"No Stickiness, No Sales: Our EA Roguelike's Fast Fade"
Our EA Roguelike Failed. Here’s Why.
We poured our hearts into our Early Access roguelike. We thought the core gameplay loop was solid, the pixel art was charming, and the initial player feedback was positive.
It wasn’t enough.
Two months after launch, sales flatlined. Player retention plummeted. The dream of a thriving community around our game faded faster than we could implement new content. What went wrong?
The Stickiness Problem
The simple truth is, our game lacked stickiness. Players enjoyed the first few runs, but quickly moved on. There was no compelling reason to keep coming back.
We underestimated the importance of long-term engagement. A fun core loop is essential, but it’s not enough to sustain a roguelike, especially in Early Access.
What We Tried (And Failed)
Initially, we focused on adding new content: more enemy types, weapons, and environments. We believed that quantity would solve the problem.
It didn’t.
New content provided a temporary boost, but players quickly exhausted it. The underlying issue remained: no compelling reason to grind, experiment, or invest in the game long-term.
We implemented a basic achievement system, but it felt tacked on and uninspired. Achievements like “Kill 100 slimes” offered no meaningful reward or progression.
We experimented with daily challenges, but they were too generic and lacked variety. Players quickly grew bored of the same repetitive objectives. “Defeat X enemies” or “Reach level Y” just didn’t cut it.
We even tried a barebones narrative, adding snippets of lore and backstory. It was underdeveloped and didn’t resonate with players. The story felt disconnected from the core gameplay loop.
All these efforts were bandages on a deeper wound. We were treating the symptoms, not the cause.
The Data Tells a Story
Our initial Steam reviews were “Mostly Positive,” but the playtime data painted a different picture. The average playtime was around 3 hours. The median playtime was even lower.
Only a small percentage of players progressed beyond the first few levels. Most players tried the game once or twice and never returned.
We saw a clear correlation between playtime and reviews. Players who spent more time with the game were more likely to leave a positive review. But we couldn’t get enough players to stick around long enough to form a strong attachment to the game.
The numbers don’t lie. We had a stickiness problem.
Identifying and Implementing Sticky Mechanics
So, what could we have done differently? How can other indie developers avoid our mistake?
The key is to think about stickiness before you launch. Don’t treat it as an afterthought.
Meta-Progression is King: Roguelikes thrive on meta-progression. Players need a sense of permanent progress that carries over between runs.
Think about Rogue Legacy. Each run allows you to upgrade your family’s manor, unlocking new classes, abilities, and stats. Even in defeat, you’re making progress towards becoming stronger.
Hades uses a similar system with permanent upgrades earned through Darkness. These upgrades significantly impact your power and provide a clear sense of progression.
We lacked a comparable system. Our “meta-progression” was limited to unlocking new weapons and characters, which quickly became trivial.
Meaningful Choices Matter: Don’t just give players arbitrary choices. Give them choices that have a real impact on their gameplay experience.
Slay the Spire excels at this. Each card you add to your deck has the potential to synergize with other cards, creating powerful combos.
Our choices felt superficial. The weapons were largely similar, and the character abilities didn’t drastically alter the gameplay.
Compelling Narrative Hooks: A strong narrative can provide a powerful reason to keep playing. Don’t just tell a story, integrate it into the gameplay.
Darkest Dungeon uses a narrative of psychological stress and trauma to enhance the gameplay experience. Characters develop quirks and phobias based on their experiences, adding a unique layer of challenge.
Our narrative was generic and uninspired. It didn’t add anything meaningful to the gameplay.
Daily and Weekly Challenges: If implemented well, daily and weekly challenges can provide a reason for players to return to your game regularly.
Make sure the challenges are varied, interesting, and rewarding. Don’t just recycle the same objectives.
Dead Cells features daily runs with unique mutations and challenges. These runs provide a fresh perspective on the game and encourage players to experiment with different builds.
Our daily challenges were repetitive and uninspired. They didn’t offer enough incentive to keep playing.
Community Integration: Build a strong community around your game. Encourage players to share their experiences, strategies, and feedback.
Engage with your community regularly. Listen to their suggestions and incorporate their feedback into your game.
We underestimated the importance of community building. We were too focused on development and didn’t spend enough time engaging with our players.
Actionable Advice
Here’s some actionable advice for indie developers:
Prototype Your Sticky Mechanics Early: Don’t wait until late in development to think about stickiness. Prototype different mechanics early on and test them with players.
Gather Data and Iterate: Track player playtime, progression, and engagement. Use this data to identify areas where your game is lacking and iterate on your mechanics.
Don’t Be Afraid to Experiment: Try different approaches to stickiness. Some mechanics will work, and some won’t. The key is to experiment and find what works best for your game.
Listen to Your Community: Your players are your best source of feedback. Listen to their suggestions and incorporate their feedback into your game.
Don’t Give Up: Developing a successful game is hard. Don’t get discouraged by setbacks. Learn from your mistakes and keep iterating.
Lessons Learned
Our Early Access launch was a failure. But we learned valuable lessons about the importance of stickiness.
We underestimated the importance of meta-progression, meaningful choices, compelling narrative hooks, daily and weekly challenges, and community integration.
We’re now applying these lessons to our next game. We’re focusing on building a game with a strong sense of long-term engagement.
We hope our experience will help other indie developers avoid our mistakes. Don’t let your game fade away. Build stickiness into your game from the start.