Steam Direct, The Fee & Thoughts.

     It's funny because just yesterday in my latest post I mentioned Steam Direct and how the fee was still a mystery. Today, it is no longer a mystery and if you haven't already heard the news from Steam's blog or any other gaming news website already, then you probably are not a game developer who want's to publish a game to Steam. Or you just don't care.

     Anyway, today Valve officially announced that the Steam Direct fee will only be $100 per game. Also, this $100 fee is recoupable according to Valve.
Steam Blog: Link

     After weeks of indie developers stressing out and being on edge about the Direct price point and waiting for the news to come out, everyone can finally relax.

     At first, I was really surprised to see Valve's decision. Personally, I was expecting the fee to be between $300 and $500 myself actually. However, Valve decided to set the fee at the lowest price point possible so that smaller indies (me being a small indie as well) wouldn't get barred out and that is pretty awesome of them. I am really happy with this price point and I am sure many other indie developers are as well. This is a very fair and more than reasonable price to pay to have your game on the largest PC gaming store front in the world. I believe that this small fee gives every indie game developer the opportunity to shine and possibly become a success on Steam. Also, it just makes everything so much more simpler for everyone. No more running Greenlight campaigns, getting votes and waiting months to see if the game passes. Developers simply pay the fee, fill out some paper work (I think there will be paperwork), set up the game page and release on Steam.

     Of course at the same time this low price point might worry some people because now the Steam platform is available to publish on to anyone with $100. It brings up the argument that the platform could possibly become over flooded with low quality games, joke games, asset flips, etc. The argument that shady developers might abuse this new system and exploit it to set up cash farms just like they did with Greenlight. Developers worry that their games will just become buried under the hundreds of other games submitted making it hard to become visible to potential customers. And gamers worry that they will become overwhelmed with loads of games flooding the storefront pages making it more difficult to browse for games that they would be interested in.

     With a low price point of just $100 it is possible for any of these points that I brought up to happen however, no one knows for sure yet. With that said, the people over at Valve have also taken these potential possibilities into consideration. I have been keeping up with Valve's more recent blog post and it truly does sound like they are working hard to avoid any possible exploitation of the new system. Valve has already made changes to the trading card system, navigating the site, what content is recommended to which users depending on their interest and making changes to the sites algorithms to just make the entire platform the best it can be. Valve really does care about giving the end user an enjoyable store browsing experience and giving the developer the best platform to work on and it shows that they are working hard to constantly improve the site. And this is why in my opinion they are the best. Why they are the number one storefront in the world. With all that said, nothing is perfect and I am sure there will always be users complaining about something and users giving praise.

    Only time will tell how the Steam Direct system will perform so we just have to wait and see.
As for me, I will definitely be using Steam Direct to publish my upcoming future games. I am excited about it and am really looking forward to seeing the changes Valve continues to make. What are your thoughts about all of this? Tweet at me @snowconesolid

See you all on Direct!

Update: 6/6/2017

Steam Greenlight official retired. Steam Direct confirmed for June 13th, 2017

The status of "Samer Hills"

Hey Samer, whatever happened to that one game project you were working on? You know, the one you posted to Steam GreenLight over here? Hmmm... I believe it was called Samer Hills? Yeah, this one. 

That is a good question Samer (just play along with me). Let me tell you what is going on because I believe I haven't been really been clear about it's progress and to be honest, I have been a bit confusing because I tend to say something different each time. I recently posted this update over at the game's Steam Greenlight page (yes, as of this post Steam Greenlight is still up and is still a thing. I posted links to my game's Greenlight page exactly 5 times already in this post......) 

Anyway! as I was saying, I recently posted this update on the Steam Greenlight page because I felt it was important to keep the page... well, updated with news relating to the project. However, with Valve's upcoming Steam Direct system, Steam Greenlight can be taken down any day now and who knows if anyone will ever be able to visit those dead Greenlight game pages anymore. 

With that said, I think it is a good idea to simply re-post the update over here on my blog for future reference. Now, I will shamelessly copy paste and quote myself:

Status of the project:

"Just a quick and possibly final update I post here on this game's Greenlight page. Since I have been going back and forth between saying that the game is "temporarily shelved" and the "game is still in development."

So that there isn't any confusion, I want to clarify the current status of this project and my plans. I don't want to sound like I am repeating what I have said in previous announcements, but here is what's going on.

-The game is NOT canceled.

-The game is still set to release/finish development this year (2017)

-I am reworking the game to be something more than what I originally had planned. I have a completely different vision for what I want this game to be and I want to implement all of my ideas into it and tweak it until I feel it is the game I want to put out there. This will be a bigger game with more than originally planned. I want to create an immersive world with multiple characters and multiple story-lines occurring.

-I am planning on changing the game's name to something entirely different. It will no longer be called "Samer Hills". Therefore if the game gets greenlit on here in time before Direct comes out, this game will launch under a different name.

-If greenlight is eventually taken down and replaced with Direct and this game has not passed it's greenlight campaign then that is okay. I will finish the game and look into my options for releasing it. As of this update there still is no exact information on how Direct will work or how much the fee will be. So I can't promise a direct release at this time. But again, I will look into my options for publishing and see if I can work with Direct.

Anyway, thank you everyone once again for the support and interest in this project. Admittedly this greenlight page isn't really getting much views or visits. However, for those few followers I feel it is important that I continue to share updates and the status on the project here on the greenlight page. At least while it is still up.

Thanks everyone once again. I appreciate all of you!

-Samer Khatib (snowconesolid)"

Originally posted on "Samer Hills" Steam Greenlight page here: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/updates/868133785/1496360496

On 6/1/2017. Original Page may be removed in future.

Anyway, that's all I wanted to share today. Also, I finally setup an indiedb page for Samer Hills. You can find it here: http://www.indiedb.com/games/samer-hills

More updates soon. 

Thanks for reading.

Potato Thriller Updates + Steam Sale

     Hello everyone. Potato Thriller has recently been updated with many new improvements as well as new hidden content. Also, to celebrate the start of my recent new Steam GreenLight campaign for my upcoming game Samer Hills - Potato Thriller is currently on sale for 55% off on Steam. Limited time only.

For a full list and more detail on the update check out the latest news announcement for Potato Thriller here: Potato Thriller News Update

or visit the steam store game page here: http://store.steampowered.com/potatothriller

Thank you.
As an indie game developer I absolutely love creating interactive experiences. I work hard to constantly improve and create better and better games each time. This may come as a surprise to some of you who have played Potato Thriller, but quality and originality are two of the most important things to me believe it or not. When it comes to games, it has always been about creating something fun. Something people can get a good laugh out of. Most of all, being different. Not creating games about collecting pages, surviving x amount of nights or killing waves of zombies. But, creating something different. Of course I understand that my games may not be appealing for everyone. However, the purpose is to offer something for those of you looking for something different.

To the Potato Thriller community, people who played any of my games, left any form of feedback or criticism, visited my developer blog, talked to me on twitter, reached out to me, etc. I would just like to give the warmest thank you to all of you for all the support you have given me as a game developer. Thank you so much for your interest and inputs. You are all awesome.

More news and updates to follow.

-Samer Khatib (Snowconesolid Productions)

Samer Hills On Steam GreenLight!

     Here it is everyone. My second ever Steam GreenLight campaign for my newest and next upcoming game, "Samer Hills" 

(A game shamelessly named after me, the developer. Feel that big ego)

Samer Hills is a post-apocalyptic thriller about a man who decides to return home after being away for nine years to finish what he started...

Steam GreenLight Page Over Here: http://steamcommunity.com/greenlight/samerhills

Trailer:

Plans, Thoughts, Release Date, Misc Info:

      I have been talking and posting about this new game project since late 2016 but never really wen't too in depth about it (don't worry, i'm not about to.) I have been constantly sharing development progress, screenshots and more behind the scenes stuff  here on the blog and twitter but never anything really about the final product or what to expect. The trailer above is really the first thing that does this. This is the first footage of gameplay, some characters are introduced and maybe you could get a good feel of the atmosphere and types of settings that can be expected from the game. 

     There is still a lot of work that needs to be done on the game. However, after months of development I finally feel like I have a sufficient amount of content created to showcase on Steam and to run my next GreenLight. This is essentially only an introduction and the first step of many that lay ahead. With that said, there is no set release date. But this game is planned for this year, 2017. Keep in mind that I am just one guy after all and there are some days that I just can't spend on developing the game. Just being honest, but I am working really hard on this project and I plan on delivering a really unique experience (said every other indie ever...) Jokes aside, I am really proud of what I have created here so far and I am really proud of the trailer I put together to demonstrate some of the game. I am really excited about this one and having a great time creating it. I truly do look forward to finishing the game and sharing with the world. 

I am always active online and will continue to keep you guys updated on the project. Also, this is kind of off topic, but I am working on transitioning to posting video updates instead of just here on the blog (no one likes reading)

So more updates to follow down the road. YouTube vlogs as well as other miscellaneous none related videos all coming to the channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/snowconesolid 

Valve Killing Greenlight...

