The Perils of Bianca has been out for three weeks now, and has seen about 1800 downloads. My previous game, Sinderella, was released over a year ago and has seen about 6700 downloads. How many of those downloads have actually been played, I do not know. I am well aware that many people download a game with the idea "I may play that some day" and then leave it unplayed forever. Or they may run the game, play for a few minutes, and then decide that it is not worth their time.

There are two kinds of satisfaction I get out of designing and developing games:

1. I like the process of designing and developing games; and
2. I like it when people enjoy playing my games.

When I choose to work on developing a game, I am seeking both kinds of satisfaction. The first, of course, is found in simply working on a game. The second is found in feedback that players give me.

Besides remarks on a game via private email, which I have never received, what kinds of feedback can I get? By releasing a game on itch.io, I can get only two kinds of feedback: people leaving comments, and people leaving reviews. While The Perils of Bianca has not been out long, from my experience with Sinderella I know what I can expect: people seldom leave comments, and people rarely leave reviews. And if they leave a review, it usually is a star-rating without further comments.

I (and, I think, many other game developers with me) thrive on getting feedback. If I create a game that I really enjoy creating, and then publish it and receive almost no feedback, then I have to conclude that my game is hardly getting played. So I miss out on the second kind of satisfaction. If I am then going to decide which game to work on next, I will probably choose a different kind of game. Because it is probably possible for me to choose a game which I not only enjoy working on, but which people will also play.

I have been thinking of a third game in the same spirit as Sinderella and The Perils of Bianca (which shares some similarities with the other two, but is still quite different). I also have several ideas for other (non-adult) games which I can work on. In the coming months I am going to decide which my next game will be. I am now leaning toward shelving my ideas for another adult game, and see if a non-adult game gets played more. 75% of the games I developed until now are non-adult, and those often get more feedback.

So here is my advice to players:

If you play a game and like it, and would like to see more work of the same developer in the same vein, leave a review. If you really like the game and want to give it five stars, no further comments are necessary. If you like the game but have some criticisms and leave a four or three-star review, add a bit of commentary on where you think the game could be improved, as perhaps the developer will take that into account for their next game.

If you don't like a game (which is perfectly fine, of course), and decide to leave a rating of less than three stars, then definitely add a few words of commentary. A developer can do nothing with criticism without explanation. Evidently you felt an urge to leave a rating, but without further comments you are just saying "this game sucks" to which the only response can be "that's a matter of taste."

I'd like to add: this postmortem is not me angling for good reviews. This is me telling you, in general: "if you like someone's work, let them know so that they are encouraged to create more of it."