[fuzzzerd]

I don't have the answer, but have been seeking it for a long time myself. Heard the same advise you got, make a community, join communities, post on twitter/reddit. As you said it just feels like fake advise.

As best I can tell, success in those efdorts is equal parts luck, wit, and having something unique yet relatable.

[adventured]

> Heard the same advise you got, make a community, join communities, post on twitter/reddit. As you said it just feels like fake advise.

It feels fake to let people know what you're working on by writing about it? That's what you and the parent are de facto saying.

How else do you expect them to find you?

There is no possible way around it. You have to tell people what you're doing. Repeatedly. You have to cultivate an interest in your thing. If one can't be bothered with that bare minimum building block, well, there obviously will be no successful outcome. It's definitely not build it and they will come (they don't know it exists until you show them). Give them a reason to care, cultivate interest, and they'll show up.

[todfox]

It's a chicken and egg problem. If you post, nobody will see it because nobody knows who you are. So you have to spend a long time "engaging" or "networking" with a community you didn't really want to join in the first place just to make enough of a name for yourself so that someday when you have something to say, a few people will listen.

I'm too busy making stuff and hanging out with my real friends to go be fake with people just to market to them in the future.

I guess you could try to make as many games as possible, quickly, and hope that one hits just right, and then focus on it and make it better fast.

[bee_rider]

I think this is why most people work in companies; there are tasks that need to be done to sell a product that we don’t want to do.

I mean, Dwarf Fortress was like the ultimate “good game, tiny community” example and even they had two dudes working on it, IIRC one of whom seemed to spend quite a bit of time dealing with the community. And despite making every game designer’s favorite game, they still had to hire a publisher in the end…

[stcroixx]

It is 'fake' in a way - you don't truly want to make/join these communities or post about this on twitter/reddit. If these communities really interested you, you'd already be a part of them. There are communities where the people have known each other for years and you're going to step into their forum, make your one post, annoy them, and move on. I personally wouldn't want to be that guy, but this is just what marketing is.