Is it worth it to work on a game no one cares about?

General Discussion
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I’m not even sure I can make a topic like this, but…

Let’s say, you spent a lot of time on a game. Maybe it’s not up to the same level as other people’s games. …or, heck, even MOST people’s games, but even if you know your game isn’t the greatest thing ever, you still had fun making it, you still had fun playing it, you still had fun finding all the bugs and working on QOL changes… even if you get a bit demoralized when you realized you missed some glaring issues the next time you came back, and on that faithful day, you’re ready to release the game. Afterwards, you would go on to make updates and fixes to things you catch everytime you come back to a game. …but no one cares. You keep making updates trying to fix the issues you just caught… but no one cares. The page to your game only gets comments from yourself.

Maybe you also feel a bit… what’s the word, like you’re in the wrong place? Like your game doesn’t quite capture that thing other people are looking for. Like a game where everyone is fat, but not many charactetrs are really GAINING extra weight. You feel lost in a forum dedicated to weight GAINING, specifically, when your characters are big and fat, but don’t really capture what people look for. You feel trapped because, maybe, you feel like you didn’t come to the right place to show off your game, but also that there IS no right place. You feel like your niche is TOO niche, and that no one sees the characters the same way you do, or no one really likes these kind of characters for the same reason you do, and that you realize you made the game mostly for yourself, and worry if that contributes to why no one paid attention to your game.

How would you feel after all of this?

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I guess I would feel alone and disappointed.
I’m sorry that your game isn’t getting the attention it deserves, but I’m glad you decided to speak up on your issues. I guess the best thing to do is to keep spreading the word. Find more people to talk to who share your interests and show them your game. Don’t give up on it, but don’t get hung up that not many people seem to care.
At worst, make another game, one that can cater to their tastes, and offer your passion project if they’re interested. At best, keep working on your game, because it’s your game, people’s personal preferences be damned. If you’re not happy with how the game turned out, then you can fix it. If you’re happy, don’t fix what’s not broken.
I hope this helps. Stay strong, stay cool out there buddy.

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I pretty much felt the same…

We want recognition, we want engagement, we want appraisment, we want attention and ovation. We want to stand out, but we felt left behind and forgotten in the end.

But… was that the reason you started working on a game? recognition? That’s a genuine question for you. Everyone has different reasons to work on stuff: Money, fame, or to simply make something they want because they enjoy making stuff.

I’ll tell you my reason. I started working on my game because I wanted to learn stuff and was inspired by other games that are on this site, but also because I was feeling that I was wasting my life away and wanted to do something other than playing videogames on my limited free time.

If you care too much about what people want your game to be, then you end up making something you don’t like or not what you originally wanted. At that point, you better do a market research on what the people like in a game (in this case a WG type of game) and then make the game based on that.

Don’t worry about the lack of attention, do what you want. Make your game how you want. No one cares? That’s a fucking lie, because you care. You care for your work. You put your soul on it and that will make it stand out from the rest and you can feel proud of yourself because you can say “I made it” and be happy that you were capable.

Things take time and even if you don’t finish your game, you can learn from it and you can use your experience to improve. We always start small, but we can eventually get big.

To answer your question, yes, it is worth it.

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Probably gonna just mirror what others are saying, but it’s till worth saying. If you enjoy the process then the process is worth it. Making a game is such a complicated process requiring work in so many different field. If despite all that, you find some enjoyment in the process, then it’s worth pursuing because of personal development. It doesn’t exactly FEEL as good as external validation, but it’s healthy and fulfilling.

Also, and I may be biased, I rarely see games that no one is interested in. Every developer puts themselves into their games, making something that only they can make. It’s likely not visible to the developer, but unless they go full sellout mode they always have a part of them in their game. If a game is niche, it’s true that not as many people might find and enjoy the game. However, it also means that those who do will REALLY like it. It’s a weird idea where you are unique enough to make a game only you can make but also NOT unique enough that there is always someone who will enjoy your work.

