"Unfortunately indie devs need to eat": Dev on bizarre-o dungeon-crawler learned "next time, make a roguelike" since many players won't buy new ideas over "safer choices"

The critical success but financial struggles of lovely tactical RPG Arco sparked discussion over the risks of making games with out-there pitches and mechanics compared to staple genres that can more regularly yield success. Lee Williams, who you may know from bizarre-o dungeon-crawler Cryptmaster , which has over 1,100 "overwhelmingly positive" reviews on Steam , put a finer point on it: "One lesson I learned from Cryptmaster was, 'next time, make a roguelike..

.' Lots of people say they want innovation and risk-taking but it seems that very few people actually do." Franek, the Arco developer who initially expressed frustrations that Arco "sold badly" to the point that "we're far from recoup or making decent income after the split," seemed to be nodding along with Williams.

"[Not gonna lie] my roguelike sense has been so tingly," Franek replied . Michele Pirovano, the solo creator of oddball city-builder roguelike DotAGE, which ended up being a sizable hit far beyond Pirovano's dreams , presented an interesting branch off the argument. "You can make an innovative roguelike, too," he said in a post sharing Williams' comment.

DotAGE would certainly be an example to point to – its mix of turn-based strategy, village-based survival, and retro sentiments is unusual, but it clearly found an audience given its 1,832 "overwhelmingly positive" Steam reviews. "Yes, very true," Williams said to Pirovano. "I do it myself - it's always wisest to stick to what you know you'll enjoy (I ha.