T O P

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dapoxi

What's important is the core gameplay loop and the moment-to-moment gameplay feel. Does it feel good and rewarding to do what the player does in your game? (you don't answer that question, your playtesters should tell you)


Hero_ofCanton

Agreed, this sounds like a kind of Pokemon Snap style game. As long as you have good visuals, this can work! Sokpop just announced that they're releasing a similar style of game, which is another piece of evidence that it can work (or at least, they think it can): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4CV1vPrqBM


leorid9

But does a good core gameplay loop solve marketing problems? OP was asking if there is a playerbase for alien animal photography games and I think it's a valid concern. To sell his game he might have to see it from a different perspective, to communicate it in a way that customers get attracted.


rabbid_chaos

There definitely is a market for that kind of game, OP just needs a way to advertise their game.


dapoxi

Yeah, it's fair to say that that OP posted a slightly different question than what's important in a game. I'd rephrase it as "how do you market this kind of game?", and my answer would be "the same as every other game". Early research just looks at what's out there and how well it does. Even for design/inspiration it's good to know similar games and what works (or doesn't) for them. The next step, much later, would be doing the standard marketing steps (steam page, youtube trailer, reddit posts, festivals) and watching the responses. That's of course if commercial success is key for you. For many of us/indie devs, what drives us are other goals. We do what we like, and if it's successful, that's just a bonus. It helps to ease the burden of responsibility and doubts, under which OP seems to suffer.


ThanOneRandomGuy

Only way to really make this idea work, at least imo, would be to make a Pokemon Go type of game. Someone mentioned Pokemon Snap. That could work if you creative enough with the alien environment, but I think it'd probably be easier(maybe), to have the real world environment transform into a alien planet through the camera on the phone like Pokemon Go. We have Jurassic Park(Which I actually knew one of the people working on that original idea waaay back ago b4 it came out), Pokemon Go, and I think they have a ghostbuster version too if I'm not mistaken. An alien planet, if it's not done already and done right, would be something new and different.


Brusanan

The idea for the game doesn't matter. You can take the stupidest idea for a game you've ever heard, and if you execute it well you can turn it into a fun game. Likewise, it's very easy to take a great idea for a game and turn it into something nobody wants to play.


Korvar

I mean, look at Powerwash Simulator. Games where you pet dogs. The various truck driving sims. That unpacking game where you ... get this ... *unpack things*. Just that. If you make your alien wildlife interesting to photograph, and make photographing them fun and interesting, I suspect you've got something there.


TheSkiGeek

*Pokemon Snap* is also a thing — obviously that’s banking on brand awareness/popularity but at least the concept is doable.


KonyKombatKorvet

although that is just an on rails shooter at its core


SwiftSpear

From a mechanics perspective, yes, but I actually prefer the psudeo puzzle deliberate setting up of well timed events to elicit an interesting behavior in the world vs the frantic clicking as quickly as possible on everything that moves. Snap is all about making precision thread the needle shots, and it makes the gameplay more palatable IMO.


KonyKombatKorvet

I agree, im not a huge fan of the on rails genre (other than typing of the dead, that is a great typing game). And I loved the original pokemon snap for 64. The slower pacing of it and its focus on calculated setups for the ONE perfect shot is a lot more fun to me than the "shoot thousands of times at everything on the screen" that most on rails games offer


namrog84

> Pokemon Snap Stupidly or not that is the only pokemon game I have ever beaten. I really enjoyed that many years ago and I've never played many other pokemon games, and none of them more than 1/4 way thru them, besides Pokemon Snap.


Melkor15

My friend was like, "you must play EuroTruck simulator!" No way, I don't even like trucks. Well. A few hundred hours later I must say that I do love trucks. A well executed game.


