When should I release my game?

[OldSailor]

Hello. I'm working on my first HTML game. Currently, my game is in a very early stage. It has a few open-world passages where players can freely roam, and each passage has several interactive events. As I've reached this point, a question has been bothering me. When should I release my game? Looking at recently released games, I noticed that some game developers publish their games in version 0.01 while others release them in version 0.1.

What do you think? Should I release my game at an earlier development stage to gather supporters and get feedback, or should I continue developing it for a while, adding more content and features before releasing it? I'm really undecided about this. I would appreciate your help.

Note: Additionally, my English skills are not very strong, and I need some volunteer friends who can make certain passages more fluent and correct any errors in my game. Where can I find them?

Thank you in advance for your interest and understanding.

 

[Count Morado]

When should I release my game?

Note: Additionally, my English skills are not very strong, and I need some volunteer friends who can make certain passages more fluent and correct any errors in my game. Where can I find them?

For your first question: Copied from here.

There is no exact or best answer - though many will be glad to tell you 10 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 sex scene, 5 sex scenes, etc.

Bottom line is, if you are creating the game - go with what feels best for you. How much content would YOU want to see in someone else's first release of a text-based game on here. And then do that. There will be people who will be pleased with that. There will be people who think you didn't release enough. No matter what you do.

For your second question: Recruitment & Services. However, if you write in proper grammar, sentence structure, and spelling in your native language - a good translation app like deepl.com will do quite well. Copied from here (first the two paragraphs in English, and then translating to Indonesian, German, Spanish and then back to English).

What language would you write scripts in if someone brought you on their staff? That's the language you should write in your pitches, treatments, and speculation scripts. There should be few mistakes. Spelling, grammar, structure, punctuation, perspective, and other aspects should be close to perfection. This is the first impression you make on a potential employer. It is not just a job interview, it is a first date.

If English is not your first language, write in your first language. If you write well, translation applications like DEEPL have a better chance of translating your writing clearly.

Spoiler: DEEPL English to Indonesian

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Spoiler: DEEPL Indonesian to German

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Spoiler: DEEPL German to Spanish

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Spoiler: DEEPL Spanish back to English

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Spoiler: GOOGLE English to English, via Indonesian, German, and Spanish

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As you can see above, after translating through several languages, the final English result from DEEPL is almost dead-on. The Google result has a few more mistakes. (bold shows differences between the two applications in translations -- red = less acceptable translation than the rest of the document)

I am unaware if the other languages are as correct, however it does satisfy me when the resulting English version is close to my original writing.

 

[OldSailor]

First of all, I am really grateful that you took my post into consideration and gave me a thoughtful reply. I went to the link you gave me and read all the posts on the subject and now I have some ideas in my mind.

Also, thank you very much for the site you recommended for English translation, I will definitely take note and give it a try. So far I have done my translations first with ChatGPT, and where ChatGPT didn't work, with a combination of Google Translate and manual editing. But at this point I see that DEEPL also translates adult content and that is a real reason for me to use it. Thanks for all your help and paragraphs man.

NOTE: This translation was done with DEEPL.

 

[Count Morado]

First of all, I am really grateful that you took my post into consideration and gave me a thoughtful reply. I went to the link you gave me and read all the posts on the subject and now I have some ideas in my mind.

Also, thank you very much for the site you recommended for English translation, I will definitely take note and give it a try. So far I have done my translations first with ChatGPT, and where ChatGPT didn't work, with a combination of Google Translate and manual editing. But at this point I see that DEEPL also translates adult content and that is a real reason for me to use it. Thanks for all your help and paragraphs man.

NOTE: This translation was done with DEEPL.

This post is beautifully written. I am interested in your original response in your own language, as well, if that is possible. DeepL did a wonderful job with the English version; I can only image how well written was the original.

 

[Brosewood]

It's hard to say how much content you should have during your first release, but I'd say you'd want to check off the following:

• Introduce the story, gameplay mechanics, gameplay loop (if your game occurs day by day, how does a day play out?), characters etc.
• At least have some smut (that's why most people are here).
• Any stats you may want to track (money, time, energy, etc). This is critical because changing and adding stats to track later can mess with older saves and make progress difficult.
• Try to make it as bug free as possible. Play test play test play test. Critical as it can cause issues down the road, and also makes for a bad first impression.
• Whilst it might be tempting to make your first release as big as possible, keep in mind you might have to fix or change things. You also don't want to create crazy expectations for your next update. Every update for Stuck in Sutton has taken me 1.5-2 months to complete, which allows me to have a steady flow of updates.
• Make sure you have a plan for what to do after v0.1. Sure, plans can change (I know mine have), but you want to at least have a rough idea what v1.0 will look like.

 

[OldSailor]

This post is beautifully written. I am interested in your original response in your own language, as well, if that is possible. DeepL did a wonderful job with the English version; I can only image how well written was the original.

Thank you, if you hadn't made me aware of the existence of DeepL, I certainly wouldn't have had such an opportunity. And since you were curious about the original text and language, here is the Turkish version of the text:

Öncelikle yazımı dikkate aldığınız ve bana düşünceli bir cevap verdiğiniz için gerçekten minnettarım. Verdiğiniz linke girip konuyla ilgili tüm yazıları okudum ve şimdi aklımda bazı fikirler var.

Ayrıca İngilizce çeviri için önerdiğiniz site için de çok teşekkür ederim, kesinlikle not alıp deneyeceğim. Şimdiye kadar çevirilerimi önce ChatGPT ile, ChatGPT'nin işe yaramadığı yerlerde ise Google Translate ve manuel düzenleme kombinasyonu ile yaptım. Ancak bu noktada DEEPL'in yetişkinlere yönelik içeriği de çevirdiğini görüyorum ve bu onu kullanmam için gerçek bir neden. Tüm yardımlarınız ve paragraflarınız için teşekkürler dostum.

NOT: Bu çeviri DEEPL ile yapılmıştır.

And thank you for your answer Brosewood Believe it or not, I went and looked at the link Count Morado gave me and read every single post, including yours. Then I researched what a Game Design Document looks like and now I've downloaded a sample and started writing a similar one in my native language via PDF. While I was writing it, I looked at all the other games for examples and ideas, and that's when I came across your game (and of course your views on the production process). After going through most of what you wrote, including your Patreon account, I thought "wow, even a text-based game can be a hit if it's done well". You managed to surprise me, man. Congratulations and I wish you continued success. Also, thank you for your kind suggestions.

 

[Brosewood]

And thank you for your answer Brosewood Believe it or not, I went and looked at the link Count Morado gave me and read every single post, including yours. Then I researched what a Game Design Document looks like and now I've downloaded a sample and started writing a similar one in my native language via PDF. While I was writing it, I looked at all the other games for examples and ideas, and that's when I came across your game (and of course your views on the production process). After going through most of what you wrote, including your Patreon account, I thought "wow, even a text-based game can be a hit if it's done well". You managed to surprise me, man. Congratulations and I wish you continued success. Also, thank you for your kind suggestions.

Thank you for your kind words. I hope what's been said is helpful. Game development can be filled with highs and lows, but if you work hard and stick with it, you'll find some level of success. Good luck with your project, whatever it may be.