Thank You for 1000+ Downloads + Questions Answered + An Accident Has Occurred (my arm is now broken >.<)


Okay, so, there's a lot to say here and it's going to take me a few days to type it out because my dominant arm is currently broken in multiple places x3 I wanted to make a fancier post with a celebratory image or something, but I can't really use my PC right now, nor can I type properly on my phone, so this will have to do! I'll explain more about what happened to my arm further down if you really want to know xD but I won't ramble about it first cos there are more important things to say :3


Thank You ^-^

So yeah, firstly, I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has downloaded and played Bitter/Sweet so far ^-^ And an extra thank you to everyone who was kind enough to leave a lovely comment and/or 5* rating for the game! 

It's the first time I've ever released a project that has managed to reach 1000+ downloads in 3 days :3 So it's one of those milestone-type things that really means a lot to me! Especially considering the fact that I've been making games for a few years now and have released quite a lot for various game jams.

It can sometimes get disheartening to pour my soul into something and work my butt off to get it done in time for a jam deadline, only to release it into the wild and watch it get passed over xD Take Dawn of the Damned, for example... I released that for last year's Spooktober VN Jam, but it only has 2400 total downloads and 25 ratings x3 and some of my other projects have been out for over a year, yet are still sat on less than 1000 total downloads. I see other devs release demos that accumulate hundreds of ratings within mere days, leaving me sitting there thinking, wtf am I doing wrong? Haha. 

I've been completely blown away by all the kind comments and stuff to do with this project :3 And I'd be mad not to try and plug Limbo Line here if you enjoyed Bitter/Sweet, because it's got the same lead artist (plus art from other awesome artists too!) and is one of my most overlooked projects despite being my personal favourite x3 So yeah *pokes you* go check it out if you haven't already :P

Oh, and a quick note on ratings just for anyone who doesn't realise - anything less than 5* is actually kind of damaging to a project's visibility on itch because it makes it more difficult to discover in searches >.< It's silly really because a 4* or 3* rating should be considered a good thing, but sadly, with the way itch works, if you rate less than 5* it's more damaging than not rating at all in most cases. I only say this because a few people have rated the game 2* despite commenting that they enjoyed it or thought it was well-made, and I'm guessing most people probably don't realise how much that can impact a game's visibility in searches x3 It's daft because it means devs basically have to ask for 5* ratings even if that doesn't accurately reflect how a player would rate the game >.<


OST & Blue Blythe Route Answers :3

While I'm here, I also want to answer a couple of quick questions that have been asked under reviews/ratings where itch doesn't allow me to reply >.< I don't know why it only lets you respond to comments and not to reviews still.

Regarding Bitter/Sweet's original music tracks:

I will be releasing all the original tracks I made on YouTube as soon as I can :3 And supporters on Ko-fi & Patreon will be able to download the OST in the form of the higher quality wav files once I'm able to upload them. I'd hoped to be able to do that sometime this week, but now that my arm is buggered, it's probably not going to happen for at least a few weeks now >.<

Regarding blue Blythe's route release:

I don't have a concrete release date that I can give, unfortunately, but it's something I absolutely want to work on at some point :3 It's just hard to say when it will be completed because both Lazy Polar Bear and I are busy with other projects + with me now being out of action, I probably won't even be able to do any dev work at all over the next month >.<

I think that was the two main queries anyhow :3 And I can only apologise if you've messaged me or sent comments that I haven't replied to yet. I'm still going to attempt to type stuff while my arm is healing, but it's very slow going, haha, so it might take quite some time T_T


The destruction of my arm x3

Sooo, yeah, basically, last week, my right arm and wrist was broken in multiple places, rendering me largely out of action >.< I was walking into town for an appointment when someone on an electric scooter crashed into me at speed. The impact knocked me to the ground and I fell quite awkwardly. Along with multiple cuts and bruises, I managed to break my arm and wrist in the process, resulting in a trip to A&E where the Dr's gave me painkillers, took x-rays, and ultimately put my arm in a cast + gave me a sling as well. They said it could take around 6 weeks to heal, and that it may not necessarily heal 100% since I've broken the same arm in the past >.< (as a kid at school when I got stuck in something, waited for help, realised no one was coming, and attempted to free myself, haha.) 

