On Sunday, I released the demo for Overtrick on Steam, after ~6 months of work. It feels great, but it also took far longer, and more emotional energy, than I expected.

The biggest slowdown: waiting until things felt "ready." I delayed publishing my Steam page because most advice says to wait until your art style and trailer are polished. As a programmer, that meant my game was playable for months before I showed it publicly. On top of that, I kept being scared that it wasn't quite ready. In hindsight, there was so much friction in creating a Steam page (capsule creation, Steam's review process, etc), that I shouldn't have let my own self-doubt slow me down even more.

The trailer nearly stopped me. The trailer was the biggest emotional sink. I lost entire days just thinking about what it should be. What finally helped was reframing it as a programming problem: I built the trailer inside the game itself. It was still slow, but it removed the fear that I’d have to redo everything later.

The demo made everything feel real. Before the demo, wishlists plateaued around 60 despite small marketing efforts. After launch, I hit 13 wishlists in a single day, and ~50 people have played the demo so far. It’s not huge, but it’s real and motivating.

Lessons learned for next time...

• Publish earlier than you think. Steam page + demo page + review queues add more friction than expected.

• Play to your strengths. I made trailer progress only after I approached it like a programmer.

• Steam looks scarier than it is. You won’t accidentally launch. Steam reviews first builds.

• Timebox Reddit and DMs. Many compliments are sales pitches; don’t let them derail you.

• Schedule playtests with friends directly. Playtests were super motivating, and many friends want to try your game, but they're also busy.

And of course: please wishlist Overtrick on Steam! I'd really appreciate it!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/4101290/Overtrick/?beta=1