Artindi

Many Indie Devs are worried about steams 2 hour return policy. Some believe it is being abused in great numbers, enough to cause indie developers to not be able to make a living. So I did many hours of research to figure out how big the issue is, as well as if it could ever be changed. Contact and Social Media: Email: artindigames@gmail.com Discord: https://discord.gg/EHDTdkN Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheArtindi itch.io: https://artindi.itch.io/ 00:00 - Summer of '58 Outcry and Steam Return Policy 01:27 - Why Steam Won't Change 01:50 - Proactive vs Reactive Systems 02:19 - Why Reactive Won't Work 02:56 - Why Proactive Won't Work (The Math) 04:01 - Elective Refunds 04:34 - Maybe Lord Gaben 04:48 - The Only Way Steam Would Change 05:24 - Miziziziz's Solution 06:12 - Return Abuse is Not Common 06:29 - Games are Not Pizza 06:55 - Take Responsibility Music from Uppbeat: "Catch My Breath" by Ambient Boy License code: SPMY1DM2EXK4IBCP If you care, here are sources as seen in small clips throughout the video: Steams policy: https://store.steampowered.com/steam_refunds/ Epic Games policy: https://www.epicgames.com/site/en-US/store-refund-policy GOG return policy: https://support.gog.com/hc/en-us/articles/360011314978-How-do-I-refund-a-game-?product=gog Itch.io retund policy: https://itch.io/docs/legal/terms#9-refunds Original "Summer of '58" Tweet: https://twitter.com/EmikaGames/status/1430941640001265673 Link to the game: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1609080/Summer_of_58/ Regarding "Summer of '58" Outcry: Kotaku article on "summer of '58" dev's tweet: https://kotaku.com/steams-two-hour-refund-policy-forces-horror-developer-i-1847568067 Euro Gamer Article on "summer of '58" dev's tweet: https://www.eurogamer.net/steams-two-hour-refund-policy-leads-to-indie-developer-quitting-game-development Fanbyte article on "summer of '58" dev's tweet: https://www.fanbyte.com/news/steams-two-hour-refund-policy-continues-to-hurt-developers-of-small-games/ Reddit discussion on the subject: https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/pct7mg/steams_2_hour_refund_policy/ Number of games release each day: Steam Spy: https://steamspy.com/year/ Game World Observer Article: https://gameworldobserver.com/2022/01/24/more-than-11k-games-released-on-steam-in-2021-with-30-titles-coming-out-daily#:~:text=Evgeny%20Obedkov-,More%20than%2011k%20games%20released%20on%20Steam%20in%202021,30%20titles%20coming%20out%20daily How much does a game make on Steam? VG Insights: https://vginsights.com/insights/article/infographic-indie-game-revenues-on-steam Into Indie Games article: https://www.intoindiegames.com/how-much-money-do-steam-games-make/ Games Industry article: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/mike-rose-indie-developers-are-pricing-their-steam-games-too-low Ars Technica article: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/04/ars-analysis-80-of-steam-games-earn-under-5k-in-first-two-weeks/ Finances Online statistics: https://financesonline.com/steam-statistics/ What is the typical Steam return rate? Game Developer article debunking "Summer of '58" return rate: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/analysis-what-s-with-steam-refunds-and-short-games- Game World Observer mini article: https://gameworldobserver.com/2020/10/14/simon-carless-refund-rate-significant-metric#:~:text=In%20the%20latest%20entry%20to,be%20as%20high%20as%2020%25. Reddit discussion of Acceptable return rates on Steam: https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/905re1/what_are_acceptable_steam_refund_rates/ Game Industry Article: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/steam-refunds-not-harming-sales-slitherine Miziziziz Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_msFFKlrMY Other random stuff: Tweet showing positive review + return: https://twitter.com/OctaviNavarro/status/1552941109294383104 Tweet showing poll of who would return a short game: https://twitter.com/Quthulhu/status/1552922383882895360 Game that wouldn't work on my laptop: https://store.steampowered.com/app/387990/Scrap_Mechanic/

For the last few months I've been focused on making my first commercial game look pretty and feel good. Here I talk about all the polish I've been doing and the progress I've made towards Void Titan, a game where you play as an elite soldier tasked with taking down massive, rogue, terraforming machines. Contact and Social Media: Email: artindigames@gmail.com Discord: https://discord.gg/EHDTdkN Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheArtindi itch.io: https://artindi.itch.io/ 00:00 - intro 00:18 - What Is Void Titan 00:30 - adding a tutorial 01:18 - Many of Improvements 03:18 - Getting Demo Ready Music from Uppbeat: “complications” by AK License code: MIBFOB7SEFZOFZK4 "stardust" by Danijel Zambo License code: LGUSVI2P3VRH0P6C "shout" by Richard Smithson License code: F03W0WGHMDOBDLPW

Making Prototypes More Interesting is easy! This first devlog showcases my new game in progress, Void Titan, with a focus on making a prototype that isn't boring. Discord: https://discord.gg/EHDTdkN Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheArtindi itch.io: https://artindi.itch.io/ Contact: artindigames@gmail.com Music: Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/infraction/ultraviolet License code: YIURZVPOYH5GKMYA Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/danijel-zambo/tunnel License code: LW7BMG0E87AWR5PQ Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/danijel-zambo/stardust License code: PTVOB0TUVJ57EFVZ Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/ak/human-again License code: 5UZQ3QVIOH28RYTU