The guy who hit me was very apologetic, but yeah, these scooters have become a bit of an epidemic in the town I live! Lots of people ride them really fast without considering pedestrians >.< I had a few close misses last year, and my dad and I even joked that someone is gonna get hurt one day! 

Typically, the arm that's out of action is my dominant arm >.> So I only have the use of my left hand at the moment, which I have awful co-ordination with x3 The only way I can type is by having my phone on a surface nearby and attempting to tap keys with my left hand's fingers, which is extremely slow, clumsy, and quickly exhausting because of the weird position I have to hold my body in. I did try text-to-speech, but it didn't work particularly well, so I'm a bit stuck for now, haha. 

Sometimes I wonder if the universe does stuff like this to force me to take breaks (no pun intended >.<) from game dev xD Though, it's not a very helpful break because sleeping is nigh impossible now x3

Anyways, since I'm going to be unable to respond to stuff promptly or properly anytime soon, I figured I'd take the time to try and type this up to at least explain what's going on :3 


So yeah, once again, thank you so much to everyone who has been so supportive of Bitter/Sweet (and all my endeavours in general) ^-^ It means the world to me and I love you all! I hope you have a magnificent March <3

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(+1)

Hello! I just recently read about your arm. I'll make this short so you don't have to type too much of a reply! I hope you get better soon and don't suffer too much. I know it must be painful(of course it must be it was an accident for goodness sake...) but do your best! Try to keep yourself distracted if you can and try your best to be positive! If you do that then you will get get better in no time hopefully! I cant heal you myself but I hope my words help a little! 

Aside from that, I must say the voice acting, the script and the art all went so well together in the story! You truly did a great job making it and I could kind of feel the emotions you put into writing it! It's wonderful that you did it in just a month or so! I hope you didn't overexert yourself though!

(This... isn't short is it......)

Hey hey! Yeah x3 That's pretty much why I haven't managed to reply to your other message yet, haha. I've been trying to kind of keep on top of replies and stuff, but I am falling woefully behind T_T

It certainly hasn't been the most fun of times x3 I had an appointment the other day to check on me, and the doctor said they might be able to take the cast off at the end of the month, but can't say for sure until they see me again. It seems like it's taking forever to heal >.<” It's mainly just frustrating not being able to do stuff, haha. I've basically been stuck just watching things on TV, and listening to audiobooks, but can't really play games T_T Though, I did discover last week that I could play the only VN I own on Switch (Cafe Enchante) cos I can just rest the Switch on the arm of the sofa and press one button, haha. It was okay, but mostly it just made me think how it's unfair that a game like that can be £50 at release, and then there are so many amazing indie games that are free or really cheap but just as good, if not actually much better! I didn't pay £50 for it, thankfully x3 got it used a while ago on eBay, haha.

Thanks for all your kind words as always ^-^ and I'm glad you ended up liking the new game :D I did stress myself out a bit over it, and maybe somewhat overexerted x3 but my plan was to have a bit of a break after release and play lots of stuff! It's just I didn't get more than a few days before fate intervened and ruined my plans xD

I hope you're doing okay and that you got to have a happy Easter and a happy April so far :3

(+1)

HI! I just discovered you the other day and downloaded a few of your games. They are absolutely addictive and I hope bitter sweet is fleshed out in the future.  I'm happy to pay money all over again for it. 

Hey hey! Aww, that's so sweet of you ^-^ I'm so glad you've been enjoying what you've checked out so far! And here's to hoping you'll enjoy the rest of Bitter/Sweet when I finally manage to finish it :D

(+2)

Marketing is key and word of mouth is often what works best.
You'll get downloads and views if someone notices your game among the absolute pile of games coming out.  I'm a gamer and even I get completely overwhelmed at the small handful of indie projects/studios that I support, so imagine a non-enthusiast or casual person just following a content creator.

