So devs, how we feeling about Solar Punks preformance?

[Vental]

I don't mean to be mean spirited when I say this.
This joke of a game (that we all love) was thrown together on the side by 1 guy in 14 days in their off time. Not to discredit or anything, but to me that means it was nothing serious as far as "project focus" goes as far as "the important thing we are working on".

Yet despite it being so lesser-priority, it made it to top 30 steam charts. And because of that, people are finding out about this niche little project called solar punk (your main project) through this thrown-together joy.

Again, I don't mean this in a mean spirited way. . . but that's gotta sting. I have absolute sympathy when the priority project preforms worse than the side project or at the very least, the side project gaining so much attention despite being such a minimal endeavor comparatively.

I'm more-so asking what the perspective is comparing the performance of the two titles? Obviously there is joy in any success, regardless of where it comes from. I'm curious if there is a small sense of "bitter-sweetness" to it though or if you guys have a different reaction entirely. I'm not too familiar with the solar punk project to begin with so forgive me if I may be asking from a lack of perspective. But I am curious all the same.

[Listoric]

Hey, I'm the rokaplay community manager. Can't speak for the devs, but the topic is actually quite intriguing, that's for sure :D The fact that A Game About Digging A Hole is basically a viral hit is just great in general. It is a fun game, it's known as a side project and we do love that the community took the game for exactly what it is, and have fun with. It's a simple concept and the fact that it hit a nerve is actually great for all involved, players, the dev and us as a small publisher alike. I bet there will be fun titles that the title inspired in the near future as well - and I'm looking forward to them. I also bought Motherload after our release - even more digging - can recommend

I'd say Solarpunk has a different target audience, being a chill survival game with crafting, animals, crops, energy management, airship, coop and more. It already was in the top 50 of the most wishlisted games on Steam before AGADAH released and getting some extra name recognition through this small title is a nice bonus. Comparing the titles directly doesn't make much sense though, even financially. It's a different beast and we can't wait to unleash it 😎

I can't speak for the dev, but I'd guess it also alliviates personal financial pressure, which always lurks in the background for indies in general. Also we all learned much from all the feedback and videos that poured in from basically everywhere. The feedback didn't go unrecognized and we will try to make the best use of it. It's obvious that we want the game to either get more updates later on or a follow up title, but the focus right now lies on Solarpunk.

The devs are really focussed on their main title (Mark the date: You'll be able to play the demo a week from now on Steam Next Fest on the 24th 🔥) and it's already great fun! We hope it will be a success as people are really looking forward to a chill, solo & coop world they can get lost in.

Also I think that releasing any game to an audience that enjoyed the experience is a reward in and of itself. Games are magic and being a gamer and part of the community is hugely entertaining. But of course, if it's also making money, that would be great. ;)

[Vental]

Originally posted by Listoric:

I can't speak for the dev, but I'd guess it also alleviates personal financial pressure, which always lurks in the background for indies in general. Also we all learned much from all the feedback and videos that poured in from basically everywhere. The feedback didn't go unrecognized and we will try to make the best use of it. It's obvious that we want the game to either get more updates later on or a follow up title, but the focus right now lies on Solarpunk.

Woah, this is a very interesting paragraph. "more updates later on or a follow up title" is this a first reveal that this game isn't finished; that we can expect more content in the near and/or distant future? I noticed none of the news updates to this game talk about it's future, so hearing it here is a bit of a shock in a positive way.

You also talked about learning alot from the feedback. Can you go into detail about what that entails? Example, how much of what was learned effects only this game vs how much effects game publishing/game development as a whole. Thanks for the response, this is all very interesting stuff.

[Listoric]

Simply put, we see that the game resonated not only with us, but with the players as well. So thinking about adding stuff later, e.g. after Solarpunk, or even a sequel are obvious. If or when we go down the road is a different question, but we'd be stupid not to think about it.

