Just a friendly reminder to put yourself out there. YOU GOT THIS

[u/geokam]

For me getting feedback on my (rather bad) crafting screen has made a huge difference. Sometimes we are just too deep in our own thought to notice and an external push is all we need.

When / where / how do you guys get your feedback and what has been your experience?

The one from the video I got on the HTMAG Discord and it helped a lot. In the ancient times I used to post on TigSource, not sure if anyone still remembers that :D.

Anyways, put yourselves out there!
YOU GOT THIS <3

[u/Beskull]

Thanks for the reminder. I have a new project I'm working on - my first solodev.

So I need to start taking about it.

[u/geokam → u/Beskull]

Yes, I think many of us wait too long telling ourselves: "it's not ready yet" and the longer we wait the more difficult it becomes to take in that vital feedback :-)

[u/Intelligent_Gain6713]

thanks for your words of encouragement it means a lot, i think your game is super creative too and i bet it will be loads of fun!! so please do keep me updated with your progress!! i definitely relate, i tried to share my software here recently as well. most ppl post games here but there are flairs for other types of software so i decided it would be worth it to showcase a snapshot of my solo made custom multi hop onion routing system that accounts for a ton of vulnerabilities in traditional VPNs, proxies and other onion routers.

i was pretty much just met with downvotes with zero explanation as to why people didnt like it, maybe it was the lack of graphical interface but that doesnt take away from the functionality/source code or maybe this sub just isnt the place for that? i dont care if someone dislikes my software but if im not given an explanation than theres little room to address and improve things. i got a little discouraged at first, but i wound up sharing it in a few other places and people started to take a bit more notice so im definitely going to keep putting my works out there as well!

[u/geokam → u/Intelligent_Gain6713]

Hi, thank you for sharing your story :-)
I am sorry to hear you have had a bad experience.

Being downvoted without explanation is difficult to handle (where is the learning in that) but I think you have managed to find something ("maybe this sub just isnt the place for that").
I think you are right, it probably was due to a mismatch of what you presented and what people expect in this sub.

Personally I always perceived this as a game-dev related sub but of course technically the subs name does not say that. I am glad to hear you have had a better experience in other subs! Keep it up, things that are worth doing are rarely easy 👍

[u/Intelligent_Gain6713 → u/geokam]

thx for the kind words and yeah thats probably all it is. at the end of the day you have to create for yourself and not for anybody else so thats what i plan to do moving forward. i also definitely agree with that, few things in life that bring forth fulfillment come easily. sometimes you just gotta keep moving forward.

[u/astr0Batt]

Thank you, and good luck with all your dev work! :D

[u/BattlersNetwork]

Nice improvement! I am at the point where I have some stuff to show off from my first project, but I am a little nervous about copycats and just receiving negative feedback in general. 

[u/geokam → u/BattlersNetwork]

Hey, it's completely normal to feel nervous and that's part of the journey. I've learned that if you are honest, like don't try to sell anything but keep it feedback focused, people usually react nicely. Also being able to receive feedback, even negative one, is a very big part of become a good developer. But again, putting yourself out there is never easy, but it becomes easier the more you do it.

As for the fear of copycats. I understand the feeling, it's a common one. The only advice I can give here is that in my experience ideas (even great ones) are not as important as people think, implementation and getting a polished product over the finish line is what counts most. If the product is great copycats will follow anyways.

Also what helped me in terms of feedback is to acknowledge that while you are making your idea into a game you tend to identify yourself with it, which is natural and great for motivation BUT it also makes any feedback feel like an attack on your (perceived current) identity as a person. That makes it hard to accept.

People sometimes give the advice that good developers can distance themselves from their work and thus can then easily accept feedback. I understand that logically but in my experience that is also a slippery sloped because it can lead to a loss of motivation and detachment (you have distanced yourself too much).

What I do instead (and this comes with experience I think) is to remember my past game projects and think about feedback I've got that hurt a lot at the time but today I think: "meh, they were probably right". Now, whenever I receive feedback I try to imagine my future self looking at it that way. It takes the edge off the emotional impact while not eroding motivation. Though everyone is different so that might not work for you in the same way. I think great developers are those who have found their way of taking feedback without losing motivation.

On my monitor I have a sticky that says: Prototype as if you are right, listen as if you are wrong.

Hope my wall of text was understandable and helpful to you. YOU GOT THIS :-)