u/playsynapse

My game Synapse got some great visibility on itch and I want to make sure not to miss any good opportunity here.

For anyone interested what was the trigger - I made major update to the game. Since I was preparing for the demo release on steam, the itch version went a bit behind the recent one, so I gathered all and pushed update on itch, where pointed that it is a major update.

Marketing wise this time I already have steam link from itch, and working discord link.

If anyone has advice what else I can do while having this spike to boost the game visibility, or improve marketing or anything else welcome to discuss, will be much appreciated! I was grinding for pretty long time and I know the price of being seen, since no big coverage for the game was made, and all wishlists from my ~1700 is all the grind and organic.

Now I am afraid that it was unnecessary to put major update atm , because maybe there is some logic, where the game can have 1 big update with visibility boost just once. And I spent it. Anyway, it’s good news.

Game sits at the first positions by almost all tags now, hope it will last longer this time 😌

For anyone interested what was the trigger - I made major update to the game. Since I was preparing for the demo release on steam, the itch version went a bit behind the recent one, so I gathered all and pushed update on itch, where pointed that it is a major update.

Now I am afraid that it was unnecessary and there is some logic, where the game can have 1 big update with visibility boost just once. And I spent it. Anyway, it’s good news.

Game sits at the first positions by almost all tags now, hope it will last longer this time 😌

I am sorry for the car rain and environmental rain animation mismatch, but I promise to fix it ^^ (collaboration with Megpx.267)

This is my point-and-click hybrid narrative game, where your emotional score determines everything while you explore a city under constant mental surveillance, hack its systems, build dangerous connections, and make choices and see how the world reacts.

I am a big fan of sci-fi anime, and honestly, now it feels like translating some of these ideas and styles into the game, and I absolutely love it. Can't wait to see how it grows and how the story unfolds with much, much more art, fantasy, immersion, and world creation.

Festival just started, and it is my first ever big steam festival, so no experience to say anything about this position. Is it good?

steam page

Work in progress on an interactive city map for a cyberpunk game, created in collaboration with Moneer Alwerfally. This map is a hologram transportation map for the game Synapse.

Work in progress on an interactive cyberpunk city map in collaboration with Moneer Alwerfally.

I’m not fully satisfied with the bridges yet, and I still plan to add metro lines through and above the city, along with routes and stations, so the final version works as a transportation map.

Also, I am not sure to keep all different colors, or use simplier one-two general colors palette.

Big milestone for Synapse: it was featured on Steam for the first time. And in the visual novels list.

The game is now approaching 1,000 wishlists, and I’m currently preparing for the August Cyberpunk Steam Fest.

Seeing the title on a list is incredibly motivating. If anyone here has already added Synapse to their list - I love you guys!

And if anyone interested: steam page

Big milestone unlocked: first ever Steam feature. Wishlists climbing toward 1,000 and counting. Still deep in production and getting ready for the August Cyberpunk Steam Fest - set up the demo page and about to upload the demo for the review.

The demo has been out on itch.io for quite some time while I gathered feedback. I was constantly uploading bug fixes, balancing changes, story adjustments, UI/UX improvements, and more. So grateful to everyone who played and commented on it.

Seeing this kind of response early on is incredibly motivating. If anyone here has already added Synapse to their list - I love you guys!

And if anyone interested: steam page

So, I drew a car. And now I am trying to make it look wet and reflect, while keeping shades simple and minimalistic. Any advice on tutorials or info so I can learn and implement it here.

Also the yellow roof was a light source itself, then I tried to make it reflection from street lights. Idk which is better though

Thank youuuu :3

Next will do animation, but first I am curious what you guys think, is it alright or anything feels off?

Three weeks ago, demo of my solo-developed cyberpunk narrative game Synapse on itch started to get traction. Recently it has passed 850+ collection adds, which is something I genuinely didn't expect this early.

Those three weeks were spent reading every piece of feedback I could find on itch and game discord community and turning it into updates.

Some of the things that happened because players engage:

- Fixed progression blockers and gameplay bugs.
- Rebalanced several sections after watching people struggle.
- Added features significally improving plot and storytelling.
- Added custom player names.
- Reworked the ending so it better sets up what's coming instead of ending abruptly.
- Added requested quality-of-life features like an inventory hotkey. Improved UX/UI
- Fixed dozens of smaller issues, from dialogue loops and text problems to edge-case input bugs (including one where pressing I during name entry opened the inventory).

