Indie Game Lovers: What Do You Want to See from Small Developers?

[Xaostic]

Hey everyone

I'm an indie developer working solo on my game, but this post isn’t just about that. I wanted to open up a discussion and ask:

What do you love seeing from small indie games and devs?

Are there specific types of games or genres you wish more indies explored?

Do you look for unique mechanics, art styles, humor, narrative, etc.?

How important is developer transparency or community engagement to you?

Do things like regular devlogs, open feedback threads, or playable demos matter to you?

As someone actively working on a game and trying to grow in the indie space, I'm genuinely curious what the community values most — not just in the games themselves, but in how they’re shared, marketed, and supported.

Let’s turn this into a thread where players and devs can learn from each other. Whether you play a ton of indie games, make them, or just lurk in between — I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Kevin / Birdtek Games

[xBCxRangers]

First off, i'd like to thank you for the work you do. I personally feel (and had a thread on this) that small indie developers are going to be the phoenix to fly out of this Triple A rut we seem to be in.

Personally what i like, and the sole reason i'm on Steam, is types of games i can only find here that i cannot on consoles (which is my main gaming outlet).

Games say, like American Revolutionary War Shooters, French Indian War, the Civil war and matters like that, that we cannot get on consoles.

Single Player games are much more needed in a market inundated with MP.

Simulation games are really gaining steam. Truck and other simulation games, but maybe thinking out the box. A package delivery game lets say. Or Building a Pipeline in rugged conditions.

Toy Soldiers was a game, i always wished i can control one character. And so RTS like games, that can have us lock onto to one character is an idea.

Third Person perspective i think is also becoming essential (or at least an option), in this inundation of first person perspective games. On COD of all things, i'm having a blast on the third person SP options on private matches. Without touching the rest of the game (it's free on GP the only reason i tried it).

And then, Ge Force Now is a wonderful outlet that i use to get access to PC games here on Steam, my PC cannot handle. With controller support (essential for me) a wonderful tool.

And then, even getting onto a console platform in addition too Steam, may be a good idea.

PC is very expensive, and we tend to use consoles, handhelds, and even phones where most gamers play. Not PC. There may be a thirst for games PC may be inundated with, but consoles are not.

As far as "developer transparency", i think that's overrated, and quite frankly may even be a detriment, being those who post on forums, tend to be "hardcore gamers" and are not in tuned with those of us at home that just want to play games we may enjoy. Not tinker, change, or alter what we purchased and enjoy.

That more times than not, i feel ruins games, not help them.

Those are some ideas, from that of a more casual gamer.

[Xaostic]

Originally posted by xBCxRangers:

First off, i'd like to thank you for the work you do. I personally feel (and had a thread on this) that small indie developers are going to be the phoenix to fly out of this Triple A rut we seem to be in.

Personally what i like, and the sole reason i'm on Steam, is types of games i can only find here that i cannot on consoles (which is my main gaming outlet).

Games say, like American Revolutionary War Shooters, French Indian War, the Civil war and matters like that, that we cannot get on consoles.

Single Player games are much more needed in a market inundated with MP.

Simulation games are really gaining steam. Truck and other simulation games, but maybe thinking out the box. A package delivery game lets say. Or Building a Pipeline in rugged conditions.

Toy Soldiers was a game, i always wished i can control one character. And so RTS like games, that can have us lock onto to one character is an idea.

Third Person perspective i think is also becoming essential (or at least an option), in this inundation of first person perspective games. On COD of all things, i'm having a blast on the third person SP options on private matches. Without touching the rest of the game (it's free on GP the only reason i tried it).

And then, Ge Force Now is a wonderful outlet that i use to get access to PC games here on Steam, my PC cannot handle. With controller support (essential for me) a wonderful tool.

And then, even getting onto a console platform in addition too Steam, may be a good idea.

PC is very expensive, and we tend to use consoles, handhelds, and even phones where most gamers play. Not PC. There may be a thirst for games PC may be inundated with, but consoles are not.

