So I am making a old school dungeon crawler where the combat is done on a gameboard where you trace lines of matching resources to fight/level up etc but everything else is like a classic dungeon crawler

Here is the game for reference https://store.steampowered.com/app/5044910/Dungeon_Quest/

I didn't tag it match 3 because I was worried that would leave people expecting a match 3 disappointed, but maybe I should because people that like match 3 might be interested. I have already had a few people describe it as match 3, maybe my understanding of what a match 3 is wrong.

I am confused, do you think it is a good or bad tag for this game?

Hi I am James a solo dev from australia. I am making this old school dungeon crawler mashing up two games I really loved. Eye of the Beholder series for the Dungeon crawling and Dungeon Raid for the combat system (an old ios game that sadly got killed by Apples removing games that didn't update policy :()

Here is a little video of some of the gameplay

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DM2Ki1o1ye4

and here is the steam page if you want to find out more

https://store.steampowered.com/app/5044910/Dungeon_Quest/

Happy to answer any questions (or hear what classic dungeon crawlers it brings back memories of for you)

Here is the article https://www.gamesradar.com/games/dev-tells-valve-to-fix-steams-exploitable-2-hour-refund-policy-as-over-55-000-players-refund-his-short-game-and-even-brag-about-it-in-reviews/

Steam refund policy is here https://store.steampowered.com/steam_refunds/

and it does have an abuse warning "Refunds are designed to remove the risk from purchasing titles on Steam—not as a way to get free games. If it appears to us that you are abusing refunds, we may stop offering them to you. We do not consider it abuse to request a refund on a title that was purchased just before a sale and then immediately rebuying that title for the sale price."

Myself I have a short game which is has almost 7K sales but only a refund rate of 5%(of which 1 in 5 of my refunds are chargebacks, fraud, payment issues). I have always been a believer in people refund bad games not short games, just so happens a lot of bad games are also short!

I also often read a lot of people saying they know people who are refunding a lot. I think in general the refund policy is great and lets you buy risk free, but I have only ever refunded 2 games with over 100 in my steam account. It seems like steam could start warning people a bit earlier which would reduce refunds in general and be good for all devs.

What should steam do if anything?

At a minimum I would like to be able to see how long people played before refunding, you would able to see clearly if they are abusing policy or not liking the game with that data.

Hi, I am James the solo dev from Australia of this game. Recently I did crossover with 5 different indie games where I made levels inspired by other indie games in the Marble's Marbles style.

You can see the trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j7JxsSx9Rw

The game itself is a nostalgic love letter to the classic marble games of the past, reimagined with modern visuals and satisfying physics. If you have ever wondered why there are no good modern versions this one might for you.

It is currently on sale on steam here https://store.steampowered.com/app/4137920/Marbles_Marbles/

Happy to answer any questions :)

Here is the article https://www.techpowerup.com/350230/games-made-with-gen-ai-suffer-up-to-53-worse-sales-on-steam

and if you want to dig deeper it is based on this research/article https://www.game-oracle.com/blog/ai-part1 and part 2 https://www.game-oracle.com/blog/ai-part2

It focused on generative art/music and other things you are required to disclose.

Just adding valves disclosure rules

"We are aware that many modern game development environments have AI powered tools built into them. Efficiency gains through the use of these tools is not the focus of this section. Instead, it is concerned with the use of AI in creating content that ships with your game, and is consumed by players. This includes content such as artwork, sound, narrative, localization, etc." https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/gettingstarted/contentsurvey

Will be a free update for existing players :) I am hoping it also helps bring some attention to the games I am crossing over with.

If you want to see more of the game the steam page is here

I have been making these new levels to cross over with out indie devs games who were kind enough to let me do with their game. Fingers crossed it goes well!

https://www.dexerto.com/gaming/stop-killing-games-fails-to-secure-eu-law-despite-1-3m-signatures-3376431/

It did seem a long shot so not that unsuprising. I was hopeful there would be some kind of middle ground they could propose.

