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Any Tips for Building a Community?

A topic by DragonSkies created Jul 14, 2025 Views: 2,287 Replies: 19

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Hi everyone. I'm an extremely active game developer working on a new project. I'm by no means a professional, but I've advanced enough that I want to engage the indie community a little bit more and have my projects seen. This is a two-part question, but one that's been on my mind a lot lately.

What can I do to start building a community around my games? Similarly, how can I engage more with the itch community in general? What has made a difference for you guys in these areas, and what mistakes should I avoid?

Thanks for taking a look! Any advice helps.

TheMetalCarrotDev338 days ago

Hi!

I think my suggestions would be:

Simple way of engaging with the Itch community is participating in discussions
Also think about third-party audiences (ie, promoting your Itch creations beyond Itch, to reach additional audiences)

DragonSkies338 days ago

Makes sense. I've definitely enjoyed following discussions in the community page; talking with other devs is really nice. :D

Any suggestions for what third-party audiences to look for? I tried instagram, but that flopped pretty quick.

Rex243 days ago

Great advice!

Cagey Games337 days ago

Scream into the void and hope it screams back at you.

Sir Munch336 days ago

real

Nmodern334 days ago

when aren' we trying this chat ?

THE PRO GAMEDEV83 days ago

W username

DragonSkies336 days ago

Good to know it's a shared feeling, lol.

pitand113367 days ago

Thanks for your advise, master

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Jamnade336 days ago

I suggest participating in Itch.io's community and other social media communities. Make a trailer that is intriguing. I suggest showing some fun gameplay and some eye-catching story scenes, but not too much that you spoil a lot of the story. Contacting streamers to play your game would also be very helpful. I would avoid spamming the link of your game in comment sections, as that can be seen as annoying and desperate. Instead, I suggest doing what I had had stated above with contacting streamers, making intriguing trailers, and being active on social media. I am happy to try out and give feedback to your games!

DragonSkies336 days ago (1 edit)

Wow, thanks Jamnade! :D

Contacting streamers occurred to me too, especially as I'm getting closer to completing my next jam game. Is there a specific site where you can find these streamers, or is it more a research project on the developer's end?

Feedback for my projects would be awesome, as I've just started working on itch. I'd love to do the same if you're an active developer.

Seriously, thanks for the reply! It was exactly what I deeded!

Jamnade335 days ago

I think Twitch would be a great place. You can also DM (Direct Message) streamers and/or email them. Before you contact a streamer, see what content they post, if they post the content your game has, they are more likely to play your game. Email them individually, don't copy and paste an email to multiple streamers. Patience is needed, as streamers often get many emails and it could take a while for them to get yours. Also, make sure to proofread your email before you send it. If a streamer does not respond to your email, don't pester them, move on. Make to get to know the streamer first individually before you send them a thumbnail of your game. Make sure the thumbnail is intriguing, as it will be easier for a streamer to use an eye-catching thumbnail for the video they are doing about your game. Also, thank you for being willing to give feedback if I post a future game. Another thing, I would love to know some tips and tricks for Unity, as I see you use that engine as well. Thank you! One last thing, I have a post that for this question that I had been wondering https://itch.io/blog/988061/how-do-i-make-a-game-a-lot-of-people-will-appreciate

DragonSkies335 days ago

All great advice! I'd love to help you get on your feet with unity; I'm self taught as of about 3 years and a ton of YouTube, so I definitely would like to help out. I don't know if itch has a built in dm feature, but you can also find me on discord for some first steps.

Thanks for the time! See you probably on the other thread.

Lee71 days ago

Don't we all want to increase awareness of our projects. There is so much work that has to be done to showcase a project. The web has an abundant buffet of social platforms to post and discuss gaming content. It is the time and effort it takes to begin creating a following for fans of the genre you are creating, that pushes devs out of the market. I have been a part of many mod showcases for various games on steam, but still never was able to get a following for myself. It is a constant uphill climb to create, cultivate, and maintain a fan based following. Hiring out, such as fiverr and other hosting platforms, that decrease the mental weariness of promoting a project.

Ratsnake Games67 days ago

"Promoting" and "building a community" are not the same thing. You can buy views or (fake) engagement but you can't buy fans.

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Ratsnake Games60 days ago

This is how you end up on blocklists

No Time To PlayModerator59 days ago

Don't spam.

Orange Heart Creative60 days ago (1 edit)

Another great option for game devs to get their projects seen is Discord (it was built for gamers, after all!) There are a lot of servers - even itch.io itself has one - that are tailored for game devs to get their projects noticed. I’ve utilized this tool on several occasions with my two latest games, and it’s been a Godsend! I won’t post any links here but, if you look around Google for “indie game Discord server,” or, “Discord to promote games,” you’ll find quite a few that’ll not only allow game promotion, but encourage it!

DragonSkies44 days ago

Not a bad idea! I already use discord a lot so that makes sense. Thanks for the input!