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Posted 05/25/12 08:59:00 am Steam: the Holy Grail of Indie distribution. You've see it discussed on any game development website, from theUnity forums to the Xbox Indie community to Newgrounds. If devs aretalking about PC projects, then devs are talking about getting onto Steam . This most lucrative digital distribution platform has become amysterious fortress, only breached by a lucky few of us. Whatexactly are they looking for in a game? After talking with some folks at Valve, and others who havereviewed submission for Impulse (aka " The Gamestop App ") it comes down to some very simple traits that, while many willscoff at their obviousness, most of us would be wise to consider. Here's what Steam, Gamestop, and other digital distributors arelooking for in submitted games: QUALITY : Worry more about a polished slice of your game rather than abug-free version of an unpolished-yet-complete game. They want tosee what the final product is going to look and feel like, andunderstand that bugs will be squashed and more content can be addedbefore release. Many agreements are signed before the final product is made, somake sure what you send them is polished to perfection. FUN : You have around 15 minutes to make an impact. These guys have aMOUNTAIN of games to sift through, so hook 'em hard, and if they'restill playing your game after 2 hours then you're good to go! My personal thought would be to include a cheat key or even a savedgame that gets the reviewer into the action ASAP. Forcing them toendure a tutorial for "how to move" in a Mario-eqsue sidescrolleris just wasting that immensely precious time. THE BASICS : Include a short description, control scheme, cheat keys, systemspecs, screenshots...basically a one-sheet of your game to perktheir interest the moment they open the submission. Even if you feel information is redundant or obvious, spell it out,and if your game isn't unique enough to require explanation, thenyou have another set of problems... ORIGINALITY : Clones of popular games are traditionally frowned upon, whileunique games can quickly win them over. You can imagine thelightning speed at which a VBasic Minesweeper clone gets rejected(but you'd be surprised how many get submitted). AN OUTSIDERS PERSPECTIVE : Just like a game ad or box cover, always use review quotes,positive press, awards, and community following to show your gamenot only has potential, but has already impressed people other thanmum. PRICE FLEXIBILITY : Once approved they'll work with you on hitting the perfect pricepoint for your game. They have TONSSSSSSSSSS (yes, thats with 10S's), just tons of data on what genres sell well at various pricepoints, so try to be flexible with your expectations there. PATIENCE : Your game is being reviewed by a small team that gets bombardedwith submissions daily, so, unfortunately, you may end up playingthe waiting game while your masterpeice makes its way through thequeue. The thing that struck me about the Valve representatives was theirempathy for the Indie's plight. They were the first to acknowledgethat the current submission process must feel 'black box' to us,and hope to implement a more transparent solution in the future. Until that time, and with my second-hand knowledge spent, Igenuinely wish my fellow Indie developers the best of luck inbreaching those mighty Steam/Gamestop/etc. walls. May you one daysit amongst the Kings of PC gaming, bask in the golden light ofdigital success, and delight as your work is viewed by millions ofeager players, each waiting for the next-big-game and/or weekendsale. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as China Inflatable Snow Globe , Inflatable Zorb Ball, and more. For more , please visit Inflatable Water Park today!
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