Arcante - A Might and Magic inspired game

[Lorcan]

Hey there!

I focused my last efforts on making sure that everything was working correctly, I optimized a bit, I polished some graphics choices, and I tried to fix all the bugs that made the game less "fluid" (Hopefully no more items randomly dropped on the ground).

The things I need to improve seem to be endless, but I prefer to publish something playable than something perfect that will never come, so....
Today was the day to publish!

I've added/changed a lot during these two weeks, thanks a lot Panda Tar! I already have more things I'd like to add (above all, translating the game), but I'd really like to see the response of people playing before spending more time on it.

I hope everything goes well and I don't mess it up! haha

Well, the game is available on steam right now

[Panda Tar]

Yeah, got an e-mail about it. Having it open for more people now will allow it to be polished through more opinions, of course, which is much better than just one feedback. Good luck.

[AlexYeCu]

Good news. It would be nice to read about developing process: how much time was spent, what difficulties and hard choices were met and overcame. There are a lot of people, who develop old-school games, but only a few of them can complete their projects. Who knows, may be your story will help someone to complete developing.

[Lorcan]

That is a good idea. I'll probably give myself a month or so before doing that, so that I can analyze what I did wrong and what succeeded.

I still have to convince myself that the time I spent on the game has been in any way meaningful haha But even if it was not, that could still help someone else

In the meantime, I think I'll let people judge if the game has potential and is worth polishing or not, before opening the game editor again.

[Panda Tar]

Are you making a Change log of all updates? It is good to keep people aware in Steam.

[Lorcan]

Yep I am using Steam events for thats.

Also: a big update will be coming, I'm adding a view that filters all the abilities that each char can use at the moment, as well as being able to cast quick spells

[Panda Tar]

Slow and steady. I think you can also place main Updates on the main page, instead of just on the update pages, like some other games do. They update their updates page with minor versions, then big updates are displayed on the main one.

There are some reviews there already, although they do not suggest anything straigh away, so you need to read between the lines, like what to make battles more fun – beyond dodging – enrichen level design of other maps whenever possible, tweaks on UI. As one of them said, it has potential/promising with polishing.

And then, absorb what you learn, play other games of the same genre, absorb some ideas from them also. People like when you show care and constant improvements, and leaving an open channel for them to comment, and not only review, can be helpful. Just beware not to merge too many things and lose the game's core.

[Lorcan]

Right, now that the first week is over my plan is to collect and weight different ideas during the week and implement them during the weekend

I already released a big patch on the past weekend, you can see the changelog here if you are interested!

There were a lot of big fixes, and a few new features: a quick casting system, an overview of which ability is ready to be used for all the chars, a "calendar" in the HUD and more

Next in my agenda is a pause feature, that will allow you to loot, change equipment, heal your characters, and set which spell to cast next, without having to worry about mobs attacking you. This will be on by default if the difficulty is set to "easier", but can always be activated from the options menu.

But I can totally see myself adding a much more complex and long dungeon in the near future! I feel like loosing yourself in a dungeon, and the relief of when you can finally leave it, are feelings that are missing here.

[Panda Tar]

Yeah, I read that the day it was released. I'll try the game again in a few days/week or so.

Way to go. It's a work in progress.

[Lorcan]

There were a lot of changes in the past weekend's patch!

Here is the changelog in case someone follows the updates here and not on Steam:
https://store.steampowered.com/newshub/ ... 8193291433

I now started trying to push a bit more the game as the sales completely stopped in the last two weeks (it seems that it's normal on steam to get even 70-80% of the sales your game will ever make, in the first week). I also want to experiment with some ads (mostly for fun).

My goal now is to get to 10 reviews on Steam (hopefully positive ones)

[Panda Tar]

I have seen like 2 or 3 times someone posting a link on the MM discord server. Commenting or asking if someone has seen that, but even replying to it, I am not sure if they tried yet.

I didn't see this update. Probably updated and I didn't notice. The last update I noticed was Ori and the Blind Forest, for it was a 2GB one.

[Lorcan]

Nice, I didn't even know there was a MM discord, I just joined it too

[Lorcan]

Once again, a new patch is here!

This one brings a new playable area, improved graphics, and a lower price.
Hopefully it will convince someone to try the game

[Panda Tar]

HOpe dies last, hohohohoho.

I still haven't gotten around to replay yet. But will try any moment in the next month.

[Lorcan]

Well, after a little more than a month, the game is basically dead on Steam. I am open to any idea that is not a "small fix" as the game clearly needs more than that. If you are interested in collaborating, or you are a marketing expert, I'm here

[Panda Tar]

hohohohoho I noticed the last update, bigger, but haven't gotten around to play again yet. My mood was to play things like Hollow Knight and Hades.

Let's see the next weeks. Have you updated your main video? Perhaps start with that, showing some stuff you have updated.

[Pol]

Of course, you should not forget on PR. You need to make connections, hey M&M is a good inspiration for that.

[Lorcan]

I did update the video, even though it's almost impossible to record a video with a good framerate on my pc but at least it shows the new stuff.

I tried to promote the game but didn't achieve much, I'll keep trying. What I meant is that, at least to steam, the game is dead, as it completely stopped showing it to anyone there

[Pol]

Steam works the same way as google. If ppl are coming to your page or you are faved, it shows it up. If not, you go down. Which, strictly speaking about precision of search function, is bad.

You are not much visible. Making search for your game shows me Steam, CH and https://www.50gameslike.com/games-like/ ... d-magic-ix.

What about to creating some luring article about the game? (I can publish it as a news ) Or try to contact some youtubers and make a deal with one of them. The world of mouth, need to know!

[jittery]

Really loved the gameplay in this one despite the graphics being simplistic.I enjoy sometimes taking a break from NFL Madden as this game has become a real addiction for me. I mean I can't stop buying cards from https://www.muteamgo.com/ and piss of my friends who cannot find them as fast as I can.It's actually getting boring to beat them every time we play together as the difference in the gap between us has become huge. That's one of the reasons I'm playing different games giving them a bit of time to catch up to me lol!