Johann Weiss game development post mortem - hey, at least I sold

I decided to write this quick post mortem article about Johann Weiss because we recently started working on a completely new game and this one feels nearly difficult to really improve unless we manage to heavily alter the way it plays.

Johann Weiss, in the end, is just a small game based around the concept of Classicvania mixed with the aesthetic of Duke Nukem 2. I say “Classicvania” because someone pointed me out that “Metroidvanias” normally don’t include separate level progression and rather are big hubs of exploration in one single map, aside of other important details. This only just to seemingly imitate the gameplay mechanics of a game like Metroid from NES without the whole world exploration thing and rather with an episodic level progression as in old DOS games like Duke Nukem 1 and 2.

I have to say anyway, the game did actually sell minimally decently for the few 48-something sales that it got. I got $11 more than what I spent on the Steam fee (so far). I feel like sales work best under a discount such as 75% off or something like that, because it looks like the $5-6 pricetag doesn’t really justify that much the amount of content there is in the game. Sure people could replay it (as it seems) in a multitude of different ways, even then I saw a speedrunner complete the game in World Record time at the moment, and people could still figure out ways to fiddle around with exploring the levels a bit, such as trying to find an easy way to get the Dopefish easter egg on E2L1, but levels are short-ish and there is no multiplayer. Maybe eventually I could implement some 2 player co-op to add a bit more longevity to the game, but Construct 3 feels a bit limited in certain terms.

Speaking of Construct 3, I feel like the Steam implementation of this Construct 3 game is pretty limited and clunky. Not only multiple Steam features are missing from the Construct 3 Greenworks addon, but also trying to make it work on Steam, especially on systems I don’t have like Linux or Mac is pretty clunky and difficult.

But it’s not all negatives out there. People really seem to like the Duke Nukem 2 aesthetic out of this game. Some people reviewed it as a little fun game with only an appeal if you’re nostalgic for old DOS games. That was probably my intent, making a tribute to the old DOS games I cared and loved. Couple trolls doing negative reviews, which come as a product of jealousy and seething, but overall, the reviews of the game seem positive. It’s quite a shame that Steam didn’t really put the overall ratings of the game yet because it didn’t sell too much. But it made me some contacts with some reputable games reviewers, especially with the ones responsible for the E1M1 Magazine that’s coming out soon, who’s also running a retro gaming magazine already existing. This should open me doors to new opportunities to get my games out there and network with some other game devs and gaming talents (unlike Dave Oshry who, as I mentioned in the last article on this website, is purely a complete snake).

The retro aesthetics are quite a problem though, because I think these pixel graphics only seem to appeal if you’re nostalgic enough for that kind of stuff. And to compete with that, there’s gorillions of pixel games out there in the same field. This is not like Dusk where the retro aesthetic of a Quake/Build Engine looking blocky polygonated design is mainstream appealing.

Overall, it has been a nice experience coding this during the COVID19 lockdown as the first game I ever released. After I realized Hamster Game (formerly Schizo Simulator) was just too much of a generic top-down shooter that looks like straight out of a Newgrounds game. I think I can do better, but it’s been good to have acquainted some expertise in game development with this one.

Notably, we’ve started working on another game. For which I have recently released on Patreon some concept art for it, as we just started very recently its development. You can see it now here in its full glory:

I don’t really think I want to reveal too much of it (yet), but I want you to think this: think of a 6-player multiplayer game that combines games like Trouble in Terrorist Town, Among Us, SOS and Town of Salem in some sort of FPS about townsfolk who are murder-targeted by the Devil. Game’s called “Hell, MI”.

Concept artwork for this game is coming along nicely, especially the environment concepts (seriously, look how AESTHETIC that parish at night is!), and we only just begun and kickstarted our development, but I presented the pitch to Devolver Digital in hopes they can take our game with some funding and future marketing (still awaiting reply!).

Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed Johann Weiss. More JMAA GAMES coming soon.