1,000 Units... Can it be done?

I finally released Neverspring Chronicles about a month ago. It was a real nail-biter because I developed this project in a vacuum for the most part. I couldn't get anyone to care. Not even friends and family could be bothered to so much as click a like button on a video. I think I got about 2... maybe 3 pieces of feedback in the past four years? I had no idea if anyone was going to like it and it took all my will and drive not to give up. It became a personal endeavor that meant something only to me, myself, and I so I pushed through. Even after finally releasing it and getting some positive feedback I still felt like a failure... but then today I signed onto Steam and saw this review:

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Steam Review

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I don't know what it is about this one, but I'm hooked. You did it, dev. You got me. I'm gonna play and beat this game. I had initially bought this one when it was in Early Access, then didn't even look at it until just a few days ago. I was in the mood for what I hoped would be a solid indie rpg experience, maybe even another hidden gem like a Forever Home.

Let's get a few things out of the way first. The overworld is a clashing of artistic styles and 8-bit/16-bit/RPG Maker default assets. I've seen enemies from RPG Maker 2003 to Aekashics, so clashing stylistic choices there as well. Battle backgrounds have been a mixture of RPG Maker 2003's and default assets thus far from what I've seen.

Yet, somehow, it's charming. It works for me. It works for this game. And I couldn't begin to tell you why.

The music is great, as it's mostly SNES/16-bit vibe from a purchasable asset pack I recognize, and it works for this game very well. I think I caught one or two more modern-ish styled tracks in there as well so far.

Yet, it works for this game.

The maps for cities/towns/villages so far have been really good. They feel alive. I'm noticing some great animations here and there, too. A combination of purchasable tilesets with default assets. The sewer dungeon was mapped out fantastically, the caves I just went through were decent, but not great.

Presentation is done well, I have to say. The story has got its hooks in me. The protagonist is interesting so far, I'm hoping there's even more characterization as I go forward. The battle system utilizes timing-based combination attacks that I'm getting better and better at as time goes on. So far, battles are very balanced. Another area where this game shines is in its character and battle animation sequences both field and in battles. I've seen some really fantastic custom animations/battle sequencing so far that shows the effort that went into this one. Writing is well done so far. I've not noticed any major grammar/spelling errors.

Another aspect I'm really enjoying is the Materia-like Thaumetics system. The customization for each character and how you want to play is very well done. I hope that this system is brought over to the dev's next game and just refined a bit further.

I don't quite know what to say except to say overall, that again, this game has charm. It really does.

If you're looking for something with effort behind it, where you can feel the passion of the dev, then give this one a go. I think you'll be surprised how charming it really is despite its flaws. To the dev, I'd love to see what you can do with not only a bigger budget, but one single cohesive art style throughout. I hope you get the opportunity to do that.

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This review means so much to me. I want to reach out and thank the reviewer but the last time I did something like that I think it weirded out the player because they immediately privated their account (or blocked me) and then removed their positive review and I never heard from them again. So maybe that's not the thing to do.

This is the first time I feel like someone really, truly sees me. I couldn't help but laugh out loud when they mentioned the clashing art styles. There were so many conversations between me and my tester where I was like "I hate this! Don't you notice the difference between these two artists?" and he'd be like "You're worrying too much, bro, they look the same to me" and I'd be like "aaaahhhh" at the thought of any artist or another dev playing my game like "what's with all the different art styles?" So I did the best I could with the budget, skills, and resources I had and I believe this person truly sees that.

Which brings me to the subject of this Devlog! The reviewer here really hit the nail on the head with me because there is really only 1 thing I would change about this game if I could... My only regret during development was that I did not have the artistic skill or budget to get the artwork (battlers, tilesets, etc) to look how I wanted. I did the best with what was available but I really wanted a more retro pixel-art style to match the traditional 90s JRPG theme. Especially the battle characters. I never liked the chibi look but between story changes, licensing, and affordability... Well, like I said. I did the best with what I had.

After release I got curious and crunched some numbers. I realized that I only need to sell 1,000 units to pay for the assets and artwork needed to skin the game in custom graphics to make it look clean and professional. That seems like an attainable goal, right? I feel like it's not outside the realm of possibility at least.

So for now I am trying to focus on some grass-roots marketing. I might be able to scrounge up a budget for maybe 1 or 2 short ad campaigns on Facebook or something. After that, I am pretty much having to rely on word-of-mouth. So if you like the game and want to see more then tell your friends!

If I can get the artwork situation sorted out I can even start work on the next adventure.

Thank you to everyone that has played so far. I hope you've had fun!

TL:DR

- If I can sell 1,000 copies it will pay for me to reskin the game with custom art/graphics and be able to start work on the sequel. I have to rely on word-of-mouth right now so spread the word!  :)