In January 2019, Steam launched a total of 700 games, of which Chinese developers were on the line. 45 Games, the proportion. 6.4%. (The data is based on the name of the game, the developer, the publisher whether it contains Chinese or Pinyin, or has been confirmed by the domestic media as a domestic game as the standard)
As of mid-February, 45 new domestic tours. Only 8 games have more than 100 player reviews. They are between 100,000 and 200,000 in sales. “Bright Memory”, “Awesome Xiu Xian Simulator”. and sales between 20,000 and 50,000. “Heavenly Blood”, “Exploring Notes”. . These 4 games also have a certain reputation among the players
There are also 4 games with sales below 20,000, which are simulated business games. “College Entrance Examination Factory”. , horizontal version arcade game. “Lisa’s Memory”. , Visual novels. “Pillow Girl”. and 2D perspective ARPG games. “God is on”.
The remaining 37 games, nearly half of which are individual works of game lovers, are also in a single form. For example, visual novels, text adventure games, RPG master games, retro battle flags, arcade games, only a dozen models are commercial games for the consumer market and testing
Overall, despite the outbreak of “Chinese Parents” and “Taiwu Painted Scrolls” in 2018, the domestic independent game market did not recover immediately. Of the 45 games that steam was launched in January, it was said that only half of the games were qualified
From the player’s evaluation, the mentality of the domestic game is still “ love and hate. “. For games that do have characteristics, such as “Light Memory”, although some controversial news broke out, most players are still willing to buy because of the blessing of domestic FPS. For games such as “College Entrance Simulator” and “Sanhe Great God”, the game is not high enough and lacks sincerity. The player also has no slamming words
Therefore, if domestic developers want to avoid their products and the more than 30,000 games on the Steam platform, they are going to be violently “white-bladed”. It is recommended that in addition to the hard indicators such as game quality, gameplay and art, they should also be in the game name or Developers and other conspicuous positions reflect the status of “domestic goods”. Otherwise, even if Chinese players and domestic game media have the heart to support domestic production, they can’t “give their eyes”
The following is an overview of domestic games launched by Steam in January 2019 (sorted by the number of players evaluated). Gamelook divides it into comprehensive evaluation criteria such as game completion, art quality, game content, and core gameplay. Professional group (26 models). With. Amateur group (19 models). , and choose a game with a certain representative to introduce a little, and try to depict the overall situation of the new domestic games that were released on Steam in January
Professional group (number corresponding table).
1. Bright memory: Chapter 1.
In January, the most well-known game in domestic games, FPS theme, because of the topic of “one person independent production” and “material copyright” can form a considerable paradox in the player community. From the perspective of gameplay, the game process that is less than 2 hours can make the player feel that the game is generally unsatisfactory. It can be seen that the game itself is very good
As there are more media reports, I won’t go into details
2. Amazing Xiu Xian Simulator.
Another high-profile game in domestic games in January, simulating business themes. After the launch, there are also a lot of public opinion among the players because of various topics. So far, the production team has announced that the sales volume has exceeded 30W. The production team also revealed to GameLook that nearly half of the sales came from the Wegame platform
Apparently, since the theme of Xiu Xian has experienced the rendering of domestic Xiu Xian novels, the subject matter is very large. However, the development team of “The Great Xiuxian Simulator” has only three people, and it is impossible to create the “Xianxian Game” in the minds of players
But in any case, the sales of 30W sets prove that the recognition of independent games made by the domestic market is gradually increasing
3. 探灵笔记-1v5.
“Exploring Notes” is an asymmetric competitive game, a spiritual theme developed by the independent game team BUG notes. Players on Steam have a 70% rating and a sales volume of 20,000-50,000. Previously, the game caused a certain reaction in the player group because of a female ghost’s promotional video
From the steam evaluation point of view, the gameplay is generally recognized by the player, but because the spooky horror theme itself is relatively small, it is also a multiplayer competitive game, so the number of players also limits the growth of the game. However, the author found that in just one week, the number of evaluations of the game has increased by more than 130, which shows that the game has a lot of room for growth.The
Game’s bad reviews are mainly focused on server issues, bugs, and more
4. Bloodthirst.
“Heartblood Printing” is an ET game developed by the “Emperor of the Gods”, a five-person team that has been developed over two years. The game is priced at 39 yuan, and the popularity on Steam is 79%. The sales volume is estimated at 20,000-50,000
From the overall performance of the game, there is a glimpse of the masterpiece of the masterpiece. Players who like to play ACT-type games are worth a try, and the price/performance ratio is relatively high. Of course, there is a lot of deficiencies in the game. The main bad comments of the players are that the game is not complete, the bugs are many, and the rogulike elements are played
5. College entrance examination factory simulation.
The main game of the “High School Test Simulation” game is to place a business simulation, which costs 25 yuan. It is also the only game in the game with more than 100 evaluations. The praise is only 28%
From the player’s evaluation, the completion of the game is very low, the bug is very common, the overall game content has missing parts, and even some players think that the game is not even a semi-finished product. Perhaps the manufacturer should adopt the EA mode to release the game, so that the player’s tolerance will be higher
