Now that the programming-puzzle game Robo Instructus has been out for just a year, the developer has written up a blog post talking about sales and how it went.
What is it? Robo Instructus is a puzzle game in which players manoeuvre a robot by issuing instructions via a simple programming language. As players progress through the game they unlock new functions to overcome new puzzles, each of which can be solved in multiple ways. The more you master the robot, the more elegant and powerful your solutions will be. This is not a game of moving logic blocks around, it needs actual programming.
So now you know what it is, how did it do after a whole year? Not well in terms of sales or even player progression. Going by achievements, only 5% managed to complete 2 of the 4 acts. As for sales: in total it sold 2,571 copies which is just over 200 a month. Split across stores that was 2,544 sold on Steam and a mere 27 came from itch.io. Across different operating systems on Steam, keeping in mind this was developed on Linux and launched with Windows/Linux support and macOS came ~2 months later:
- Windows - 89.7%
- Linux - 7.6%
- Mac - 2.7%
Their takeaway is that you obviously need Windows support on Steam and it's not something a game developer can keep going with. This led to Alex Butler, who wrote the post, mentioned that they went back into a regular software engineering job in October 2019. Like I've said many times in the past—if you're a small developer publishing on Steam, it's very difficult to get much now unless you have some good marketing and it sounds like the wider press largely ignored Robo Instructus.
You can see the full post here and pick up the game on itch.io or Steam.
Direct Link
If you wish to see sales numbers from other developers check out our dedicated tag.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
I get it. It was a passion project. But those rarely sell unless you're passionate about mainstream topics.
Last edited by devland on 17 July 2020 at 8:19 pm UTC
Quoting: tmtvlHang on, why do you have the URL for the game on Steam included but not for Itch? Itch is a much better store as it allows you to tip the developer.A simple oversight that has been corrected. FYI: we have a dedicated correction report feature you can use instead of comments to ensure we pick up stuff like that 👍
Quoting: PatolaEven being a coder, I don't usually appreciate coding games.Neither do I. I love programming. I love video games. But I seriously dislike programming games. They make me feel like I am getting the satisfaction of neither. I don't feel like I am playing, but neither am I actually achieving anything, because it is all "fake".
Interestingly enough, I once had a chat with an actual trucker who tried getting into Euro Truck Simulator 2, and it made him feel in a similar way. I guess just because you love your work, it doesn't mean that you want more "work" when you play a game.
But being a programmer, i never could finish a programming game. I always lose interest. I tried Human Resource Machine, While True: Learn, Screeps, Shenzen I/O, TIS-100 and others but not one of then i played for more than 2 hours. I really dont know why.
Games about logic i tend to like more than programming games
Quoting: LinasInterestingly enough, I once had a chat with an actual trucker who tried getting into Euro Truck Simulator 2, and it made him feel in a similar way. I guess just because you love your work, it doesn't mean that you want more "work" when you play a game.
I read a report about these simulation games (some are incredibly successful, AFAIR, farming simulator has sold more copies than GTA V in the year the latter came out) and they are often played by people working in the simulated job. It might be a different thing for farmers than programmes, they can drive fancy vehicles they'll never get a hand on in real life. I considered that strange... until I found myself (as a software developer) playing through TIS-100, Human Resource Machine, Seven Billion Humans, ...
Quoting: eldakingThere is probably some mix of programmers who aren't burned out and non-programmers that are comfortable enough with some "light" scripting.
Oh, absolutely! They may be script hackers of the most enthusiastic order in their life outside of gaming. But core question here is: Do they WANT to spend their gaming time writing code?
Quoting: EikeQuoting: LinasInterestingly enough, I once had a chat with an actual trucker who tried getting into Euro Truck Simulator 2, and it made him feel in a similar way. I guess just because you love your work, it doesn't mean that you want more "work" when you play a game.
I read a report about these simulation games (some are incredibly successful, AFAIR, farming simulator has sold more copies than GTA V in the year the latter came out) and they are often played by people working in the simulated job. It might be a different thing for farmers than programmes, they can drive fancy vehicles they'll never get a hand on in real life. I considered that strange... until I found myself (as a software developer) playing through TIS-100, Human Resource Machine, Seven Billion Humans, ...
I also work as a developer, and I also enjoy programming games. I think the reason is similar to what you describe with the farmers, that these games represent something you normally don't experience at your day job. At work, a large proportion of my time is spent talking to product owners and business people to understand what needs to be done, with planning and testing functionality, and writing documentation. Whereas with these games, you can just get down to the fun part of it, without any of the tedious stuff you normally do at work.
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