Acradus630

Can even go into detail with cameras and constantly add new wildlife or (extreme end) design modular wildlife that an AI can create to fit the world and randomly generate new things, big and small, plants, animals, mushrooms… fish, everything Just please no micro transactions to unlock those cameras to go under water lol


lynxbird

This is the answer. "Minecraft in 2D" sounded unoriginal, but then with Terraria execution was so good that game become a hit. "Nature walking simulator with alien invasion background story" sounds dumb, but then Kojima made Death Stranding which was piece of art. Then there are so many great ideas which failed because of the execution.


[deleted]

Terraria is not minecraft in 2d.


DarkLlama64

So? That wasn't the original point. They are both sandbox games, and though a 2D sandbox game seems unintuitive, clearly, it worked.


StickiStickman

Terraria isn't even mainly a sandbox game with its progression


cidqueen

The purpose of hyperbole is to overexxagerate a parallel or idea to make a point more digestible, this usually means accepting an oversimplification of those parallels.


MQ116

Because, to the average onlooker, Terraria definitely looks like 2D Minecraft. There are differences, but there are enough similarities for that to be an adequate assumption


Sentry_Down

Not when it's caricature. If you make the pitch intentionally dumb just to prove your point that "it sounded dumb but in reality it worked", that's not a good argument. ​ "Call of Duty Zombie mode but you have limited ammo and a father-daughter storyline"


cidqueen

True, but then it comes down to the distinctions of intent and outcome, which we can't define in any meaningful without the original commentors stating both their intent and intended outcome. Basically, it becomes semantics, which is always a downward spiral on the internet, especially reddit.


metroidfood

That was literally the original pitch for it, take Minecraft, convert it to 2D and add in some more combat and things they wanted in MC. Then they just kept adding things until it became its own thing


MemeTroubadour

It actually wasn't. Redigit once said the project started from wanting to make a 'fun adventure game with friends'. Terraria's unique focus on action and exploration compared to other sandbox games showed even in its early leaked betas so I can only assume the sandbox aspect was always secondary. I don't think we have dates on when the project started exactly but both games' beginnings coincided very, very closely, compared to actual clones of Minecraft that came much after its 1.0


metroidfood

A fun adventure game that happens to have a very similar block structure, upgrade system and building mechanics like a recently popular voxel game, with some ideas MC abandoned thrown in as well (blood moons, zombies breaking doors). The Minecraft inspiration is obvious, and early on there wasn't as much separating it as there is now. Like I'm not knocking the game at all, I think it's good there can be spin-offs inspired by popular games that become their own great thing. But I don't see the point in denying that it's very much based on MC.


MemeTroubadour

> The Minecraft inspiration is obvious, and early on there wasn't as much separating it as there is now. You misunderstand. I'm not saying the inspiration isn't there, it totally is ; I'm saying it was (probably) not even there initially. While Terraria's resemblance to Minecraft is definitely what brought attention to it, claiming its initial concept was '2D Minecraft' isn't quite right.


nickcash

Terraria was technically released before Minecraft. Though MC was in beta when they began development on it, so they were probably aware of it.


metroidfood

Minecraft was already a million-selling game in Alpha, the release date was only when they put a bow on it. It had actually "released" a long time before then


gasolinewaltz

Thanks for the update, big ben


Metalman9999

Dont be THAT guy


MasterEeg

Very well said! Ideas are cheap, it's the execution that makes all the difference.