6. Lisa’s memory.
“Lisa’s Memory” is a horizontal version of the arcade game independently developed by the UP station of the B station. Due to the promotion of the B station video, the purchase amount of the game will be higher than other similar independent games
I believe that this game is also a typical representative of Chinese game development enthusiasts to release games on Steam. This type of game can be completed independently, but due to the lack of announcements, the form of the game is more retro, if there is no bright spot, it is difficult to make a breakthrough in sales. For example, in the third group of the amateur group, “Sun Wukong War Machine King Kong”, although there were certain media reports, it only got 21 evaluations
7. Pillow girl.
The developer of the “Pillow Girl” Orange Class, made the “100 Days of College Entrance Examination” in 2015. This game is also a typical example of visual novels with love simulation elements in the game of online steaming in January, and it is also the best
Japan’s same type of game explosions, such as “Destiny Stone Gate”, “FSN”, etc., have now become very classic IP. The sales of “The Gate of Destiny” on Steam is 100,000-200,000, so I believe that there is a blue ocean in this segment of the game, but it is not the current “small play”, but it still needs more professional Production level
8. God is on (Zengeon). The
Independent developer team produced a more sophisticated “Torch Light” type of game, which is currently in the early stage of experience. The second-element style, with Rougelike elements, supports multiplayer networking and battles. The price is 36 yuan, the current evaluation number is 134, and the favorable rate is 88%
From the player feedback, the game’s growth is still there, the game’s combat system has certain characteristics. The bad reviews mainly focus on the bugs and gameplay of some games, and the official version will be released after half a year
11. The paper hero.
This is a piece of paper cartoon style game that combines Roughlike+ war chess. It is still in the EA stage. The developer also has a release product on TapTap, and I believe there will be a mobile version in the future
On the whole, if the game is polished more smoothly, the content of the plot and the game will be insufficient, and it should be recognized by the player group. This game is also a typical representative of Steam’s chess game, and many others are retro “flame heraldry” war games
15. Jasmine Summer.
“Summer of Jasmine” is a visual novel. The art of the game is quite exquisite and delicate from the introduction. I believe that the art of the game has done a lot of work. At the same time, the amount of text in the game is 1.5 million words, which is not sincere
But in fact, after the game went online, it did not cause many repercussions. Players have evaluated that the game is relatively dull and boring. This is indeed a status quo of domestic independent games. The production is not elaborate, but due to lack of experience, it often falls into some “pits”, which is a pity
17.The Ark of Horizon.
The domestic chicken game, the Chinese translation of “Melee”, the game has joined the air combat game of the three-dimensional combat, it is refreshing. But the game scene is monotonous, the completion is not high, the player feedback air combat is just a blind, it is difficult to hit people. As a tactical competitive game, no player and heat is a big problem
18. 幻境双生.
“Fantasy Twins” is a 2D pixel puzzle game. The overall picture is very delicate. The main gameplay is to push the box and solve the puzzle. Although the number of game evaluations is small, the current 23 evaluations are all well received. The setting of the game is more interesting. There are two worlds in the table. The protagonist can shuttle between the two worlds, and some players can reflect the difficulty of the game
Amateur group (number corresponding table).
1. Heart plugged boy.
Text narrative game, priced at 6 yuan, can be seen as a low-end version of the “No Adventures Not Known” version launched in 2017, the theme is similar. But watching the player’s comments, whether it is game art, dubbing or playability, is a lot worse, the game duration is only 20 minutes
2.Pandamonia Pandemonia.
An in-house developer’s domestic shooting game, the theme and settings are more interesting, the background music is also very magical, priced at 6 yuan, is still in the EA stage. The player’s evaluation reflects that as a small game of 6 yuan, it is quite worthwhile
I think this is also an idea for amateur developers, making high-quality, simple but interesting works. After all, the most important thing for independent games is the ability to innovate
3. “Sun Wukong War Machine King Kong”.
A retro arcade game made by a personal fan for half a year, priced at 15 yuan. Although there is a certain amount of media exposure, but because the game lacks a real flash point in addition to the product name, it is relatively dull, so there is no heat
Or this kind of “outdated” game is not a category that is suitable for development by individual developers. Because there is no core gameplay that can cause strong repercussions, it can only become a “touching yourself” work
5. “Sanhe Great God”.
This is a text adventure game, the game name follows the Chinese urban laughter (Shenzhen Sanhe, the legendary abandoned people gathering place, has been removed). However, because the game content is very inferior, it is not even a sincerity, so the game’s favorable rate is only 16%
This game is also a representative of some games in the amateur group in January. This kind of game is often worse than the demo, it can only be counted. Players will never buy it
8. “Between the embers”.
This is a retro SPRG game with RPG masters, similar to many domestic games on Steam. The game may contain a lot of ideas from the producers, but due to outdated gameplay, not good enough art, it is difficult to get the recognition of the players, the target player group is very small