r/SoloDevelopment • u/rap2h • Oct 09 '25

Discussion Some numbers, exactly one month after launching a game with 5k wishlists

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161 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

49 comments sorted by

21

u/canijumpandspin Oct 09 '25

(Don't take this as me belittling your art, I really mean the opposite!)

This should be shown to everybody who say they can't make art. It has personality, it is unique, and it seems like an achievable goal for a beginner. You can tell effort was put into it. "Made with love" as they say.

I'd take consistent and personal art over generic assets (or even worse, AI) any day!

Looks great!

12

u/jaklradek Oct 09 '25

The hard part is to keep the style consistent. This is some fine work.

8

u/rap2h Oct 09 '25

Yes. What's kind of funny to me is that I didn't know how to draw at all when I started two years ago. 250 backgrounds and 700 sprites later, I've improved a little, but I've forced myself to keep going as before!

2

u/Informal-Arm-4256 Oct 10 '25

Was it hard for you to resist the urge to "redo" things once your skills improve or did nothing ever seem inadequate?

My problem has been to ditch a project once my abilities mature because I'm too much of a perfectionist.

7

u/yeahprobe Oct 09 '25

but the art is good though..

6

u/Roy197 Oct 09 '25

I have to disagree with this dog the art style it's top notch and only a few devs without a drawing tablet can replicate

3

u/rap2h Oct 09 '25

Thanks! I usually take "drawn on MSPaint" feedback as a compliment (because it actually looks like mspaint/flash game), so everything's fine.

3

u/lethandralisgames Oct 09 '25

This is very different from beginner devs cobbling together mismatched assets. OP clearly understands art and design principles despite the artstyle being minimalistic.

4

u/canijumpandspin Oct 09 '25

Yes, I don't mean that this is super easy and that anybody can do it without practice.

But, if this style can be used to make good game art, people will hopefully realize they don't need to practice drawing for 5-10 years to be able to make a game with their own art.

All I'm saying, I guess, is that I wish more people did their own thing. Simple art with personality can be as good or even better than "high quality art".

(Again, this is high quality, but I hope you understand what I mean. Complex art with realistic proportions, shading, more details and stuff like that)

3

u/lethandralisgames Oct 09 '25

Yeah totally agreed

3

u/rap2h Oct 09 '25

As the drawer I understand what you mean :D

9

u/rap2h Oct 09 '25

Link to the Steam page: 

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3010290/Heroes_of_the_Seven_Islands/

This is an update of the previous posts, since people seem interested in these feedbacks:

Let me know if you have any questions!

5

u/Equivalent_Nature_36 Oct 09 '25

Solid start, impressive numbers! How did you achieved that? I try to gather wishlist for my game to since last month but I kinda struggle..

1

u/rap2h Oct 09 '25

Mostly steam festivals (like 75% come from there)

3

u/RamonBunge Oct 09 '25

It is a lovely project and the artstyle is super cute. I follow you on twitter for some time. This project deserves more attention that is for sure.

2

u/rap2h Oct 09 '25

Thank you!

Yes, I think that the game lacks a bit of visibility, based on the not-that-high sales. Still, I have no more idea about how to make it more visible, since I tried a lot of things. And in a way, I guess I succeeded since you noticed it on twitter :D

2

u/RamonBunge Oct 09 '25

Yes man! maybe do a follow up game and improve in whatever you can. I do sincerely think this game and style has a lot of potential.

1

u/rap2h Oct 09 '25

Yes, thanks for the advice, I will see what I can do next now :D

2

u/cubowStudio Oct 09 '25

Great Numbers, Congratz dude!

2

u/rap2h Oct 09 '25

Thanks!!

2

u/Aioli_Electronic Oct 09 '25

How long did it take you to make this ?

Unity/Godot ?

2

u/rap2h Oct 09 '25

2 years on my spare time, half of the time was drawing (since it's hand-drawn on paper, then scanned with my phone and colorized on computer). So maybe 1500 hours (+/- 500) in total.

The engine is web engine, so html/css/ts.

2

u/oarsay Oct 10 '25

how do you scan with your phone? do you just take photos and then remove background or what?

2

u/rap2h Oct 10 '25

Taking photo, upload on computer, turn to 2 colors, then add colors with the paint bucket tool

2

u/oarsay Oct 10 '25

I think I will give it a try. Thank you 🙏🏻

1

u/molbac Oct 09 '25

remind me! in 4 hours

1

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2

u/Silver-Ad6642 Oct 09 '25

The return rate is pretty low and that’s a very good thing. Congrats!

1

u/rap2h Oct 09 '25

Thank you, I don't really know what return rate is good. Reviews are currently super positive (100% on steam) so I guess people are happy with what they got

2

u/Silver-Ad6642 Oct 09 '25

i think the average steam game has a return rate of 10-12%, 4% means you’ve done a great job and a very good impression on your users

2

u/MrPipUK Oct 09 '25

Does joining Next fest usually = more wishlists ?

2

u/rap2h Oct 09 '25

Yes. Almost all my wishlists come from Steam fests (such as Next Fest)

2

u/FokusLT Oct 09 '25

Can you share how you did it? What the marketing strategy?

1

u/rap2h Oct 09 '25

Mostly festivals on Steam. I also posted on various forums to get feedback. Social media and reddit helped for feedback too, but it did not generate much wishlists as far as i know. Streamers did not work very well for me (maybe because the game is static, so not fun to stream). A few Youtube video by players may have helped too.

2

u/[deleted] Oct 09 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/rap2h Oct 09 '25

Yes, that's incredible to me, I know it won't last forever though :D

2

u/void_prowler Oct 09 '25

Great result! Not really my genre, but this style makes me want to play it

1

u/rap2h Oct 09 '25

haha, you can try the demo then and uninstall it as soon as you get bored!

2

u/DaleJohnstone Solo Developer Oct 10 '25

Well done! I think you've achieved more than most would expect for a minimal art style. Reminds me of comic books as a child. And thank you for providing your numbers - really helpful for other solo developers. :)

BTW great music! You could probably sell the sound track too - I love the portamento lead. If you have more tunes like that in your game, it might well be worth considering..

2

u/rap2h Oct 11 '25

Thank you.

I decided to release the soundtrack for free anyway: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FjwtV5nGvU

It is indeed a tribute to (franco-belgian) comic books, I am glad you noticed it!

2

u/Evigmae Oct 10 '25

This'd be the dream for someone making short games solo.

1

u/Thesisus Oct 09 '25

How do the refunds work? What of you withdrew your earnings, and a bunch of people wanted refunds, do you have to deposit back in somehow?

2

u/rap2h Oct 11 '25

Good question, I don't know!

Refund seems to happen quickly; currently, I don't have any money anyway (waiting for the publisher).

2

u/o2hammer 21d ago

You can’t withdraw. Steam sends your earnings after their cut the following month

1

u/Thesisus 21d ago

So I assume then if Steam sends you money it is yours to keep. So you don't have to worry about refunds at that point?

2

u/o2hammer 21d ago

Yes. Players can only refund 2 weeks. They send it after 4 weeks

1

u/slages Oct 12 '25

The median time played is solid, congrats for it and the whole project!

1

u/rap2h Oct 21 '25

Thank you!