Too many games and not enough time to play them, even the AMAZING ones.  I've ended up having to severely limit what I would play and just only stick to the genres/types I know I'd like.  It sucks :(

In the NES days, it was always a mystery as to how the game would look or play or be like.  We only had the cartridge artwork to go by, maybe a black & white manual if we were lucky (sadly Nintendo the morons sued to prevent them from making copies of manuals anymore so very few are still around now; they actually tried to sue to prevent rentals altogether but lost that fight thankfully).  Weirdly enough they'd later make a deal with BlockBuster (USA) to do a promotion for Judge Dredd (on Sega Genesis/MegaDrive) and Donkey Kong Country for some 'pro gamer' tournament or other in the 90s.  I was a dummy and tried the DKC one even though I didn't own a SNES.  Just loved the game =D

That's the way it works though; people will be hesitant to do visual novels if they aren't already into them (and/or horror games) because trying something new means LESS time on other stuff.

Some suggestions if you happen to read this:

-GAME TRAILER = give me 30 seconds or less why to play YOUR game instead of others; no excuses; show us the best stuff and leave us more to want to download it for more!

-Promo = make meaningful connections with content creators that regularly make videos (e-mail ain't gonna cut it dear, sry to say) via Discord or YT business mail contact or otherwise.  Subject line is the key or they will throw it in the trash with the 1000+ other indie devs doing the same thing.  'Horror Indie Game (PC) come get scared!' might be something that catches their eye (or not).  Individualize the actual email as in you know what kind of creator they are and that takes time/effort; hanging on their discord and looking through posts/videos can also give you a shorter easier way to digest the type of creator they are.  Aim for ones that like the games you make (aka visual novels and/or horror games).

-Followup = you're kinda horrible at this but it is understandable; follow up on conversations and messages if you message someone and they respond cause being 'ghosted' for 2+ weeks (or months) feels like you don't care about their response; e-mail is terrible for this so use that fancy Discord you got :P

Matrix also works although Discord is more popular at the moment; use both!  Get a Twitter and use that **exclusively** only to tweet about you and your games and NOTHING else (srsly dont get caught up in the stupid people there).  Get a FB and do the same.  If you are unable or unwilling to do this then you will find yourself wondering why you still get no attention.


Attention is earned, not given.  Use this time with your one-armed firepower to do the best you possibly can now that you're forced against your will to take a break and stop gamedev for a bit.  Use it for other endeavors although be sure to take frequent hydration and other breaks (5 mins every hour is recommended at a minimum).  Set a timer if you forget.  You have a phone, don't you? :P

(1 edit) (+1)

"If you were in the USA you'd open carry and they'd stay the HECK away from you!"

;)

EDIT:  This is a joke, please don't ruin the comments with a debate plz thx; laugh at the joke haha haha :)

(+1)

I know what you mean because I have the same problem as a player x3 but even then, I only know about stuff if a friend tells me or if I'm searching certain tags on itch, cos I don't really do social media, so marketing via that is unlikely to reach me since I'm on it so infrequently. 

I miss game manuals! That used to be one of my favorite parts of getting a new game, haha. That's nuts about the tournament though! I had no idea they did anything like that back in the 90s :o

As always, your suggestions are solid advice, and would work wonders for 99% of people I imagine! There's just a lot there that I personally can't handle T_T

I can definitely do trailers, well, maybe more like possibly than definitely x3 I'm no video editor and I struggle with it + don't particularly enjoy it, but I managed to knock something up for A9, haha. 

The rest of the stuff I just can't do though >.< And I don't mean that in the sense that I'm incapable, because I can do it if I force myself to, BUT, (and it is a very big but x3) working on promo/marketing/social media makes me so stressed and exhausted that it actually causes me to lose all motivation for gamedev. 

I know it sounds overly dramatic, but I'm not exaggerating even a little bit :( That's how draining I find that sorta stuff. It just totally sucks all the life and passion out of me, haha. And if I try to do it to the degree that's necessary, I know I would wind up quitting gamedev completely because I just hate it that much. 

