If there are 1000+ pitches.. That's 1000+ pitches [the words], 1000+ links, 1000+ handles to map. Any fields beyond that would each be an extra 1000+, to varying difficulty, on top.

11 June

Please Note: The video game shown, in this video game, is not an accurate representation of the final product, and may change in future updates. Teaser #4 - The Arcade Cabinet. 🕹️ #GachiconArcade

Just sent possibly the biggest DM of my life. 😰

DM. Check. 😎👌 And now I've just sent possibly the biggest EMAIL of my life. 👀🙏🏻

I've been a #GameDev for over 3.5 decades. 😭

Mr #PitchYaGame@liamtwose.bsky.social

Ever wondered why #VideoGames take such a long time to make? Well, this is just the last 7 months of my side arcade sim project. 😤 On the left, we have my never ending to-do-list.😶 On the right, results so far. Might not feel it, but I promise, it's 1,000,000% worth it! 🔥

I started dev in the b.b.c. era (late 80s) I dev'd through the Amiga/Dos Era (90s) I dev'd through the Millienium and the 2010's And I'm still doing it to this very day. 😶 That's nuts. 😅 or I am.. 🤫

8 June