u/Alexframe_ — reddlx

I missed the Steam Next Fest deadline, asked anyway, and my game got in

I almost didn't send the message because I thought I already knew the answer.

I'm Alex, the solo developer of Wildixir, a fantasy survivor roguelite. Most of my work on it happens in the evenings and on weekends. My demo was only ready in late September, sometime in the twenties. The official registration deadline for October's Steam Next Fest was August 31, 2026, at 11:59pm PDT, so I was already several weeks late.

To be clear, the demo didn't have to be ready by August 31: that was the registration deadline. Valve requires a publicly playable demo by the start of the festival. I had missed registration, not a requirement to release the demo in August.

I really wanted the game to be part of it. With a November 4 release planned, this felt like an important chance to put the demo in front of players before launch. I'd put so much of myself into the project that I decided to at least ask.

So I wrote to Valve explaining my situation, that the demo was available, and why participating in this edition mattered to me. An appeal, for lack of a better word. I knew I was late and that they could simply say no.

They sent me an invitation. I've now completed registration, and Wildixir is taking part in Steam Next Fest on October 19–26. That was a very good email to open :)

I wouldn't plan around getting an exception or assume this will work for everyone. Next time I'm putting the registration deadline in my calendar much earlier. But I'm glad I sent that one honest message instead of ruling myself out.

Now the challenge is making the most of the time left: polishing the demo, listening to feedback, and helping people find it.

For developers who've done Next Fest before: what would you prioritize in the final two weeks, and what turned out to be less useful than you expected?

reddit.com

u/Alexframe_ — 10 days ago

▲ 7 r/survivorslikes

Wildixir’s free demo is live. Next up: finding people who might actually enjoy it.

Hey everyone, I’m Alex, the developer of Wildixir. The free demo is now live on Steam, so I can finally send people something they can play.

It’s a fantasy survivor roguelite built around alchemy, combining attacks, and surviving an enchanted forest. One thing I wanted to do differently was give you reasons to move around the map: shrines and small events can change what you’re doing during a run. The demo lets you play as Iva in the Enchanted Forest, with repeat runs to try different builds.

I’ve already had some useful feedback. One player liked the atmosphere but found the game too easy, and later pointed out that the health bar was hard to find. That gave me a very practical list of things to work on. I’ve since updated the demo with clearer health indicators and a round of visual and UI fixes.

Now I’m trying to get it in front of more people and build up wishlists for the full game. I’ve been posting short gameplay clips, and I’m putting together a first batch of 20 emails to streamers and YouTubers. I’ll also reach out to a few gaming accounts on Instagram and keep working with Steam curators.

I’d like to share how that goes: how many people reply, whether anyone ends up covering it, and what happens to wishlists along the way. I don’t have a big success story to tell yet. This is the starting point, and I’m curious to see what actually helps.

Here’s the demo if it looks like your kind of game:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/5233410/Wildixir/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=demo_launch&utm_content=indiegamewishlist

If you enjoy it, a wishlist would help a lot. And if you know a smaller creator who enjoys trying survivor roguelites, I’d love a recommendation.

u/Alexframe_ — 18 days ago

▲ 1 r/sideprojects

821 downloads without promotion. Trying to figure out the next step for my iOS app.

I built Lunio, a small iPhone app that extracts audio from videos. Since June 10, it’s had 821 first-time downloads. I haven’t done any promotion so far.

I added Pro about two weeks ago. Basic extraction is still free, so it’s early to tell how the paid features will do. The screenshot covers the whole period, most of it before Pro was available.

Now I’m trying to figure out where to spend my time: getting the app in front of more people, or understanding what the people already downloading it need.

For those who’ve grown a small utility app, what helped you decide what to focus on next?

u/Alexframe_ — 1 month ago