Nathan Meunier's Blog, page 5

Steam Launch Diary #1: Surviving the First 24-hours

Missile Cards is out NOW on Steam at 10% off this week! Only $4.49 – If you want to support my ongoing gamedev efforts this year, grabbing a copy this critical launch weekend means a lot! Thanks!

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I’m sitting here typing this at the 24 hour mark threshold since launching my new game Missile Cards on Steam, which means I survived launch day! As you’ll see in a moment, there’s still a LONG ways to go before Missile Cards becomes profitable, even for a small game designed to be a minimum risk th...

Missile Cards is OUT NOW on Steam (PC)

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Holy crap: It’s zero day. *Hyperventilates* OK! It’s been an insane 6 months, but my new solo strategy card game Missile Cards is officially OUT NOW on Steam for PC.  It’s only $4.99, and you can grab it during launch at a 10% discount! Every sale, every Steam review, and every bit of help spreading the word during this critical launch weekend means a LOT to me.

Rather than yap on about the game itself (you can learn all about it on the Steam page), I wanted to take a moment to talk about wh...

My Quest for 5,000 Steam Sales During Launch Month

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Making a game, even a small one, is challenging as hell. Making a game and having it be financially successful is exponentially harder. This Friday (April 7th), I’m launching my next game, Missile Cards, on Steam, and I’m on a quest. A quest to break even.

I know what you’re thinking: “Woah, woah, hold up! Let’s not get all CRAZY TALK here, Mr. Ambitious pants.”

Break even? Yeah. Break even. That’s my first target with Missile Cards’ Steam launch, and to do that, I need to sell roughly 5,000...

Beta Testing Your Indie Game (#Gamedev Audio Blog #3)

Lightening things up a but, episode #3 in my short mini-podcast audio blog series looks at tips and techniques for Beta testing your game as a solo indie — especially when you live outside of the a major population hub and struggle with finding testers for your games.

Here are some of the topics I touch on:

Building your Beta testing list Running your Beta through Steam Tips for ensuring your Beta runs smoothly Using Steam to deliver + update your Beta How Beta testing improved Missile Card...

Making Games and Mental Health (#Gamedev Audio Blog #2)

This second short mini-podcast audio blog post covers the important topic of dealing with depression, anxiety, and other mental health challenges as a game developer or creative.

Here are some of the topics I touch on:

Struggling with depression and anxiety as a gamedev Using games as a positive way to express yourself while exercising inner demons The challenges of working in isolation, far outside of the games industry Work/life balance and the toll that overworking yourself can take The...

Navigating Pre-Launch Anxieties (#Gamedev Audio Blog #1)

Hey, remember when I used to podcast? Wasn’t that fun? Here’s something sort of like that: The first entry in my mini-podcast-like audio blog series! In this first 12-minute episode, I talk about prepping for the upcoming Steam launch of my new game Missile Cards.

Rather than throw a wall of words at you all the time, I figured I’d be neat to switch things up and use my human voice thing. These short audio posts will be a mix of dev-diary stuff covering what I’m working on, the challenges I’...

#Gamedev Audio Blog #1 – Navigating Pre-Launch Anxieties

Hey, remember when I used to podcast? Wasn’t that fun? Here’s something sort of like that: The first entry in my mini-podcast-like audio blog series! In this first 12-minute episode, I talk about prepping for the upcoming Steam launch of my new game Missile Cards.

Rather than throw a wall of words at you all the time, I figured I’d be neat to switch things up and use my human voice thing. These short audio posts will be a mix of dev-diary stuff covering what I’m working on, the challenges I’...

The Final Countdown – Reflecting on 6 Months of Missile Cards

Buckle up, folks! Here’s a personal post about making/launching a game thing in 6 months, what it might or might not mean for my future, and what I’ve learned from the process.

Roughly six months ago, I started creating a quick little prototype for a strategy card game in GameMaker: Studio. I set out to mash-up the retro vibe and bombardment defense gameplay of the classic Atari game Missile Command — a game I played obsessively as a kid — with more strategic turn-based solo card game elemen...

Become a Missile Cards Beta Tester!

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It’s almost time! Now that Missile Cards is officially past Steam Greenlight (thanks for your votes, everyone), I’m nearing the home stretch of development on this crazy card-based sci-fi defense game! It’s been a wild four months of intense development, and I’m really stoked to be able to soon unleash this weird little beast on the world!

Before I do that, however, I could use some help kicking the tires and fine tuning it ahead of launch. Yup, it’s closed Beta time!

I’m aiming to roll out...

Steam Greenlight is a Fang-Mawed Beast Awaiting Your Slaughter

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For indie developers on Steam Greenlight, your YES votes make the difference between getting to sell our PC games and…not getting to sell our PC games.

Steam Greenlight is a fickle, flawed, fanged, gnarly beast most indie developers inevitably have to do battle with in order to get their games on Steam.

And let’s be honest…if you’re making a PC game and it’s NOT on Steam, your chances of getting enough sales to make its development worthwhile are pretty…nil.

A swift and decisive victory is a...