Ross Burton

We just shipped Game Oracle v6.1 🚀 Smarter game embeddings. A brand new Uniqueness Score. A completely rebuilt Steam Map. Here's why it matters for your next indie game 🧵👇 #indiedev #gamedev #Steam

@brandonbaumet If there is I haven't seen it I'm afraid. Only publicly available info I've seen is the AI disclosure on Steam pages. I'm not surprised. There seems to be no consequence for not reporting AI use vs. the backlash devs have received for being honest. Creates bad incentives.

@gamedevross Is there any data on how many games actually get taken down for not disclosing ai usage? I know huge "indie" games coming out that aren't disclosing it though the developers are on video talking about their usage of it and there seems to be basically no consequence for dishonesty

We analysed 9,879 games on Steam and found that using AI in development is associated with a ~53% drop in reviews compared to similar games that didn't use AI. But the full picture is way more nuanced than that headline suggests 👇 youtu.be/ke9ZKPST1VI?si… #indiedev #gamedev

Our data tells two very different stories about AI in game dev: 📉 Experienced dev with good marketing? AI use could cost you 40–60% of your sales. 😐 Inexperienced dev with no budget? AI probably makes no difference either way. game-oracle.com/blog/ai-part2 #gamedev #indiedev

@brandonbaumet Thank you for appreciating it!

@gamedevross Thank you for your research ❤️

@BeanJuiceStudio Thank you! 😊

@gamedevross Watched this yesterday! Super well made and edited.

I was not expecting this video to go viral at all, left me feeling a bit overwhelmed 🥴 but I guess it resonated with some people. I'm gonna try & live up to what I've said & just keep pushing on #gamedev youtu.be/WueQ75GP1wc?si…

@Antonnnm Wow man, good for you! That is such an inspirational journey and I feel like this is the realistic path for most people. Just got to keep working at it and enjoy the journey💪

@gamedevross Awesome video! My cup of tea of thinking. I feel very related to the long term game. I've started my journey in 2015 just studying gd, 3 year transitioning from accountant to WFH in the industry, 6.6 years doing WFH full-time, now went full indie making 6 month dev cycle games.

@SmitnerStudio Thank you! That means a lot

@gamedevross It was a great video, well deserved!

To every #gamedev #indiedev who shipped a game and felt like it flopped. What did you learn that changed how you approached the next one? Drop your story below 👇

Unpopular opinion: Most indie games don't fail because of bad design. They fail because the dev had no idea who the audience was before they started building. Market research isn't just for big studios.

@CodeRed_dev This is exactly why we built the Steam Map and our Game Gap tool, to move beyond trends & build something unique but validated 👉 game-oracle.com/research-tools…

Is it me or is indie dev being reduced to yearly trends. I see nextfest and all the games are the same.

Nassim Taleb's Barbell Strategy wasn't written for #gamedev but I think it could be relevant for us. More on this here 👉️ youtu.be/WueQ75GP1wc?si…

I recently found only 1-in-5 #gamedev #indiedev publish >1 game on Steam. If this is you, quick question 👇 What's the biggest thing holding you back from shipping your next game? 1) Fear of failure 2) Time / money 3) Not knowing if there's a market for it 4) Something else?

5% of games on Steam account for 91.9% of all sales. Yes, this market (like most) is brutal, but the data also shows you've got to find ways to keep rolling the dice! More on this here 👉️ youtu.be/WueQ75GP1wc?si…

On your 1st game, you have a ~10% chance of a breakthrough hit. By your 5th? That climbs to ~50%. My theory is that stamina and compounding is the most powerful force for #indiedev #gamedev game-oracle.com/blog/indie-dev…

In #gamedev we judge ourselves by sales figures because they're easy to measure. But you can't quantify the joy you bring a player. Don't fall victim to the McNamara Fallacy.

I did not have "seeing my work on PC Gamer" on my bingo card this year but I'll take it! pcgamer.com/software/ai/da…

Your biggest competitor isn't the thousands of games flooding Steam every month. It's quitting. 80% of #gamedev #indiedev never release a second game. youtu.be/WueQ75GP1wc?si…

More on this here 👉 game-oracle.com/blog/ai-part2 #gamedev #indiedev #sologamedev

The "AI stigma" on Steam is real, but the real problem isn't what players think. Our data suggests AI isn't making games worse. It's a symptom of studios cutting corners, rushing deadlines, & replacing craft with shortcuts. The tool isn't the issue. The culture around it is.