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Oh I definitely agree that games don't have to follow traditional gameplay structures. I much prefer things that are less rigid and more experimental in that respect; that's where my own working is leading me, and one reason why I enjoy your games so much. I never feel your pieces are too short though, and they definitely don't have the standard "game jam" (un)finish. They are very contained and resolve themselves in quite fulfilling ways, with unique aesthetics that round out the experience perfectly. 

But i do also understand the urge to publish something in a more "professional" format. With my latest game, I'm attempting that too. It started during a month-long game jam, where I spent most of the time working on the branching narrative and programming structure; I only spent the last 3 days working on graphics (and ended up supplementing with pre-made dlc stuff), and the last 3 hours  on composing and implementing all the music and sound :3  It's a bit messy right now, more like a beta version, but I am very happy with what I was able to achieve. I am spending the next couple of months on graphics, music, balancing and of course bug fixes, spelling mistakes and text editing. I'm aiming to release it on steam by the end of the summer. It's called Thistopia (working title) and you can check it out here if you're interested. I would love to get any comments or insights you might have about it while I am still refining. A play through takes about 15-20 minutes but it has some replay value ( i hope) since choices affect the story and gameplay quite heavily. Take a look; would love to hear your thoughts :)

As for lack of marketing skills, I am so terrible at that myself (and mainly uninterested if I'm being honest). I erased all my social media accounts last year, just before I stared releasing games :D and life has been so much better since! I know it means it is virtually impossible to make a decent living from my games, but I prefer to make money with my other work (painting, comics, music...), and just do small experiments with games; maybe even "fine art" games that are unique pieces experienced on location, like in a gallery or something, idk, we'll see. I'm heading off to grad school this fall to figure all that out and just trying to release at least one "steam game" before I get lost in my MFA. Which actually, I just realized, will get in the way of my participating in Brackey's 2025.2 cause that's happening last week of August, and I have to move to Oregon during the first week of September for Uni : |