A “Steam Dev cheat sheet” that summarizes what you need to know when releasing your own game on Steam. The Japanese version released the “Steam Development Quick Reference Table”

「Steam Dev cheat sheet」Japanese translation ofSteam development blueprinthas been posted. It has been posted before“you left meor“chita ne”A freelance translator who has translated Japanese proverbsMr. NicolethHe is.

I’ve created a Japanese translation of the Steam Dev Cheat Sheet, so if you’re a game developer or just interested, please use it. Also check out original creator Matt Hackett’s books and games.@tweet Thanks for sharing your great wisdom with us!https://t.co/xkeNmGGEhWhttps://t.co/GqbmeBhy9J pic.twitter.com/7yqKOkMGpJ

– Nicolith April 26, 2023

The original “Steam Dev cheat sheet” is a worksheet that summarizes the various tasks required when you release your own game on Steam, and what to do next. Written in the third quarter of 2023, the action roguelike is scheduled for release in「Wichmore」Game development guide book developer「How to Make Your Own Video Game: 10 Steps, Just You and Your Computer.」He is also an authorMr. Matt Hackett。

With the advent of Valve’s Steam digital distribution service, indie game developers can now easily distribute their work without relying on publishers. However, the number of competitors has increased, so there is no doubt that the competition has intensified. Even the relatively simple task of selling a game on Steam won’t survive the competition if you do it carelessly…

? The Steam Dev Cheat Sheet (1st Edition)

Do you have any corrections or ideas for things to add?#indiedev #Monday _ Marketing pic.twitter.com/6Se75kS10F

Matt Hackett? (richtaur) April 24, 2023

■ Steam capsule

In “Steam Development Blueprint” Mr. Nikolith’s translation,“steam capsule”And“Search algorithm”, “Wishlist”, “Estimate sales from the number of reviews”, “Trailer”,And“any thing else?”Tips have been published for six items.
“Steam Capsule” is an unfamiliar word, but it’s a Steamworks document“Graphic Assets”If you look at the artwork shown on the Steam store page,“capsule head”or“master capsule”5 types required for each purpose and size, consisting solely of game logos and art arcs. Long story short you guys like this.

master capsule

Mr. Hackett said that this vapor capsule“the most important point”He states that it is essential to have a point of sale that is easy to understand and read. So you need something to “hook it up” and hire an artist! also wrote.

■ search algorithm
With over 80,000 titles, including DLC, on Steam, it’s important to keep busy with the search algorithms.Over 7,000 pre-release wishlistsAnd the”Get at least 10 reviews as soon as possible.”this is important. If it is lower, it will be unfavorable to search. Don’t worry too much about the review rating, it is the lowest rating“not popular at all”There will be no effect unless it becomes

■ Wish List
According to Hackett, sales in the first week were about 15% of Wish List recordings, but Nicolith said, “There are different theories, so it’s hard to predict.” In any case, Steam will send emails to wishlist registrants at the time of release and when a sale of 20% or more is running, so it’s important to increase the number of wishlist registrants to take advantage of this feature. He is

■ Estimate sales from the number of reviews
Hackett said there is also a link between the number of reviews and the number of sales, with each review selling between 20 and 55 games.New Boxleiter NoGame Analyst and Co-Founder and Advisor to the Independent Games Summit.Simon CarlsThis is a number that has been proposed before, and shows the criteria for estimating the number of sales based on the number of reviews on Steam, which does not reveal the number of games sold (external link). Ultimately, Hackett says a good number to look for is about 30. In other words, if there are 100 reviews, 3,000 are expected to be sold.

■ Trailer
Even if you make a trailer for the game, most of it will be skipped. Therefore, we advocate adding a strong element to the introductory part, removing the need for the game’s logo on the front, and showing the actual gameplay of the game. It is said that it is good to terminate induction. Of course, if the manufacturer’s logo lasts endlessly, I feel that the desire to watch it will gradually decrease. It seems that it will not be easy to buy even if only elaborate scenes are shown, but this may be different for each person. .

Below is the trailer for Hackett’s “Witchmore” which is 62 seconds long and ends with“Add me to the witch list.”It concludes with a word game.

According to Mr. Nikolith, the contents of the “Steam Development Quick Reference” are a combination of the actual functionality of Steam and the commonly held beliefs of the community. If you are interested, I would like you to link to various other sources.

Of course, one of the main assumptions would be that it’s an interesting game, but it seems like it’s very difficult to make and sell one game even on a different layer. The Steam Development Quick Reference Chart is “First Edition”, so it will be revised in the future. It’s not a story directly related to end users, but since it’s a Japanese version, I’d like people who are interested to take a closer look.