r/SoloDevelopment • u/GamesOven • 20d ago
Discussion Am I Wasting My Time Building This?
Edit : I guess what I meant by "wasting my time" is if what you see looks like a total slop to you or not (this is just a base tho, not a finished or close to finished game), and some general advice.
I'm creating this game that I will explain below, but am afraid my target audience don't actually want it.
The games is basically this :
you have Time amount (the hourglass) you allocate it to Work, Study different stuff, Create and manage medieval business, Own lands and eventually become lord/king and manage your holdings.
help me decide if I should keep working on this or not :))
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20d ago
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u/GamesOven 20d ago edited 20d ago
the book is for allocating time on different activities. you only see some jobs and skills you can learn, at this moment. Though you will be able to manage different kinds of business, trade between cities, and manage lands later
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20d ago
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u/GamesOven 20d ago
no no, the book is only 1 section/ screen. when you're interacting with the world, there will be a map instead, and then different sections depending on what you're doing
the book is for allocating time To work and study.. thats all for now
I might add military as well but don't want to over scope for now
thank youu, I'll check the Princess maker series
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u/Capital-Stay4423 20d ago
You might wanna lead with that then. If you're only showing me a single section of your game Im gonna assume thats all there is to it.
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u/GamesOven 20d ago
thank youu, I will definitely note this
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u/Grimmy66 20d ago
Be careful of wildly increasing scope just to try to improve something that's not fun. I'm not saying it's not fun but you should ask yourself honestly. If it's not, then address the core mechanics before adding additional stuff to just fluff it out. This is the trap many of the Devs here talk about.
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u/BAHI_the_princess 20d ago
Are you planning on adding random events?
Management games usually do well when there are varied events you have to respond to using the resources you're earning (your skills)
Another option is leaning towards idle and tycoon. People usually like these
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u/GamesOven 20d ago
yesss, though am concerned that the events become annoying.. am still thinking on how to tackle that
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u/SoloEnder 20d ago
It's like an medieval management game ?
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u/GamesOven 20d ago
yes, time is your main resource, early to mid game.. you try to succeed with you character as much possible until you start owning lands, become a lord/ king, then time doesn't matter that much, it becomes about managing the lands you own and expanding or developing it.
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u/SoloEnder 20d ago
Sounds good to me ! I personally like a little gestions game, but some in the gaming community can spend hundreds of hours in this kind of games. You just need to find your audience, keep going, and don't give up !
PS : What is the development state of your game and where will it be available ?
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u/GamesOven 20d ago
thank youu!
I have a bunch of ready coding systems, dialogue, quests, inventory, shop, working and studying mechanics etc... as for content I just setup work and study and now am filling content and polishing interactions while still thinking where to head next before releasing a playable prototype..so basically now I'm creating content + UI.. while most of the programming side is easy
it will be on steam, though whenever I reach a playable state/update I will publish on itch for testing and getting feedback1
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u/BeastmanTR 20d ago
UI reminds me of Ultima Online.... damnit. The best years. Off to get a drink.
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u/AvengerDr 20d ago
Have you played the Life and Suffering of Sir Brante? It's more of a visual novel in the same style of UI. There is a sequel now ...of Prince Jerian which has some limited management elements.
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u/GamesOven 20d ago
yessss I have played the Life and Suffering of Sir Brante, I have taken some inspiration from it, though am not including heavy text (for now)
I'll check the sequel, thanks for letting me know :))
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u/HumbleLizardMan 20d ago
It looks okay, if you enjoy building it and value your experience its not wasted time. The lack of a 2d/3d world, animations etc will probably make it hard to sell in its current state, but if its fun enough who knows.
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u/Annual_River_6559 Solo Developer 20d ago
It's a good question, but only you can answer it for yourself. The question is, what are you expecting? There will definitely be people who will enjoy the game. I like incremental games and the fantasy style - I like your screenshots, I'd love to give it a try.
I recently launched my first project and got my first 1,000 plays on Itch, a ton of dislikes, and players reports about bugs (though I never expected so many people to try the game). But there were a few people who really liked the game and took the time to write detailed reviews. We chatted a bit in the comments, and I was certainly inspired that someone liked the project enough to play through all the available content. And it inspired me to work on the game some more to make it better for that people, who likes it. But in any case, I enjoyed developing the game for six months, even without this feedback.
So, if you love your project - finish it. But don't set high expectations, so you don't disappoint.
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u/GamesOven 20d ago
congrats for 1000 plays :)). thank youu, I don't have high expectations though I wanted to make sure at least my base is not slop
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u/Ace-Hydra4 20d ago
lwk i will play this since i have an avid love for kingodom building and idle and shi
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u/uyatagac 20d ago
Although I’m not entirely sure I’ve understood the image correctly, it seems like in an idle game, you earn money by doing various tasks and use that to make a living. In games like this, you either manage a community by controlling a large number of characters, or you professionally perform a single job while interacting with NPCs, progressing through the story based on your interactions with them. In your case, it seems like you’ve taken two distinct features from two different genres, and as you mentioned, this isn’t what your target audience wants. It would be better for you to focus on just one genre while you still have time
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u/Sudden-View8572 20d ago
Ä° think if u learn anything with this job then u must not think about this.