Nearly every update came directly from someone taking the time to play and write a comment.
It helped shape the game far more quickly than I could have managed on my own.

Another great achievement is that game got small yet, awesome and very warm community in our discord.

So if you're one of the 850+ people who added the game to your collection, played it, reported a bug, suggested an improvement, or simply shared your thoughts-thank you. You've had a direct impact on where the project is heading.
I'm looking forward to seeing where the next few weeks take it.

Game on itch:
https://synapse-dev.itch.io/synapse

Discord community:
https://discord.gg/nMMtsMaVjB

Made in collaboration with Megpx.267

I've been experimenting with pixel-art rain and found a simple setup that works well.

For the rain itself, render the particles at a pixel art resolution than the final render. After that, upscale it using subviewport. That way rain vector particles become pixelated. Looks good enough for me.

For local lighting, I placed light sources (such as street lamps or bulbs) on a separate mask layer. Use that mask to increase the visibility or brightness of rain particles only inside the illuminated area. This creates the effect of rain becoming highlighted when it passes under the light source, while rain outside the light cone stays darker.

Here is the game to try on itch

Would you resist?

Link to the game in my profile or here if anyone interested ^^

So I set up the game nicely, followed all instructions and guidelines, did my best with descriptions and catchy pictures, updating the game and visuals, yet was struggling to gain any traction for around a month. While making some marketing posts on Reddit, something wonderful happened and the game got to the main page, or relatively close to the 1st page, and to all the tag searches too.

I am finally getting some feedback and suggestions in the game's Discord, and happy to get back to polishing the demo but already with a good amount of input from actual gamers. Happy it happened, and appreciate everyone who helped make it happen.

Here is the game on itch and Steam:
https://synapse-dev.itch.io/synapse https://store.steampowered.com/app/4608830/Synapse/

I set up the page nicely with all the images and styling, tags, descriptions, pushed as much external traffic as I could after indexing, and published and updated the demo, yet the traffic is just dead. Any advice?

I really need feedback from players to continue polishing the game, and I thought itch.io would help with that. I tried promoting it online and even had some amazing people support me financially and leave comments. A few people provided very important feedback, which I used to balance the game and fix bugs.

Now I'm a bit lost and wondering what's wrong with the page, since it doesn't seem to get any traction at all. I would really appreciate any help or suggestions on this.

Here's the game's page:
https://synapse-dev.itch.io/synapse

Quick update:

After I posted this, something happened and itch brought 500+ visitors, 200 plays, etc... might be the traffic from you guys supporting and checking it out pushed the traffic from itch itself. Hmmmm

Also, last week, wishlists started coming from somewhere I don't really know, without any promotion on my side. I do use UTM links, but those wishlists might be coming from the algorithms for upcoming releases.

I'm happy to have reached 500, especially since I'm getting some traction organically. At the same time, I'm terrified by my decision to set a release deadline. I still believe I can make it, and I think setting a deadline is a good thing; it's just emotionally challenging. How do you guys deal with release date deadlines?

Also, the decision to release in October was made because of the Autumn Cyberpunk Fest, so I assume it would be a good idea to promote the game there just before release.

By the way, here's the game page:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/4608830/Synapse/?utm_source=reddit&utm_campaign=page

Hi r/IndieGameWishlist

So this is partly a celebration post, but also just some feedback from the past few weeks.

I stopped actively promoting the game for a bit and took a break to continue with development and fixing bugs from the demo playtests on itch, rebalancing the game. And wishlists still kept coming in, around 5-7 a day. That genuinely surprised me.

I did update the trailer and messed around with the tags on the Steam page (or maybe broke them, still not entirely sure). I also keep an eye on similar games as they pop up. And I've been using the game's Instagram to comment and engage with other artists' accounts, which might have played a role too.

These aren't huge numbers. But it makes me happy that things didn't just fall to zero the moment I took a breather.

Steam page and web demo if anyone wants to check it out:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/4608830/Synapse/?utm_source=reddit&utm_campaign=page

https://synapse-dev.itch.io/synapse