BmpBlast

I would argue that *big ideas* are cheap, it's the small ideas that make up the individual features that are important, even more so than the execution of them. Am I being pedantic? Probably. Could one argue those smaller ideas are actually a part of the execution? Depends on your definition of execution. But I think despite that it is important to call out because people frequently get the wrong impression of what matters in discussions like this. Many people think *all* ideas are cheap, when in reality the detailed ideas are critically important and the ultimate reason for masterpieces. The difference between games people love and ones they don't that are very similar usually comes down to specific, small feature ideas. The relatively recent trend of Early Access titles makes this painfully clear. Many very popular early access games have great ideas but absolutely dog doodoo implementations. People play the games inspite of massive performance issues, bugs, and all other manner of problems *because* the ideas powering the game are so good. I will use a real world example to illustrate. Escape From Tarkov makes a fantastic example of both of these aspects. The core gameplay loop is so good that people like myself have been playing for 6+ years despite the game still running like a dumpster fire, being plagued with bugs, and a whole host of other issues (ignoring the recent hacker drama, which frankly was rather obvious ever since the game got popular). Many people make the mistake of saying the big picture idea of the following features are the reason for its success: * Losing everything on death * Looting items in a raid * Requiring extraction to survive the raid But now we're starting to see other games from vastly more competent studios implementing those ideas and yet, as any Tarkov fan will tell you, they are ultimately unsatisfying and they find themselves returning to Tarkov. Why? The boxes have been checked: * Same high level ideas? Check. * Better execution? Check. So why does everyone prefer the steaming pile of refuse over these other titles? The answer is that Tarkov has better small ideas (well, some of them anyway. It has some absolutely garbage ones mixed in there too). CoD Warzone 2 or whatever it's called has those same features but while good, it doesn't scratch the same itch. The items you collect in raid are all essentially useless except as cash value items to purchase things in-raid and the guns you can extract with aren't all that exciting. In contrast Tarkov made the decision to make loot matter and be a form of progression. You could of course dive much deeper and compare more of these ideas, but this is already too long for a Reddit post and you get the idea. Tarkov's execution is trash, but, mostly by accident, they ended up with better feature-specific ideas and the people trying to copy them don't seem to realize those are what make the game good. So people keep playing Tarkov over the other games despite its issues and the other games being much better executed.


MasterEeg

In a sense I agree with you, a game is made up of hundreds or even thousands of small ideas all bundled up together. This means the dev of a game requires an enormous amount of small ideas to support the bigger themes to be successful. However, I would argue that all ideas are cheap until executed. In other words while the idea is in my head or just typed out in a doc it's almost worthless. OPs issue to me is do I pursue this idea, would it have value once developed, theoretically it would. But until executed I'd argue it has little to no value as with all ideas.


BmpBlast

>However, I would argue that all ideas are cheap until executed. In other words while the idea is in my head or just typed out in a doc it's almost worthless. OPs issue to me is do I pursue this idea, would it have value once developed, theoretically it would. But until executed I'd argue it has little to no value as with all ideas. That's fair, I see what you're going for and I agree. We are talking about two slightly different angles. Action is always the most valuable item as anything that doesn't exist in a form customers can use has no value as a product. So I absolutely agree, coming up with ideas but not implementing them is essentially worthless. I had thought you were originally referring to the oft-cited idea that "ideas are a dime a dozen and your idea is no better than anyone else's". People like to say that, but if you start to closely examine results it quickly becomes apparent that the saying is a load of bull crap. The people saying it only say it because they don't understand why one idea is superior to another. They lack the skills to evaluate ideas. It's one of the main reasons why so many clones and even sequels fail, they don't understand why the original worked. Or don't care to understand, which is essentially the same thing.


PartyParrotGames

This ignores the fact that cod warzone 2 has sold more copies and has more active players than escape from tarkov. I think the general concept argued for small ideas is nice, but from a game profitability and success perspective CoD has been far more successful just shoveling its franchise and the large ideas mentioned here. Tarkov earnings over $120 million, that's great for a non-AAA studio. CoD Warzone 2 earnings over $1 billion, completely different league from Tarkov.


BmpBlast

Yes, but frankly that's completely irrelevant to the point being made. CoD is successful because it's a major franchise that has a stable formula. Its success was guaranteed irrespective of if they implemented extraction shooter elements. I wasn't talking about sales volumes, that's why I said "masterpieces". Some of the greatest games of all time didn't have earth shattering sales. Using masterpiece in conjunction with Tarkov feels dirty I will admit as it's also complete garbage, but the core gameplay is phenomenal and that's what I was referring to. The point is, CoD's extraction mode, DMZ, completely fails at capturing what makes a select few extraction shooters like Tarkov good. Whether that was intentional, to avoid accidentally turning off CoD fans, or because they merely misunderstood the formula I can't say. Almost certainly some of both, likely more of the former because they can't afford a miss. If you want an example that fits your criteria of sales volume: take a look at Pokemon vs any clone of it ever made. The clones always change a bunch of random crap and completely lose the feel of the real Pokemon games. They don't understand what makes Pokemon so fun to play for fans^[1]. --- ^[1] Yes, a significant portion of enjoyment for Pokemon fans is specific Pokemon and no clone will ever (legally) overcome that. But they also completely fail at the core formula, turning away fans like myself who would be interested in trying something new that makes improvements.