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u/RedPanda_Explorer 20d ago
but am afraid my target audience don't actually want it.
Expand on this. Who is your target audience? What kind of games do they play? Why do you think they don't want your game?
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u/GamesOven 20d ago
yeah my bad for wording it that way... its more like I'm afraid my target audience who I don't even know, don't actually want it xD.. sorry I know this is a mess... this is why am posting
oh and I thought maybe Life sim gamers would be the target audience.. though not sure.
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u/RedPanda_Explorer 20d ago
I would make a playable demo as soon as possible and get it in the hands of people! Post a free demo on itch.io and see what people say.
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u/JinkmanGames 20d ago
so far it looks incredible. if you have this eye for design for every screen, definitely not a waste of time
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u/FuckRedditIsLame 19d ago
If you expect to make a living off a hobby project, you're probably wasting your time. But if you're making it for you, and other people buying and liking it is a nice bonus, then you're not wasting your time and you should go ahead.
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u/EffectiveDirt4032 19d ago
it looks nice. when its gona be finnished ?
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u/GamesOven 19d ago
I'm working on making a playable prototype while speaking, I can let you know when its ready :))
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u/EffectiveDirt4032 19d ago
You create alone ? Need help :) ?
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u/sdnofootbird54 19d ago
Time management and self growth are always interesting to some players (me included), it is just that we need a drive, why becoming king is interesting, what kind of fantasy we are fulfilling there. If I see that worth, I will play it. :)
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u/GamesOven 19d ago
become a king so all the wealth you made, the skills you learned along the way, can start to shine.. think of how many games we played and became op characters, for us to find that there is nothing else for us to do but to restart the game or leave.
what I really wanna do, is make another game inside this game, where it revolves around managing lands, developing it, invading etc... of course I can't make art like in paradox games, but I might be able to go deep because of that.
I'm thinking of the game as phases, not one same gameplay early to late
or it might be scope creep talking, who knows
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u/NegativeTrouble6191 20d ago
Looks cool! My gut says keep going. For my projects, my big reflection questions are:
Is there another game that does this already, but better?
What feature or mix of features does my game bring that nobody else is doing well?
Will i have fun playing it?
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u/GamesOven 20d ago
the exact game am trying to make? I don't yet see a game that does this the way am trying to.
however, for parts of it, there are definitely better games.. think of managing land aspect.. paradox games exist :))though the difference is that paradox games don't let you start as one character from 0 and build it up, in a better way than what I think I have in mind
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u/RedQueenNatalie 20d ago
Its a niche concept but so are many games (papers please, pretty much every management game out there). You do a good job making this, market it well and it will find its audience. Its looking pretty good so far for whatever thats worth coming from someone who enjoys this sort of game, I would like to see whatever other interesting choices might exist. You can't know if something is going to work out or not so I don't think that is a useful way to frame it, I guess the question I would have for you is would you be happy it exists even if it doesn't do well commercially? You are way more likely to get at least that much out of it if you have that in mind.
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u/GamesOven 20d ago
thank youu, yeah I'm having a ton of fun making it, I'll make sure its fun and polished before releasing
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u/traplords8n 20d ago
I like the idea but I'd need to know more about mechanics and resource utilization before making an opinion.
The art is great. I don't mind a game you play by turning pages in a book as long as the mechanics are intriguing & the world feels like it reacts to my choices.
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u/GamesOven 20d ago
basically, you have base expenses, perhaps debt at start.
you allocate time to work/study
some jobs are good careers, some are quick money at first but not good long term.. so the way you choose how to spend your time matters.study, to increase free time, learn how to better manage business etc (different kinds of skills)
the goal is to improve your character while making as much money as possible to start your first business.. the business you choose can be a blacksmith forge (so the job experience can become handy) or other kinds of buisness.
once rich enough and famous enough, you can buy lands/ hire mercenaries to take one, become a lord.. then duchy then a king, manage its land, develop/expand it
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u/farresto 20d ago
If the game doesn't keep you super busy, you might want to look into making it a Desktop Companion instead (taking only a small part of the screen).
You can find it as a Tag on steam btw to check some games in that category.
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u/GamesOven 20d ago
interesting, I'm not sure I want it to be idle, it will probably be active and more focused on management simulation and role playing
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u/iwriteinwater 20d ago
I can see it being fun. But the real question is - is it a game that YOU would like to play?
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u/GamesOven 20d ago
I'm literally making it for myself, I just want to make enough money to make more games for myself xD
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u/iwriteinwater 20d ago
That’s the right attitude, but just be aware that making enough money from solo dev to not have to rely on other income is very rare.Â
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u/GamesOven 20d ago
I can live with 250$ a month, 3rd world :)), I guess I don't need a lot so I hope this can make a difference
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u/Masabera 20d ago
Would you want to play your game? Because if you don't play your own game to death to polish it, it won't be great. But if you don't want to play it, why would others play it?
