The Sea Between (Version 1.0.0)

Good luck!

Hey! I don't know if you have made this game in a team or not. But it looks very basic to be costing 5$ to play. (Not ugly but compared to other rpgs)

I understand you are trying to turn a profit or minimise your loses (if you used plugins etc) but I suggest to first advertise you demo a bit, get feedback and improve.

Second add more screenshots of your nicest maps. Screenshots and trailers grab the attention of the potential buyers the most. Originality can also improve your game. Custom drawings/textures.

I don't think your game is bad, it might be very enjoyable to play! But the advertising and price-quality aspects are not that great.

I hope I helped, ask any questions this community will gladly awnser them! Never give up on your ideas and games!

Don't forget to smile! (A friend of mine always says this)

Hey JazzGotBlues,

Thanks for your feedback. I am the creator of this game and have been working on it for the last three years. I have tried to minimize my budget as much as possible and used many of the default art assets that comes with RPG Maker MV. I have also been able to add in art assets that were created by many people on these forums to help change the look of the game from just the default assets. I'm quite proud of the work that I've been able to do with what was available to me. In the future when I actually have a budget for a bigger project I would love to be able to pay somebody to create amazing assets, but I'm just not able to do that at this time.

I've already added a number of screenshots and a trailer to this post, which I think give you an idea of what the game looks like and lets you know what to expect if you were to purchase it. There are many aspects of this game that were created specifically for this project including, artwork, Music, Icons, Plugins, etc..., but these are hard to get across in a small post such as this. I've been posting about this game in the forums for some time and have got opinions from many people, including the team of people that I've had working with me to playtest the game.

I knew when I was making this project that some people would see what I had created and not be interested in it, but I am okay with that. There are many games that are available and this game may not be for everybody. That being said, I believe that this game is definitely worth $5 and I am quite proud of the story that this game tells. I've put a lot of time and heart into this game and I really hope that the people who play love it as much as I do.

Again, thank you for your feedback and I hope someday if you play it, and that you enjoy The Sea Between as much as I do.

All the best,
Matthew

Gehehe missed the trailer so akward.....
Humbly respect your opinion and understand the situation you are in. Also idk but it might also be cultural difference 5$ for me is quite a lot but for others it simple isn't.

Happy you happy

Hi @ColdAsSnow
I think you should read this topic: https://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/index.php?threads/how-should-i-advertise-my-game.99585/
Ermm.. i think it will give you a lots good advises

I'm going to have to agree with JazzGotBlues on this, the presentation seems a bit lacking from the trailer and screenshots presented. It might not distinguishible from other RPG maker games in term of game mechanics, graphics or animations. And with the saturation of how steam market today work toward RPG maker games, it might be difficult to sell copies of your game with what you have presented. Potential customers will usually only see the tip of the ice berg before they buy it, it is likely they might not see the effort that was put into your game. My suggestion, like what is stated above, is to take different variety of screenshots that showcase good mapping, battle and environment. The top 3 screenshots should always go first. As for the trailer, maybe try some special effects and try to make some unique sentences from the one you had. Also, a last thing I would suggest is to be open to feedback. Anyway, wish you the best of luck for your game!

IMO you need to show these/their effects off in the trailer! I watched the trailer and it failed to make me download the demo; to me, nothing about it stood out. The first part (the 'under the sea' graphic) was cool and different, but the trailer became very generic after that (without having me hooked into your (presumably) awesome story. I felt a disconnect between the sea theme (title + cool graphic), and the rest of the graphics you chose to show off in the trailer (no seaside/underwater stuff, but a forest and desert town, and the default battlebacks).

IMO, if you have a cool and different menu, show it off! Same for custom graphics/systems in your game. One of the most-vocalised complaints is that RPG Maker games all look/feel the same, and your trailer doesn't show (to me, at least) how your game defies that criticism (nor does it suck me in with your story, another possible hook to get people interested in your rpg).


I clicked open the synopsis after watching the trailer, and IMO one of the most interesting things about your game is in that quote. However I got none of that from the other marketing materials for your game. This is (to me at least) a far more intriguing premise than the rather generic lines of text in the trailer: "when I think about it now" (about what? your cat? your homework? the apocalypse?) and "I still remember that last day..." (of what? tell me about what's going on in your game, don't make it a mystery at this point. That's for when I've bought the game, not for when you're enticing me to buy it).