Finally, I want to say that unless you plan on only working on one game all of your life, basing your feelings on the result of one game is not a healthy idea. The main point in all this is that if you keep moving forward with what you love, you are bound to make something that someone else loves too.

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Baalf, let me offer a slightly different take.

Pretty much everyone cares what people think, and wants to be noticed and appreciated. That’s not unusual at all. And it makes perfect sense to seek that out in a community of people with similar interests. It’s a rare person who’s actually content to keep creating without an audience.

You know, I remember your thread I feel a little lost, here.. I remember reading your first post and thinking “yeah, there’s no overlap in our interests”. I was also a little surprised there was someone into what you’re into.

I think in the better case your people are out there in some other community, and you’ll find them and get that fitting-in feeling. In the worse case, that community might not be there, yet at least. Either way, what I’m hearing you say is that Weight Gaming isn’t being that community for you. Given what you like, and what we, in general, like, that makes sense.

Anyway, I hope this all helps.

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There’s a lot I could say here. But I’d just be repeating what others have said in different words. Let me instead just say two things. I get where you’re coming from.
When it comes to recognition though here’s a question. When was the last time you played a mainstream game (god of war, the sims, Skyrim, Wolfenstein 3d, whatever) and contacted the developers about it? No engagement is not the same as no interest - it’s certainly not an indicator of enjoyment.

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many have already said quite a few good things here, if you like the process of creating a game or you like playing your own games, then I don’t think anything should stop you except yourself

Relatively recently I just got tired of the fact that games are mostly in English (I’m not saying that I hate people who don’t add Russian, it’s more of a personal thing) and I decided that I would make my own games, a couple of other people came with me, but when they saw that one was using RPGmaker (I don’t really like it, because in order to create something decent and different from those 1000 other RPG games, you have to try) and the other, if I remember correctly, wanted to create a visual novel (for me, as an element of the gameplay, moments with a visual novel do not cause negative emotions, sometimes you just want to read and relax, but when the “game” is a visual novel, it looks too simple, you might as well write a book), but what’s most disappointing is that they both use artificial art (I don’t think what is worth explaining that as a placeholder it is still okay, but as a permanent asset it looks like a manifestation of laziness to your product)

I am not better, I do not know how to program and draw, I still use the outdated constructor game maker 8.0 and plan to use 3DRad as a 3D engine in the future, but nevertheless I still made 3 games (I just understood that at the moment it makes no sense to create large projects due to lack of skills, and investing your money in them is pointless at this stage), all of them are very bad (the last game for the game jam seems even shameful to me), but nevertheless, when creating them, I learned lessons that will help me for future projects

I can also say that I am more dependent on positive comments, due to the fact that I tell myself that my games are terrible (look at this, fantastic, still trash), I do not want to press on pity, because this will simply prove that my games and I do not cause pity, but the comments in which they write that they enjoyed playing it really warms my soul and helps me improve my skills and continue doing this

in conclusion I can say that in essence it is hard for any developer, for those developers who have an audience it is hard because they need to adhere to the standards they have set for themselves, and for niche ones because they need skills and unconventional thinking to attract players to their games, just tell yourself “I have the opportunity to build my own quality bar” and continue doing what you love or leave it if it brings you more pain than satisfaction and good luck to you, regardless of your choice

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I’m with the people saying just enjoy making your work for yourself, without worrying about what other people think. I understand that it’s easy to grow expectations when you invest energies into a project and that it sucks when those are not met, but trust me, most of the time for amateurs like us getting exposure comes down to dumb luck and chance matters way more than the objective quality of the product, so don’t let it get to you too much.

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This is almost exactly what I was going to say. It sucks that nobody is as happy as you are with your game, but what matters most is that you yourself are happy with it, that you’re enjoying you hobby or creative outlet.