Again, I can just speak for myself here, but it's quite interesting to see what the community latches onto, what they demand and how the response to a game of this scale is. If you go through the comments you get everything from all sides: love/hate the ending, make it endless / glad it's short and doesn't overstay it's welcome, add coop / finally a game i can enjoy on my own, "what is this tiktok - short term memory - simple a** game" vs. "it reminds me of being a kid 50 years ago", and so on.

Basically what at least I learned is: You can't make everyone happy, even if you lay out the premise as clear as this game did. Everyone has their own ideas and ways to engage with a game, and the bigger the audience the more each individual experience differs. But also the fact that players actually love the trend to customize basically everything in a game, from video, audio, controller, keyboard settings over to gameplay specific options to customize their experience and the simple fact that a good coop experience is loved by many. Depending on the size of the game, it's easier to take those into consideration, but unlike many want to make you believe, adding those options and features is actually quite difficult or at least time consuming to get right and maintain. Every feature you add to a game can break, cause bugs and use time to test, fix, change, etc. So the more features are added, even just customization options, the less time you have for other stuff. Picking the right things to prioritize, especially as an indie, is one of the hardest tasks. And by seeing the feedback, you can't basically win them all, as everyone has their own ideas on what should be "obviously" in the game.

I'll hope that the team takes away all the many requests for customization and settings of all kinds, everything that appeared in the steam discussions and adds and adjusts them for Solarpunk as well. I do know that's not an easy task though and most probably not everything will find into the game. But it's great to see so many passionate gamers taking their time to give feedback and wishes on what to improve. As said, I do know that it's noticed and I hope we can make good use of it.

What of those ideas and requests find into a game about digging a hole, that I can't say. It's a great side project, it's a fun game and at least I'm happy about it being a short title, as my steam library nearly bursts and I can hear the whisper and silent cries of titles I've never completed or installed. So it allows for being done with a fun experience and go on clearing the backlog as well, which is great.

[Vental]

Originally posted by Listoric:

I'll hope that the team takes away all the many requests for customization and settings of all kinds, everything that appeared in the steam discussions and adds and adjusts them for Solarpunk as well. I do know that's not an easy task though and most probably not everything will find into the game. But it's great to see so many passionate gamers taking their time to give feedback and wishes on what to improve. As said, I do know that it's noticed and I hope we can make good use of it.

As a CM, and do forgive me for being so bold to say, but one thing that can really help as far as team management goes is creating a docket for them compiling everything you find into an easy to glance-over file. I'm sure this is something you have already considered, but it's worth stating all the same.[/quote]

Originally posted by Listoric:

after Solarpunk, or even a sequel are obvious.
Again, I can just speak for myself here, but it's quite interesting to see what the community latches onto: make it endless / glad it's short and doesn't overstay it's welcome, add coop / finally a game i can enjoy on my own, "what is this tiktok - short term memory - simple a** game" vs. "it reminds me of being a kid 50 years ago".

You ever hear of the classic Atari game DigDug? Very classic namco title. Forgive me for going on a tangent but i think the main thing that really helps this game resonate (and where solar punk may find to struggle with) is that this truly is a 3D game that takes full advantage of the 3rd axis of height. Not many games do that anymore. It also has a really refreshing artstyle that is simplistic yet colorful yet not at all intrusive. I brought up DigDug before. Alot of what I described and alot of what I left in the quote reminds me of that. If we are talking about true sequels. One thing I would really love to see (after solar punks oc) is the teams take on a 3D spiritual successor to something DigDug. Using the upgrade like mechanics, tunnel system but also perhaps being a rogue-like to allow each run to be short while also being endless since rogue-likes allow extreme run variation with the different kits you get as your progress.

A small rogue-like 3D digging game with minor "hose-based combat" sounds fun. Especially when adding the mining rocks for coins aspects to get updates at a shop. If you aren't familiar with it, I do recommend giving it a glance. It's super retro.

Whatever the future is. . . I love the idea of calling a successor game by the name of "A sequel about digging a hole" or "A rogue-like about digging a hole". :sweat_smile: