Be less of an advertiser, if you want the attention of folks. Show them what you can do for them, not the latest trinket that you want to trade for cash.
I find it very revealing that you didn't post links to your first few interactions on Reddit. What happened in those doomed threads and under that deleted user? On your current thread, somebody tells you bluntly that you're advertising [1], and you indicate that advertising, to you, can be balanced by novelty and popular appeal. However, please keep in mind that popular appeal is manufactured by advertising, and that all new things are novel; advertising is not a damage to society that can be so easily cancelled out.
If you want to understand your audience, you might start by examining SCP-1471 [2], the object of your Reddit critic's affections.
Edit: From a game design perspective, if you don't make something that's fun for you, then I don't know why you're so surprised that a third of your users are already tired of it. I don't see, in your post about how you designed your game, much of a consideration for fun or ludic immersion. Have you played your game for hours upon hours? TBH it sounds mind-numbing.
Hey thanks for the reply! You make some valid points.
Regarding my previous Reddit account the user is 'kangabru'. I now notice that it's not visible despite the fact I can still log in - I guess it's definitely banned. What happened was that I posted a link [1] which is a splash page for one of my open source tools. It didn't receive replies, I checked if it was shadow banned, and the bot said yes. So I wasn't trying to hide anything, it just there's nothing there. I'm not sure why it was banned but I guess it was flagged as spam since my username matched the domain.
Regarding the game aspect there's a sister post which goes into the design of the game [2]. You make a great point though, I should make it fun for me too. I'm exicted for the 'zen' mode feature since that's something I'll definitely use. I'll keep that in mind as I work on it this month.
Hey HN, author here. If you have an questions or feedback I'd love to chat. I'm also going to try post a new blog every week. Some upcoming topics will be about the technology behind the app. It's got some cool stuff in it which I'm keen to share.
Well the virus situation has changed things a bit. For instance I have some travel centric ideas which wouldn't be worth trying at the moment. I didn't plan on making the game but figured the situation would make my game a more viable option.
Anyway I've got a bunch, some include:
- a UI mocking tool using your website rather than an app. It something I've partially built that's great for dev specs, rapid prototyping, even marketing.
- A graphic design tool which takes a bunch of icons and generates certain types of collage beautifully and easily. They're a pain to make manually but I see the style used often.
- An idea generation and collaboration tool.
- A tinder-like job searching app with a fun twist.
- Even a funny bong design.
I'll come up with more and re-evaluate as I go. And they'll be under one legal structure for the time being.
I find it very revealing that you didn't post links to your first few interactions on Reddit. What happened in those doomed threads and under that deleted user? On your current thread, somebody tells you bluntly that you're advertising [1], and you indicate that advertising, to you, can be balanced by novelty and popular appeal. However, please keep in mind that popular appeal is manufactured by advertising, and that all new things are novel; advertising is not a damage to society that can be so easily cancelled out.
If you want to understand your audience, you might start by examining SCP-1471 [2], the object of your Reddit critic's affections.
Edit: From a game design perspective, if you don't make something that's fun for you, then I don't know why you're so surprised that a third of your users are already tired of it. I don't see, in your post about how you designed your game, much of a consideration for fun or ludic immersion. Have you played your game for hours upon hours? TBH it sounds mind-numbing.
[1] https://old.reddit.com/r/SatisfIcing/comments/ge6x0g/i_made_...
[2] Warning: SCP. http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-1471