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My question is what is your motive? Are you looking to be famous, are you seeking to write a grand story? Are you trying to be original, or perhaps execute a similar game but in your own taste? There are many ways to make a game and tell a story, and you know what? If your story is “out of place”, so what? My game (Vanessa’s Nightmare) is not about gaining, it’s about a woman who was once in the throes of binge eating, addiction to drugs, alcohol, food, and sex, venturing on a journey of self-discovery. The game has weight-gain mechanic (instead of health, the character gains weight as punishment). I already know many will not care for it, as many haven’t cared for my writing either because I focus on story rather than the fetish that many expect. I’ve been in your shoes, friend, and it does blow at times, but trust me: focus on telling a good story, making a good game, and the fans will come :slight_smile:

Bottom line: make the game/story that you want. Yes, you need to cater a bit to the audience, but if your story is set first, you won’t fail, and you will find fans who will love what you create, even if it is a handful.

And for what it’s worth, I would love to take a look at what you have. Feel free to DM me, okay? :slight_smile:

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Id say even if nobody plays that game you should make it for you. Im working on my art to make a game that I can be proud of even if it isnt great. By doing this ive increased my skills in working with renpy and drawing. My art is still mediocre but its greatly improved than when I started. I can draw decent womens bodies now. When I started humans I drew looked like ugly dolls.
If you think theres something lacking you could always take a good look at your game and think what I could do to improve. Even if the game doesnt turn out what you want your progressing forward.

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Since you asked if it is worth to work on such game that mean you want to achieve something by working on your game. The real question is what exactly you want to achieve? If you want other people to like your game, but you see that no one care about it then it is obvious that you are wasting time and effort for nothing. If you wanted to make a game for yourself to enjoy playing in it then of course it worth your effort.
The main reason of why I work on a game is because I want to make a game in which I will play and enjoy it, but in my case I am sure some people on this forum definitely would enjoy playing in my game too.

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That would kinda suck, ngl

BUT, the important thing is that YOU care about it.

There is barely any incentive other than your own enjoyment to develop a game on this forum, since very few of the game here even have a profit motive. So, you always have to be the biggest fan of your own work, and also the biggest critic.

That particular thing you made might not be something that resonates with people, but it was a learning experience. Keep making stuff and eventually there is gonna be someone with that’s looking for exactly what you are offering.

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As far as why I made it, I guess I kinda just wanted to put something out there and make a mark. I grew to have a softspot for fatfurs, who’d grow to be my favorite kinds of characters, so I decided to make a fatfur themed RPG starring characters I had attachment to and favorite animals, with Mambo, specifically, being added because elephants are my favorite animals and I adore mammoths. I also kinda wanted to celebrate fatfurs by including characters of friends and characters I like. A big reason Leonard Greenland is playable is because I wanted him to be in the game.

I also wanted some of my other kinks in the game, with is why Wolfman Garr and the Pink Elephant exist as paw and trunk related bosses, and why certain playables have foot or trunk-related motifs.

I also wanted to see what unique ideas I could put into an RPG, with two big gimmicks being the Gordo Grande system and hostage battles. It wasn’t enough to make a fatfur RPG, but I wanted to make something that was unique, which is a big reason the ice gimmick in stage 3 works differently than ice normally does. I knew I wasn’t gonna make the best game ever, but as long as I could make a fun game with my favorite gimmicks, I’d be happy.

I will admit, though. The last episode in my game, currently, is based on some frustrations with media and life, but I knew it would detract from the fun for others if I wrote the last level with anger. I wanted to get some of my frustrations with “humans-only!” fantasy stories and stories like Undertale or Kid Icarus Uprising where humans are said to have caused great destruction and pain, but get a free pass because they’re humans, but without making a hate-fueled one-sided story and trying to keep things nuanced. Like, I kinda wanted an Undertale-style backstory, but both sides are at fault and recieve consequences, plus I kinda wanted to mock fantasy stories that have a humans=good/everything else=bad settting by reversing this, but without stooping to that level of making the humans irredeemable monsters (outside of Azrael and his four closest allies), which is why I ended up writing many of the human characters as raising good points against the Earthquake Warriors, and also being decent people deep down, with their prejudice against non-humans being rooted in truth to a degree. I know this isn’t really the kind of game to write this kinda stuff, but my game already had kind of a grab-bag of different settings in the expansion and I still kinda wanted to write a story like that, even though I worry what people would think even with how I ended up writing it.

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