It's the same reason I'm just not on social media in general. I don't like using it to post, and I don't like browsing other people's stuff either x3 I find almost everything about social media repulsive and exhausting >.< I'm guessing my extreme aversion to it is most likely down to my ASD. I know every individual on the autistic spectrum is gonna have a totally different experience of autism, but I have a number of autistic friends who are also very social media averse, haha. And all of us communicate like penpals via email xD

It's not like I haven't tried either with Twitter and stuff, but I just can't keep it up without losing the will to continue making games >.<

It's extremely frustrating cos I realise it's a necessity in order to have any sort of success with stuff like this! But at the same time, I'm kind of used to constantly being at a disadvantage in society when it comes to pretty much everything, so I don't know why I would ever think it would be different with an online hobby like making VNs x3

It may be a little different if I were an artist because I'd be constantly sketching things and could fling them out there on social media without really saying a great deal, but I'm not, so I can't >.<

I don't even watch stuff on YouTube aside from fail compilations with my brother during lunch breaks xD So I wouldn't know where to begin with contacting content creators, and even if I did, the stress involved in contacting people would again just kill my motivation to work on stuff. And like you say with hanging out on people's discords and stuff, I just really wouldn't want to do that. I've already muted most of the servers I joined that I was actually interested in because the constant pinging of everyone else's communications just stressed me out and made me feel ill >.< I can't keep up with or stand instant chats like that. It's all too much. 

I know it must sound insane cos using stuff like that is such a normal part of a lot of people's lives, but I can't state enough how much notifications and constant updates and such to my phone makes me want to throw it out the window while I go hide in a dark cupboard x3 I find it really stressful and intrusive, which is why I keep my phone on silent and only check stuff when I feel comfortable to. A ping from something on my phone is the equivalent of being slapped in the face outta nowhere for me >.<

And again, I mean, I make a huge effort to respond to all comments on itch because, even if it takes me a while, I find the interface and way things work on itch manageable to communicate through at least :3 It wouldn't surprise me if I respond to more stuff on itch than most devs on there. But yeah, I already said how I feel about discord, and I don't think anything is ever gonna change that cos I can't help the way I am >.< email will always be the best form of communication for me.

And like I said, I've tried Twitter too x3 I despise it, haha. Composing just 1 tweet generates enough stress in me to completely exhaust me for the rest of the day and feel like I need a complete break from my PC for a day or two! 

I could never cope with any of those social media sites and apps, and it will forever remain a mystery to me as to how others manage to without feeling like they either need to sleep for a week after logging in for 5 mins, or tunnel deep into the ground and avoid all contact for the rest of the week x3

Using social media stresses me out to the same extent as things like job interviews, arguments, or moving house. 

Actually, the best way I can think of to put it into perspective using recent events is that I was less distressed having my arm broken than I am when attempting to use social media xD That is how painful I find it to try and use those platforms for promo and stuff >.< I would rather break my arm again and again every day of the week than have to try and use social media to do marketing T_T because that would actually be less painful, haha. And I'd be more likely to continue to pursue game dev with 1 arm than I would be if I constantly had to try and use social media for promo x3

I know how important of a role that stuff plays, but I'm basically unable to participate in it if I want to retain the passion and motivation to make stuff >.<

It's like no matter what I try to do in life, there are barriers :( giant, bloomin insurmountable barriers. I used to love volunteering at the animal sanctuary, but had to stop cos I was bullied by the vet students there for being the odd one out. And in jobs where you have to face customers, I try my best, even have folks who returned just to see me because I was a friendly face and took the time to speak to them when others don't (mostly old ladies, haha), but even then, I would get moaned at by managers and assistent managers for not having enough 'meaningful interactions' with customers, not pushing enough promo stuff, or failing to meet loyalty scheme sign up quotas.

It used to really bug me that they would say I was such a hard worker, and that if I just tried a little harder, I'd manage to do those things that they thought I was lagging behind on. But that's the problem, they never seem to understand that I am trying my absolute best at everything I do. The problem is that my best is just never good enough >.<

(+1)

I get what you mean about social media stuff.  I also despise it personally but I see it as a tool just like anything else.  Just post something and encourage people who want updates to follow you.  Right now, if anyone wants updates they have to follow you on itch and hope that you update things.  If you had a central website of some sort then that might make it easier (promote your itch and not have to play by the rules of 'regular' social media.