TLDR: The game looks competently made, if a little generic. The trailer doesn't tell me enough about your game to draw me into either your story or your game's world and therefor I stopped exploring (didn't feel invested enough to download the demo, let alone fork over money to check it out further). Please don't get discouraged by this feedback! I tried to be specific about my process in exploring a potential new game in a genre that interests me, to show you where you lost me as a buyer. I hope this helps!

@FluffexStudios and @PitjePitjePitje
Hey folks,

I'll have a look at trying to get some better screenshots that will hopefully draw more people in. With regards to the trailer though, that was created by an outside source and it has already been paid for and delivered so there is nothing that I can do to change it at this point. I may have just made some bad choices when I made the trailer and now I have to live with that. I just don't have the budget to do it again.

I'm aware that the only way that a game like this is going to sell is by good word of mouth and it's hard to trust the artist saying that his art is the best because he's a little biased. I've had some playtesters and associates play the game through my Beta period and they really enjoyed their time with the game and the story, so it gives me hope that the people who do actually find and play this game will truly enjoy it.

I really do appreciate the feedback and I'd hate to seem ungrateful, but some of these things (like the trailer) I no longer have control over. I'm not discouraged by any of this feedback, because I'm ridiculously proud of what I've created over the last three years and I would love for as many people to see it as possible. I really do appreciate the level of detail that you guys went into as well and the amount of help that this community is willing to offer up.

All the best,
Matthew

Unfortunately the standard for most commercial games is to not have any of the stock assets. As a lone developer, I understand that isn't an easy task.

But if you do plan to make a game to sell, then you also need to invest in it. You have invested a lot of time into the game and obviously have made it work from start to finish, which is awesome. I think $5 is steep for right now and I think it would be wise to hire an artist and invest money (time) to make your game your own.

First impressions do matter. The suggestions made here are to help you get to the point your $5 price point is suggesting.

I do plan to try out your demo and I will let you know what I think!

I trid out the demo, and while competent and decently written, it doesn't stand out really. Too many stock assets, and sales may be rough for awhile. There's just so many people using these assets to varying degrees that it taints the experience, regardless of its competence.

My games (in my signature), for example, use almost no RTP stock assets and many custom/altered ones in fact, and I have a hard road selling at times. As the previous poster stated, the current standard for commercial is very little/no use of stock assets at all, if you're expecting a larger return.

Hey @SimProse,
Thank you so much for taking your time to try out the demo. That really means a lot to me.

I'm not at all worried about how many copies I sell. I thought that I might sell 25 copies in the first month if I was really lucky and I've already surpassed that in just over 24 hours. Everything past this is more than I could have expected. Also, twice as many people have put it on their wishlist which means that they are likely interested, but don't want to pay the full price or aren't able to pay the full price right now. Those people will maybe buy it when it goes on sale, or maybe they'll buy it when they get more money, or maybe they'll never buy it. I know that I always have games on my wishlist that I'm waiting for a good deal on.

I know how much money I've put into this project already and I know that I'll likely never make even that much back. This game wasn't about making a profit though. It was about taking an idea I had and seeing it to fruition. There are a million reasons not to finish a project and I'm so happy that I kept working and made it to the end.

I spent a lot of time making sure that battles flowed properly, that it wasn't a grind, that the difficulty was where I wanted it to be, that the text didn't have spelling errors, grammatical mistakes, or punctuation problems, that book cases were full of stupid puns(That one was just to keep me entertained), and that it was the story that I wanted to tell. I did all of those things because I wanted people to have a really fun experience with the story I was telling and I knew that I would need to deliver the highest quality product that I could, because of the facts that many people have mentioned here already. I know that I've said many times on this post how proud I am of this game, but that's because it's true and it's the most important thing to me.

Again, thank you for taking the time to take a look at this post, and for playing the demo. I wish you all the best with your games in the future!

All the best,
Matthew

This looks interesting. I'll download it once I get home

I just wanted to let everybody know that if you are interested in picking up a copy of The Sea Between, it is currently on sale for 50% off over on Steam. Merry Christmas all!