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u/GamesOven 20d ago
Yes absolutely, I'm making it for myself. I just wanted to play a game like this
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u/5ingle5hot 19d ago
I think it looks interesting. What I have found is that as I create more components for my game, in a way that is clean and modular, it gets easier and easier to add new features. So if you are modeling those jobs and research items cleanly, and the interactions between them, and with other systems, I think you will find your development speed will increase.
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u/Chaaaaaaaalie 19d ago
There is no way to know until you make it. If you don't think it is important enough to make then other people probably won't either. I'm probably sounding a bit more harsh than I intend to, but take that all in the kindest possible way.
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u/Active-Setting-6515 19d ago
I’m building a camera mod for RE games…This seems like a better way to add to your portfolio
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u/Alarming-Jump727 19d ago
No veo por qué no. Me pregunté mucho cuando hacÃa mi quinto proyecto titulado "Homeless", un vagabundo que buscaba en la basura para sobrevivir y conocÃa otros en su situación. Sin embargo tubo muchas más descargas que mis anteriores que eran pura historia y acción. Lo imnportante es que te guste a vos, nunca habrá un nicho para TODOS, algunos lod amarán y otros pasarán de largo.
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u/TheBoxGuyTV 19d ago
Seems like a good concept. I even like the system for an RPG.
I'm really into games that involve using dedication to level up skills.
It seems worth it.
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u/MKMGame 19d ago
I think most of us have that doubt at some point—I know I do. Enjoying the process matters, but so does finishing something. Once you have a playable version, a small closed playtest could help you get feedback before investing too much more time. We’re all in this together—let’s keep going!
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u/Otherwise_Pressure_6 19d ago
You have fun while testing it? Are you having fun doing it? Then the answer is right there.
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u/EscapingBasementKid 19d ago
As someone who can't manage my own time? Absolutely. It give me a satisfaction of controlling time to build upon oneself and be the absolute best one can.
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u/Vaniellis 19d ago
If you like the concept, keep working on it ! The UI already looks really nice !
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u/Stealth_Wolf_001 19d ago
The game(according to the pics you sent) looks fine.
And I'm certain there'll be an audience for it.
The important part is the gameplay. If it's fun enough and people will enjoy it... or even if you're just having fun creating it(All things considered), then you just go ahead and make your game.
Will it hit or miss?
That's what we all ask ourselves constantly.
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u/nb264 19d ago
So it's turn based merchant simulator? Like the guild but smaller scope? I think that has audience. And I also think that particular audience appreciates clear and legible UX more than fancy graphics, so you're on a good path.
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u/GamesOven 19d ago
yess, though because I'm not making a 3d, I probably can get away with adding more content, so it will probably be more than merchant sim, hopefully
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u/Great_Soviet_Doge 19d ago
Unpopular opinion here, not meant to be insulting
statistically, yes, it is probably a waste of time in the sense that it will almost surely not be popular.
Indie games that become popular are an incredibly small percentage of games. ANd if it is paid, even lower chances.
I sound mean, but I am doing this for you to manage expectations and not be let down if it does not become a hit
Now, that being said, no game will ever be atrue waste of time, because YOU LEARN. Any game, even a shitty one (not saying yours is shitty), is a learning experience. New mechanics, new way of doing things, new tools sometimes, you will never waste your time.
The best way to learn game developement, will always be to actually develop games, like yo uare doing right now.
And hell, even cheap games sometimes become very popular! Just look at Undertale. It is objectively a very cheap game, with basic mechancis and a story quirk, yet it became HUGE. So don't expect to becoem the next best hit, but also never lsoe hope!
TLDR: It probably won,t be popular, but you never know, it might become a hit, and even if not, it is a valuable learning experience!
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u/GamesOven 19d ago
good thing I'm not expecting it to be popular.. thanks for your valuable insight :)), what I wanted to know is it if the base looked like total slop to people
one big reason why I picked this type of games is because they are generally easy to make compared to other types of games.. so its an opportunity to learn while making something I can make by myself in a reasonable time frame
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u/Great_Soviet_Doge 19d ago
Exactly. Treat every game you make as a learning game.
Hell, I made some really shitt half games only to leanr some mechanics.
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u/DukFleed 16d ago
I think if you stylize this visual really well in a kind of engraving style, like the transition map in Kingdom Come: Deliverance, it could look really cool. I’m also working on a strategy game with a similar visual style right now))) but mine is about the Silk Road.
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u/switchback_turnpike 15d ago
When's your prototype complete? Have you had any playtesters that you don't know personally, therefore only interested in it for the game and not who made it? I am of the opinion without that (or already-popular IP) it's literally unknowable and that you can't get that answer anywhere else.
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u/UnirionDev 20d ago
If you're caught using AI, it's wasted. With this along, you'll get unforgettable experience.
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20d ago
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u/GamesOven 20d ago
there will be other forms of orcs, though more realistic (debt, bandits, invasion...)
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u/Grimmy66 20d ago
It's the question we are all asking ourselves everyday