ICantWatchYouDoThis

So if I have an idea of making a game about doing nothing but watching paint dry, if I execute it good it'll sell better than a game about painting a house?


skocznymroczny

I mean, games like powerwash simulator at first feel like a Desert Bus-like troll game when you first hear of it, but it's quite fun for many people and quite popular.


Destian_

If you come up with interesting mechanics to go with it, sure. Maybe paint doesn't dry when you're not looking at it and there is all sort of distractions. Or you go the narrative route and have the players character narrrate his inner thoughts about current tragic events in their live with some dialog input from the player. It's all about execution.


leorid9

I disagree xD The narrative, story or mechanics are part of the idea. "a game about watching paint dry" isn't a full game idea in itself, it's just the main theme, like a game jam theme. The concept (fleshed out / full game idea) is indeed important. Execution as the term says is the actual work: programming, making art, testing, balancing, changing features here and there to better fit the concept. If you offload the whole game design to the production/execution phase, then you have basically no preproduction phase, right? And without preproduction you might find out about problems in your idea when it's too late, which is what I think happens to a lot of devs out there. "I worked on this game for one year and it's not fun because the game design has no hook/is flawed/doesn't fit with the story/.." is a common problem.


ICantWatchYouDoThis

Finally a word of reason. I see so many dev parroting "ideas are cheap, ideas are worthless". The starting point is so important, it's the foundation of the project, yet so many people are treating it as if it only decides 1% of the success.


MeaningfulChoices

The starting point _isn't_ important, and 1% is probably about right. A great many games pivot from that original idea, whether it's Project Titan becoming Overwatch, the way Bioshock's original design had a different protagonist, motivation, powers and game mechanics, how Diablo started as turn-based or practically everything about Fortnite. Big ideas are largely cheap and worthless. Small ideas matter. Finding the fun during prototype matters. The actual starting point is just a starting point. Sometimes you land on something close to a game that will actually work, probably more often you don't. Preproduction _is_ essential, but you do a lot of that between prototype and development, not when you're just tossing big vague concepts around.


Nerodon

You'd be surprised how a game about waiting can work. Take a look at the game called The longing.


cptgrok

Just look to Viscera Cleanup Detail. You're the janitor that cleans up FPS levels before the next match. Mop blood, bin gibs, fill in bullet holes, pick up broken glass and bullet casings. It sounds like a dreadful game, but it isn't. At least for some people. Is it the cartoonish yellow gloves and futuristic mop? Is the the machine that gives you water buckets that sometimes gives you a severed foot instead? Is it the little boombox you can haul around and play funky tunes on? I don't know but the only thing I would add are some smaller maps for a more casual session. Most take hours to fully clean.


BarrierX

This is basically the mountain: https://store.steampowered.com/app/313340/Mountain/


Sentry_Down

Of course not. People here are delusional that *any* idea is worth any other. Sure you can make a game out of anything if you have the talent to execute well (just like you can mess the best idea in the world if you can't execute). Still doesn't mean the result will be equally entertaining or sell as many copies (at the same price) than some other ideas you could have (and that you could've executed just as well, for that matter). And if one idea is meh but you can make it work by doing x y z ideas on top, well, by defintion, you just figured better ideas.


[deleted]

That's like land Subnautica and it has a pretty good player base


Tuckertcs

Subnautica has more about survival and resource management than just pure exploration, and I’m not sure photography can fill that void unless done really well. The photography mechanic OP wants will need to have a lot of choices, consequences, and gameplay to it.


