7 Things YOU need to keep in mind for your DEMO!

It’s a new year and one of the things I want to do more in 2024 is WRITE. So you may have to bare the brunt of it if you choose to read it! The next steam next fest is barreling down on us and I thought this would be the perfect time to write this article, I’ve had this one formulating in my mind for quite a long time but never really put the pen… or keys to paper. I truly believe this would provide some insight to developers, not matter what stage your game’s development journey is at right now.

This article is after my experience as a tester and lover of indie games. I’ve tested hundreds of indie games in my current role with Gameround, and even before then, I’ve made countless videos with demos and early builds, chief among them demos I was able to get access to via itch.io or steam.

Throughout the years, I’ve felt that the developers tend to ignore certain simple things that could have a big impact on how ‘likeable’ their demo can be. I’ve tested games from early alpha builds to release-ready, and let me assure you, these issues have been present across studios of all sizes and of games of all stages.

Please do take this as it’s meant – constructive feedback that may be easy to fix (on some things anyway) and may help refine your game’s first impression.

This isn’t listed in any particular order, some may be easy to implement while others you should take into consideration for a later stage of development. Heck, you may not even want to include them, this is simply put, a letter from a long-time fan and player of indie games to developers that create worlds from passion!

While I play tons of games, I am not a developer, so it may include things that you look at and go ‘Oh a developer would never suggest this at early stage’ and you’d be right! I’m just sharing a player’s / tester’s perspective! 🙂

1. Keep the default volume at 50% – You may love your game’s music/SFX, I will probably love it too. I will, however, hate it, if the first thing I hear when I boot up a game is at 120% MAX EAR DAMAGE VOLUME. I fondly remember games that keep the volume at 50% or 75% by default (the highest it should be btw!) like Fist of The Forgotten by Jitspoe (Lone Wulf Studios LLC), I remember a lot of things fondly about the game, this chief amongst them.
2. Cinematic should be avoided in early builds – Now let me stress, that this is purely for games that are NOT focused on narrative storytelling. If you’re creating a point-and-click adventure or feel the narrative is a strong pillar for your game, then by all means, include a cinematic intro, and keep them flowing! But if your game is a Metroidvania that focuses on gameplay elements when it comes to early builds, try and keep the cinematic/narrative aspect to as small as you can manage. Get me to your game ASAP, it’s an early build, and if it’s gameplay-focused, that’s what I want to test! As someone that’s had to test 7-8 games in a couple of hours, giving me unskippable cutscenes for a Metroidvania that is limited to 2 levels doesn’t help and I always feel it’s time spent that could have been better spent focused elsewhere, especially true in case of solo dev teams. Bring them in later in the development cycle, heck, it even gives you a chance to ‘hype’ up a new update. Players LOVE seeing cutscenes of a game they’re already interested in, don’t let this be a reason they don’t buy into the game.
3. Anti-virus is your enemy – I know that this is again, something that may be looked into at a later stage of development, but having an anti-virus flag your game as potentially dangerous is a surefire way to scare off possible casual gamers from checking out your game. This is not really an issue with games on Steam but for games on itch.io, build links on other websites like google drive/mediafire, etc. It’s stupid, but I’ve had plenty of testers not want to test games that triggered their AV software.
4. Multiple ways to play are ALWAYS a plus – Now this I know is definitely for the later builds but allow us to play with a KB/M, Mouse or controller. Again, I understand this is something that may be tough to include right from the start, but the earlier you can get this added, the more attractive it will be to a player to spend more time in your game (I personally play a game with all controller inputs to test out the feel for the controls)
5. Settings and Accessibility – This is something I always feel is important to include, be it screen reading/voice narration, color blind assistance or things like rebindable keys etc – The earlier you can have this in your build, the better. Everyone deserves to game.
6. Playtest – Your friends and family may miss things but professional playtesters will always find out the worst parts of your game, and no matter what stage of development your game is – that’s the feedback you NEED. I have come across many developers that asked me ‘Why do they not like my game?’. My answer is always the same – They are criticizing and writing 500 words + essays BECAUSE they love the game and want to see it improve. I’ve been lucky to work with many testers during my time at G.Round and trust me, they want nothing but the absolute best for your game. They pour their heart into each review. Remember them. Thank them! I recently saw a developer include testers from G.Round as part of the credits, a simple thank you and you could see the amount of excitement that caused within the testers.
7. Creators are your friends, involve them, and do it early! – I am biased here as I consider myself a creator but there is a special feeling as a creator when a developer involves you in the process, include them in your playtesting, trust me they are more than views and subscribers, and when you involve us from the start, trust me, we go above and beyond to promote, so much more than a last-second dash with the “Here’s a key to my new game!”. Again, not something that may be doable for every game, but I feel creators as a source of feedback is just not used as much as they should be!

These points are said out of love, if your game lacks on all of these fronts, don’t feel disheartened, because, at the end of the day, I honestly appreciate every single developer who takes their passion for games and takes it to a level where they create worlds that last a long time in our memories and our hearts.

This is purely a wishlist, a checklist for you to keep track as you build your next demo. This does not mean your game will do better or worse because of it, but honestly, I’m willing to stake over a decade of experience with indie games to say that they will certainly not make your game worse.

Keep up the amazing stuff, in an industry where the giants have revolving doors, you guys are truly the guardians of what we all hold dear to our hearts – Games we love.

Thank you for making games,
Govind ‘RDTechy’ Balachandran