It is the delicate balance of using social media as a platform to get the word out and hopefully make some money versus having social media end up using you as another user to sell advertising space via metrics and data.

It is a crutch though, just thought I'd throw it out there as a potential way for people to consider for marketing/promo purposes.
You make niche games so I'd say it may end up being that you get someone IRL you know (maybe family) to help you with the marketing stuff.

(+1)

I will definitely be attempting to make a website at some point with the place you mentioned to me when I get a chance. That is something I actually can do at least :3 Just gotta wait for my stupid arm to heal up before I can really do much of anything >.<

I'm outta luck for irl help from anyone when it comes to social media though cos I don't have many people that I interact with face to face, and the family I do see (and the one irl friend that I have) are all social media averse same as me xD All of em autistic the same as me, and all refuse to even make social media accounts, haha. It's one of the reasons my old therapist put me on a waiting list for a helper cos she said it would be good to have someone who can enable me to do more in the areas that my autism restricts me. It's a proper scheme they have to help folks with ASD just get an extra helping hand, but I've been on the list for so long now without any word of if I'm ever gonna get the help that I can't actually remember how long it's been. Over 2 years at this point at the very least >.< I have a feeling its probably not gonna happen cos funding was cut for mental health services where I live. 

(+1)

For those reading the convo here and wondering which free web hosting was one I'd recommend, it is this:
https://www.wix.com/free/web-hosting

#notsponsored btw just saying it seems pretty good and I know many who use it without major issues; for a free web host it sure beats Geocities back in the day ^_^

As far as your other challenges, I wish you well and hope things work out.  My DMs are open if you ever decide to want to leave a message.
I appreciate the opportunity to help as many indie game devs as I can; more awesome indie games means a lot more choice in avoiding the big-budget garbage spewed by hostile hateful major game publishers that typically abuse their workers/employees.  I feel the indie gaming market may be the best way to go forward as far as supporting awesome games going forward.

(+1)

I did finally check out Wix and it does seem like a really useful site for free web hosting! I didn't manage to make anything that looked decent while having a brief fiddle around with it, but I'm gonna have a proper go at it when I have the use of both my arms again, haha. It certainly looks promising :3

You're always so kind and wise! It means a lot that you made the effort to reach out to me in the first place. And you've certainly given me a lot to think about, as well as arming me with a whole bunch of knowledge I wouldn't have otherwise had :3 so I can only thank you for that!

And I totally agree with your last paragraph there! Indie stuff can be so incredible ^-^ Not just saying that cos I happen to make things, but as a player, I've found that most of the games that have given me the most enjoyment in recent years have been indie games that were either free to download or ones I supported here on itch or via Kickstarter!

(+2)

ahh that sounds painful, I see a lot of electric scooters where I live and they are really fast! 


I hope your arm heals soon much love ❤️❤️ take as much breaks as you need!!

Yeah, I don't really know wtf our council were thinking when they decided to install ones to rent in our town o.O it was bad enough all the privately owned ones, now we have clusters of these bright yellow rental ones everywhere! x3 And yet they say we have obesity issues in our population... Soooo, encouraging people to use scooters to get around town instead of walking seems pretty silly! 

Thank you ^-^ it's getting quite frustrating at this point, haha. Feel like I won't be able to use my arm even when it's healed cos all the muscle will have just dissolved xD

(+2)

Ah I'm sorry you broke your arm! My mom always tells me that even if you can't sleep, resting is still healing so take care 💓 

Cheers :D Sounds like wise words! Definitely better to try and get some rest for sure :3

(+5)

Please make sure to heal your arm and rest. Have a lovely break and make sure you eat and hydrate❤️

Thank you ^-^ I'm lucky that I have my dad to help out, so he's been making me some drinks and taking over from me with doing the cooking, haha. I feel bad for him though cos he shouldn't have to do that after getting in from work >.<

(+4)

Hope your arm heals soon :O

And hope you try having a good break you workaholic ^^

(+1)

Thanks :D And I'm trying, haha. It's quite uncomfortable, but just have to accept no PC for me for a while x3 Been typing up stuff slowly on and off on my phone notes, watching some TV, and reading a book! Hoping I might be able to balance my potato laptop on me somehow and maybe play some stuff from my list if most are VNs without minigames that only require 1 key to click!