It also seems Ubisoft met with them just before the decision which seems a little more than a coincidence.

https://www.gamesradar.com/games/racing/the-timing-is-impossible-to-ignore-stop-killing-games-says-ubisoft-attended-invitation-only-meeting-with-eu-commission-ahead-of-response-to-campaign-sparked-by-the-crew-shutdown-but-it-was-not-invited/

Stop Killing Games says they aren't giving up, but the clearest path is now gone.

Edit: just adding the EU reasoning https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/commission-will-engage-industry-following-european-citizens-initiative-disabling-videogames

"

The Commission considers that at this stage it cannot propose a legal obligation to keep video games playable after they stop being provided commercially. This is due, also, to existing intellectual property rights. Under EU copyright law, rights holders enjoy exclusive rights over their creations. In addition to copyright, other intellectual property rights may also be relevant as they may protect different visual and technological aspects of a video game.

"

Standing on the shoulders of giants like Marble Madness, Ballance, Hamsterball and Gyroscope (or whatever marble game it reminds you of :) ). Trying to my joy of playing those games to other. Solo hobby dev from Australia! I get a bit loney making alone so just sharing my WIP!

Just working on new levels for Marble's Marbles. It is part of series I am making inspired by other indie games.

Just working on new levels for https://store.steampowered.com/app/4137920/Marbles_Marbles/ It is part of series I am making inspired by other indie games.

new tags

• Bullet Heaven - The opposite of Bullet Hell; Focus on upgrades while automatically attacking hordes of enemies
• Desktop Companion - Games that only use part of your screen and keep you company while you do other things
• Organizing - Tidy up, de-clutter, or unpack, carefully placing items in virtual spaces
• Cleaning - Satisfying removal of grime and dirt from stuff
• Decorating - Creative placement of furniture and other objects
• Wuxia - Historical fantasy adventure featuring martial arts, competing sects, and inner qi
• Xianxia - Fantasy adventure focused on cultivating supernatural powers and strength
• Falling Blocks - Arranging, rotating, and placing blocks from above
• Espionage - Spying or secretly securing valuable intel
• Samurai - Japanese warriors best known for katanas, loyalty, and self-discipline
• Zoo - Care for and display a park full of wild animals
• Wolves - Also known as Canis Lupus
• Capybaras - The largest and possibly most adorable rodent species
• Animals - Cute and furry, or large and terrifying and everything in between
• Cult - Small groups with extreme devotion to a person, thing, or belief
• Poker - Draw, bet, and bluff
• Language Learning - Learning and teaching new languages

removed tags

• 3D Vision
• Ambient
• America
• Blood
• Crowdfunded
• Cult Classic
• Documentary
• Drama
• Dungeons & Dragons
• Electronic
• Experience
• Feature Film
• Foreign
• GameMaker
• Games Workshop
• Illuminati
• Kickstarter
• LEGO
• Masterpiece
• Mature
• Movie
• Narration
• NSFW
• Roguevania
• RPGMaker
• Warhammer 40K
• Web Publishing
• Well-Written

Modified Tags

• "Clicker" has been renamed into "Incremental" to capture the broader essence of games that focus on numbers going up.
• "Conversation" has been renamed to "Dialogue Heavy" for clarity
• We've made a few tags plural to match other tags: Dogs, Foxes, Vampires, Elves, Dwarves, and Assassins
• "Pool" was humorously applied to games with a swimming pool, so we've renamed this to "Billiards", which is the overarching term for all games played with cue sticks anyway
• Merging "Jet" into "Flight", as the term "Jet" was not unique enough.
• Merging "Unforgiving" into "Difficult" since these terms mostly overlap in usage and intent

Interesting d&d, lego, warhammer, gamesworkshop, kickstarter are all gone as they are brands.

I don't think there are any big losses there. Sad for ambient to go, and removing drama seems odd for graphic novels, but the rest make sense as they don't really describe the game.