As far as "developer transparency", i think that's overrated, and quite frankly may even be a detriment, being those who post on forums, tend to be "hardcore gamers" and are not in tuned with those of us at home that just want to play games we may enjoy. Not tinker, change, or alter what we purchased and enjoy.

That more times than not, i feel ruins games, not help them.

Those are some ideas, from that of a more casual gamer.

Hey, really appreciate you taking the time to write all that — lots of great thoughts in here.

I totally agree with you that indie devs have a chance to bring some fresh air into gaming, especially while AAA stuff starts to feel a bit samey. It's cool that you're on Steam looking for games you can't find on console — that's a niche a lot of indies overlook.

The cost of entry whether its PC or Console is getting higher. Switch 2 base console price and $80 games is going to be tough for a lot of gamers and a lot of families. I think developers in my area can carve out a place with games coming out around 9.99 and under. Its harder to make ends meat with those prices but its also difficult for someone to spend lets say $30 bucks on a game from an unknown entity.

On the transparency thing — totally fair point. Some players love being part of the process, others just want to play a good game without wading through dev logs or drama. I'm aiming for a balance — share stuff that’s interesting or helpful, but not overload anyone with behind-the-scenes noise.

With that in mind what are your suggestions for dev's like me to find their audience? Personally the stuff I make is probably not your specific cup of tea but the trend seems to be for us to make social media content, dev logs, etc. Honestly for someone like myself who doesn't have a team and is making games on their own- I don't have time to do dev logs and just posting consistently is hard enough.

[xBCxRangers]

Originally posted by Xaostic:

Originally posted by xBCxRangers:

First off, i'd like to thank you for the work you do. I personally feel (and had a thread on this) that small indie developers are going to be the phoenix to fly out of this Triple A rut we seem to be in.

Personally what i like, and the sole reason i'm on Steam, is types of games i can only find here that i cannot on consoles (which is my main gaming outlet).

Games say, like American Revolutionary War Shooters, French Indian War, the Civil war and matters like that, that we cannot get on consoles.

Single Player games are much more needed in a market inundated with MP.

Simulation games are really gaining steam. Truck and other simulation games, but maybe thinking out the box. A package delivery game lets say. Or Building a Pipeline in rugged conditions.

Toy Soldiers was a game, i always wished i can control one character. And so RTS like games, that can have us lock onto to one character is an idea.

Third Person perspective i think is also becoming essential (or at least an option), in this inundation of first person perspective games. On COD of all things, i'm having a blast on the third person SP options on private matches. Without touching the rest of the game (it's free on GP the only reason i tried it).

And then, Ge Force Now is a wonderful outlet that i use to get access to PC games here on Steam, my PC cannot handle. With controller support (essential for me) a wonderful tool.

And then, even getting onto a console platform in addition too Steam, may be a good idea.

PC is very expensive, and we tend to use consoles, handhelds, and even phones where most gamers play. Not PC. There may be a thirst for games PC may be inundated with, but consoles are not.

As far as "developer transparency", i think that's overrated, and quite frankly may even be a detriment, being those who post on forums, tend to be "hardcore gamers" and are not in tuned with those of us at home that just want to play games we may enjoy. Not tinker, change, or alter what we purchased and enjoy.

That more times than not, i feel ruins games, not help them.

Those are some ideas, from that of a more casual gamer.

Hey, really appreciate you taking the time to write all that — lots of great thoughts in here.

I totally agree with you that indie devs have a chance to bring some fresh air into gaming, especially while AAA stuff starts to feel a bit samey. It's cool that you're on Steam looking for games you can't find on console — that's a niche a lot of indies overlook.

The cost of entry whether its PC or Console is getting higher. Switch 2 base console price and $80 games is going to be tough for a lot of gamers and a lot of families. I think developers in my area can carve out a place with games coming out around 9.99 and under. Its harder to make ends meat with those prices but its also difficult for someone to spend lets say $30 bucks on a game from an unknown entity.