(+1)

Have fun ^^

(+2)

oh my goodness i'm so sorry about your arm :( i'd say it's good you're taking a break, but honestly that's not a very ideal situation-

i don't really just wanna mention the bad stuff so congratulations on reaching such an impressive milestone! although i really wish people would check out your other content as well,  because as much as i love the two Blythes, i definitely have my own favorites lol

p.s. don't worry about replying, just get better and don't strain yourself<3 i imagine making this post must've been difficult enough

(+1)

Haha, yeah, it's definitely not ideal x3 Hoping I will be able to train my left hand to be a bit more useful so I at least get something out of it xD

Cheers ^-^ It's a mystery to me why someone that happened to like at least 1 of my games wouldn't go on to check out the rest, but it is what it is I guess x3

And, well, I did anyway xP It actually helps a little to break up my day if I type up small amounts at a time towards replies in my phone notes in between watching some TV and reading a book, haha. Takes me ages to do it, but I'll get there eventually :D Did the post bit by bit over a few days, haha.

(+1)

ooo, ambidextrous melancholy marionette era

it really doesn't make sense, but i guess people sometimes just don't think to check the creator's profile, i've probably done that before

sighhh. i was gonna be upset at first that you ended up replying but if it's good for your arm and you did it in breaks then i won'ttt, thank you for not typing it all at once-

best wishes, i hope your arm heals as quickly as the human body will allow :D

(+1)

Hehe... Weeeeeell, I don't think I'm getting very far x3 I reckon my left hand is still currently quite clumsy >.<

I'm actually going to attempt to go on my PC if I can soon, even though my arm is still in the cast, just to see if speech-to-text will work any better if I can sit in front of a microphone cos it would be easier than trying to type one-handed. It's just the speech-to-text was awful when I tried it on my phone x3 cos if it works decently enough, I might be able to respond to things easier, and maybe even do a lil bit of 'writing' here and there towards projects while I'm still healing up. Cos it's driving me insane not being able to work on anything!

Thank you again ^-^

(+2)

get better soon and take care <3- the world really has it out for ya xd with taking breaks the worst way possible xd hopefully next time ya take a break it wont be connected to a broken arm ect. xd

Thank you <3 Haha, yeah, it would seem I'm growing into a bit of a calamity like my auntie! Though, I have yet to fall into and get stuck in a toilet like she did x3 It would be nice to have a regular break that's illness and injury free though, haha.

(+1)

i hope ya dont get stuck in the toilet xd -  It would be nice to have a regular break that does not involve anything like injuries or sicknesses - i get that- idk how ur Situation (in general) is but i know if ya need a break - the best is to take it or take it easy after all  the only one who can take care of ya is urself yaknow? so rember to cut ya self some slack ^^ ( i know its easier said then done but still <3

Me too xD And yes, yes it would, haha. It's like some sort of evil prank the universe is playing on me to be forced to take a break without actually being able to do the things I'd like to do during a break x3

You're right though, I should take more actual breaks that aren't forced ones because I don't really do it enough, and I know I should >.< it's just easier said than done as you say, haha. Cos even if it's unhealthy to be working on stuff almost all of the time, somehow, my mental health always gets worse when I stop. It's like working myself into the ground is the only/most effective way I know to stop myself from feeling like absolute crap in my head >.<" And I just know that once my arm is finally better, I'm gonna wind up trying to work twice as hard to make up for all the time that's been lost! But I still need to find time to actually make a dent in my gaming backlog x3

(+2)

Oh nooo TvT... get well soon!!!

(+1)

Cheers ^-^