How much content do you expect for a 0.1 release of a game? And what do you expect from updates after that?

[umbreon2020]

I'm coded pretty much all the mechanics i need for my game and just need to make content, for anyone wondering, its going to be in the same vain of games like summertime saga, daily lives on my countryside, etc. I dont know the exact name of that genre but it's like that.

My questions:
How much content do you expect for the first release?
How long are you willing to wait for a major update until you loose interest?
How much new content do you expect per a major update?
Anything else I should know?

 

[MarshmallowCasserole]

I kinda don't like the answer I'm about to give, but there's no universal answer.

I was absolutely okay with SKA having basically zero adult content (and shoddy art as well) in 0.1 simply because the overall hook was great. I would not be okay with same amount of content of a super generic VN with a super generic story (hurrr durrr, you're a 20-something nobody, and you live a normal life, and no interesting plot is happening).

Your game should be fun to play. That's basically the requirement. But how you make your game fun, that can be wildly different. You can lure people with a great story hook, or a fun game mechanic, or, yes, loads of scenes from the get-go. That's up to you.

 

[Insomnimaniac Games]

Just speaking from experience, I had about an one hours worth of content on my first release.

 

[chainedpanda]

Unfortunately, these "once size fits all" questions. It's all heavily dependent on a case-by-case basis.

At the bare minimum, the intro must be completed. The more the better tho.

As for additional releases, it's generally dependent on the developer themselves. I'm sure most people appreciate games that release monthly (or less..) but that isn't always realistic for every developer. I would go with three months maximum, longer than that I simply give up on it, or worse, I forget about it.

As for the amount of content, I don't realistically think I can give an appropriate answer. It's really a trial by fire sort of thing and you'll realistically just have to learn as you create your game. Discover your limits. We players are a bottomless pit, you can realistically never create too much in each update. All you can do is create, and find some reasonable players to use as a reference.

Additionally, you suggested this is a sandbox game yes? If that's true, try to complete as much gameplay elements before release as you can. These oftentimes increase development time between updates, and can break saves. No one wants broken saves.

Lastly, try to avoid the "emptyness" that comes from new sandbox games. Don't show a bunch of things around the map that the player can click, but aren't accessible yet. I've played several games where I simply stop playing and assume the game doesn't have much content when in reality it does, but it just feels empty.

 

[Lerd0]

How much content do you expect for the first release?

...enough to coom...
...that's gonna be different for every player tho.....

How long are you willing to wait for a major update until you loose interest?

...years?......i play everything......never wait for updates......so.....

How much new content do you expect per a major update?

...enough to coom....

Anything else I should know?

....cats are cute.....
..oh also....good luck.....

 

[anne O'nymous]

There isn't an universal answer, not only because each player is unique, but also because each game is different (even when they are clones of another one).

How much content do you expect for the first release?

Enough to know what to expect from the game in terms of story, genre, game mechanism and main characters.

How long are you willing to wait for a major update until you loose interest?

As long as it's bearable in regard of the interest I have for the game...
A game that is barely interesting have to update regularly to stay in my mind, a game that passionate me can have way longer delay between two updates.

How much new content do you expect per a major update?

Enough to justify the delay, weighted by the quality of the game.
But it have to at least have enough content for the time passed to play to feel longer than the time needed to goes to the thread, search what's new in the update, download then install the game. A minimum that some games never achieve to reach even when those times is just 2 minutes.

Anything else I should know?

Do the game as long as you feel it and don't bother what people, including me, can say in this thread.
If it have a thread here, your game will face a potential base of near to 7 millions players, while less than 1,000 will see your thread, and only one or two handful will answer to your question... We represent no one else than ourselves, and none of us can pretend to have an universal answer.

 

[Room34]

1/10 of the full game

 

[Uglyvirgin]

It really is tricky to quantify especially with how varied games are in their styles and length. I think the amount of content should be way larger than there would be in one mere update to provide enough for the player to chew on and get invested. Nothing will make me lose interest faster than starting a game so devoid of content that I'm not able to ground myself in its world. I've started games in where no sexual events or meaningful scenes occur as if the author only had written down two or three scenes and thought it was enough. I don't want to play your v.0000001, I wanna play your "chapter 1". Many games begin like this and they aren't wrong to do so but I think you're squandering alot of momentum and the impact of your beginning by introducing games in this way.

 

[K.T.L.]

For me it's not really the quantity or size of a first release that matters (within reason), it's really whether there's something that piques my interest and makes me want to come back for more. The first release is sort of important though, it sets the stage for the rest of the game's development life. If it gets review bombed in the first week it'll probably stay dead, while a great first release can give you a bit of a buffer for the next few updates at least and will keep 'new' players coming along to have a look.

If it's a good game I'll wait as long as it takes for updates, it really doesn't matter that much. On the other hand, you'll want to avoid the dreaded 'Abandoned' tag which means nothing of the sort but, understandably, upsets people when they see it.

Have to say though, I'm not a fan of sandboxes. I started to create one many moons ago and quickly gave it up as a bad job. I ended up with too many locations with too little to do in each of them. The options were to cut it right down in size or to add lots of 'things to do' at each location which most players wouldn't even see and were, honestly, little more than irrelevant filler. The first idea wasn't really viable, and the second made me so bored with the whole thing I just dumped it in the recycle bin one day. In a sandbox, there's a sweet spot between creating content that most people won't get to and having so little that people walk away - I couldn't find it, maybe you can. I hope so.