On the transparency thing — totally fair point. Some players love being part of the process, others just want to play a good game without wading through dev logs or drama. I'm aiming for a balance — share stuff that’s interesting or helpful, but not overload anyone with behind-the-scenes noise.

With that in mind what are your suggestions for dev's like me to find their audience? Personally the stuff I make is probably not your specific cup of tea but the trend seems to be for us to make social media content, dev logs, etc. Honestly for someone like myself who doesn't have a team and is making games on their own- I don't have time to do dev logs and just posting consistently is hard enough.

Well, these two developers in particular are one man show, and they seem to create some pretty fun games...

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1324780/Easy_Red_2/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1163910/Brass_Brigade/

The prior was even able to bring the game to consoles.

What that shows me, are literally "one person" can create what seems to be in some case, almost unlimited free, and paid content.

Marco (the Easy Red dev) don't seem, at least to me to be spreading himself thin as far as outreach. He gives us some basic ideas of what he may want to create, moderates his own forum, and seems to do well.

[76561198407601200]

Originally posted by Xaostic:

Hey everyone

I'm an indie developer working solo on my game, but this post isn’t just about that. I wanted to open up a discussion and ask:

What do you love seeing from small indie games and devs?

Are there specific types of games or genres you wish more indies explored?

Do you look for unique mechanics, art styles, humor, narrative, etc.?

How important is developer transparency or community engagement to you?

Do things like regular devlogs, open feedback threads, or playable demos matter to you?

As someone actively working on a game and trying to grow in the indie space, I'm genuinely curious what the community values most — not just in the games themselves, but in how they’re shared, marketed, and supported.

Let’s turn this into a thread where players and devs can learn from each other. Whether you play a ton of indie games, make them, or just lurk in between — I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Kevin / Birdtek Games

https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/10/135507548120407092/

[nullable]

The answers to all your questions are yes, except when they're no. And what I mean is not everything is suited for democracy, or even opinion. But I'll humor you.

1. I just want people to make good games and not worry about pleasing everyone during development. My opinions may not be the equal of someone's vision or solid design principles. There's lots of games I didn't even know I wanted until I played them.
   
2. There's enough indie developers and idea to cover a huge spectrum of ideas. I don't think there's a realistic way to group indies as a whole and determine where "they" haven't explored enough.
   
3. I like a good pixel art game, but lots of styles can be appealing in the right context. Something bright and cheery may not suit a dark or disturbing game. Although done right the contrast could have an interesting impact. Like anything else, the right style can defy conventions.
   
4. It's the developers game, they can talk about it as little or as much as they want. I'm definitely not the sort to fuss and moan about anything the developer said being translated into a "promise" and I don't think I'm owed any specific amount of "transparency". Sometimes being completely surprised is great. And sometimes seeing how the sausage is made is great. There's no wrong way to do things. The end product is what matters. I'm not going to like a mediocre game more because the developer was "transparent" or engaged with the community more. In that case, kinda seems like more game development and less fluff with engaging with the community might have helped.
   
5. I like the idea of devlogs, feedback threads, demos. But I've not really devoted hardly any time in the last 25 years to any of them. Do they guarantee better games? Somehow I think no, but sometimes the option is nice.

But I would also take user feedback with a grain of salt. Lots of users are morons, and if they were running the show they'd run it into the ground. And it's not like they're going to realize it. So sometimes I think community engagement and feedback are just activities to keep the kiddies busy and feel like they're involved. But since they don't actually have skills or talent , the grownups doing the work just needed some quiet time to do the work.

A very old example might be World of Roguecraft, delving into the incessant complaining about poor rogues being nerfed. But the reality is even with no gear and a single starting dagger, a level 60 rogue played well could still annihilate anyone back in vanilla. All the feedback from crummy players who think balance means they can face roll their keyboards and win may not be worth the bits of storage space their opinions occupy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1t0A1cqGcw

So I dunno, it's can be interesting to hear what people think. But people think having an opinions means they should have a seat at the table and they can get kinda pissy when they cotton on they're not being "listened to", IE they're feedback isn't what's making it into the game.