     Hello everyone. This is kind of a surprise post, but I just had to take the time to write about this news. If you are an indie game developer and plan on submitting your game to Steam GreenLight then you might want to hurry up and do so quickly. I am sure many developers using the platform or want to use the platform have heard the news already, but if you have not this is whats going on - Valve is shutting down Steam Greenlight for good.

Source - From Valve themselves:
http://steamcommunity.com/games/announcements/evolvingsteam

Almost every other major gaming site has also covered this already such as kotaku and Polygon
I am sure that many YouTubers will also probably discuss this soon enough as well.

Anyway, Valve is shutting down Steam Greenlight and plans to replace it with something called "Steam Direct". This will be the new program that indie developers will need to go through if they want to make their games available on the Steam platform. Valve didn't release much information on the new submission process and it seems that most of the plans aren't finalized yet but if you are an indie developer hoping to get onto the platform there could be some things to be worried about. For example, it only cost $100 dollars to sign up as a developer for Steam Greenlight. This was a one time submission fee that allowed you to submit as many games as you wanted. Steam Direct aims to remove this and it sounds like Valve will be charging a fee per submission. There is no official price setup for the new fee as of this writing. Valve will be sharing more information about the new process later on.


For more information and questions not answered in Valve's news update I recommend checking out this topic about the upcoming changes in the Greenlight community forums:

Changes coming to Steam Greenlight

According to this post, if you are a Greenlight developer and still have not submit anything, you may request a refund.

For those of you interested in submitting to Greenlight, there is still time and you can do so. If you get greenlit before the changes are made, then it's safe to say that you will be able to release your game on Steam without having to go through Steam Direct or paying another fee price. However, if your game is still hanging in Greenlight by the time Steam Direct takes over, then you will have to resubmit and possibly pay a fee based on the new on-boarding process.

indies worried....

     If you are an indie developer don't worry, you will still be able to bring your product to Steam even after Greenlight is taken down. However, if you are worried, it is understandable. Actually, after reading through the comments and seeing what other developers have to said expresses that many other small time indies are worried.  I personally am worried myself since I am an indie game developer who currently has been through Greenlight once already and planned on submitting more games through it in the future. Actually, I was planning my second Greenlight campaign for my next upcoming game. The game I have been talking about for months now here on the blog. This news about Greenlight shutting down has got me so worried, that I might even launch my next Greenlight campaign sometime next week hoping that it will get green-lit and reserve me a launch spot on Steam before the big changes happen. It might become harder to get on Steam's platform. I don't know yet. We will see. 

Once again, don't get too worried. Valve themselves still haven't really given any final answers on how the new changes will work, how much it will cost etc. In the meantime, it is probably best to submit your game to Greenlight before it's completely gone. 

This news isn't all bad. Valve is obviously doing this in the best interest of their customers and developers. This is a new way to add in some sort of new level of quality control. Steam Direct could mean less poorly designed, broken unfinished games and more quality content for people to buy. 

I will most likely be posting an update about my current game project within the next week or so. 

Potato Thriller GREENLIT! Thank you everyone!

     Hey everyone, I know this is kind of late, I meant to get this post out earlier. Anyway, the other day was another regular day for me until I checked my email sometime in the afternoon. First thing I saw was an email from the steam store followed by "Congratulations, Potato Thriller..." then the email preview cuts off. Before I opened the full email I had a huge smile on my face and a really good feeling about what the email was about. I opened the full email and there it was. A message congratulating me saying that my game "Potato Thriller" has been greenlit on steam!

I couldn't believe it. It felt as if the email came out of nowhere. I wasn't expecting my game to just get greenlit on steam so suddenly. It was such a surprise to me because I have read numerous stories of indie game developers submitting their games to steam and waiting years to get greenlit.  I originally posted my game to steam on March 6th (on my birthday) and then two months later (May 27th) the game gets greenlit. Only two months! Its crazy. To be honest, somewhere in those two months came a point where I even lost hope that my game would ever make it on steam. But now I am sitting in front of my computer staring at the steam page with the satisfying green banner that says "This game has been Greenlit by the Community"

"The Community", all of you guys on steam. You voted for it. You made this happen. For that, I am very  thankful. I truly appreciate all of the support you guys have given the game. Thank you for taking the time to come in and check it out. Thank you for being interested in my game and leaving comments.  You are all awesome. I honestly can't thank you all enough.

I have been making games for years now but "Potato Thriller" is the very first game that I have submitted to Steam and having a game available on Steam is a dream come true for small time indie developers such as myself. As a game developer this is a very big milestone for me. 

I honestly appreciate all the support  that you guys have given me. Thank you for making this possible. 

More updates coming very soon.