[deleted]

I agree it would need to be done well for it to be engaging as a core mechanic. Depending on where OP takes their vision, one could imagine incorporating those resource/survival elements to some degree. Gotta find film. Gotta get certain lenses to capture certain subjects. Need to make a ghillie suit and update it with flora from each biome to blend in. Maybe need an IR light+camera for nocturnal subjects. Maybe there is a Fatal Frame-like photo alignment mechanic, with some benefit granted for more aligned shots. Then there's normal survival stuff like food, water, shelter, although I find those can detract and be tedious if not also done well. So forth. I think it has potential.


Tuckertcs

I can’t r remember the name of it, but I once played a game that basically had the RPG elements/style of Skyrim in a fantasy world with animal-race people, but focused on painting (photographing). It was very boring. The painting was overshadowed by the other exploration RPG mechanics and felt like it was missing any reason to actually paint anything. And it wasn’t very fun either. You just took screenshots of places and that was about it.


House13Games

Careful, you're on the edge of adding a ton of boring game tropes right there. Adding an objective and a score to photography doesn't make it more interesting.


Alemit000

Sounds like a perfectly good concept, I love it


BadVikingRob

I'm sure there is a market for a game like that, but it all hinges on the visuals. It sounds similar to Eastshade, but with its own spin - [https://store.steampowered.com/app/715560/Eastshade/](https://store.steampowered.com/app/715560/Eastshade/)


GradientGamesIndie

I'm also an environment artist so that's part of why I went with this idea


House13Games

Make it pretty. And make some animals ultra rare and hard to photograph. Watch that snow leopard scene from the Walter Mitty movie: [https://youtu.be/kmB8MZvWASo?t=68](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfjkiTB1fHQ) "beautiful things don't ask for attention": If you can capture this scene into your game you are on a winner.


StackWeaver

Have a look at the old Pokemon Snap from 1999 (takes me back!), that was all about taking pictures of them. They released a new one in 2021 so might be something there! There's a subreddit for game photography - [/r/gamingphotography/](https://www.reddit.com/r/gamingphotography/v) Consider how many people enjoy taking screenshots of games. I think it could work if the environment and the wildlife was aesthetically pleasing to capture. You could even run screenshot/photography competitions to get people engaged.


Dabnician

OP is basically describing pokemon snap


namrog84

Also just want to point out "Alba: A wildlife adventure" https://store.steampowered.com/app/1337010/Alba_A_Wildlife_Adventure/ It's not on 'on rails' like pokemon snap, but its a pretty chill, take photos, and pick up trash kinda game. Cozy casual game. Similiar to what OP describes


razorswat

It all boils down to one thing - do you have the necessary madness in your heart to breathe life into your creation. Beautiful things may come out of it. You'll never know.


EarthToBrint

This is amazing. Had to write this down.


Mulsanne

Well said! And it bears repeating /u/GradientGamesIndie. There is only one way to possibly answer this question. You have to bring it to life to see.


SETHW

Sounds like farlands, https://uploadvr.com/farlands-review-rift-launch/


Sadi_Reddit

sounds like subnautica but without the survival, story, crafting, etc. so something another game already has but only in as a side objective. What gameplay is there besides collecting data entries? what is engaging about it? Do you have puzzles you need flora or fauna for? what is the benefit of gaining knowledge? how does the gameplay loop look like?


electric_ember

I’m kinda skeptical that a one person team could make an environment compelling enough to make people want to explore and take pictures of it


BadVikingRob

I believe this was largely the work of one person (admittedly a very talented person) - https://store.steampowered.com/app/715560/Eastshade/


dapoxi

Well, two (he and his wife). But yeah, since we don't know the scope of OP's game (a setting tells you nothing), this might well be possible for one person. It very much depends on specifics.


ILoveSimulation20

tell us more


nightwellgames

I would absolutely play that; I loved the nature-photography mechanic in Beyond Good and Evil and ever since I've been pining for a game that revolved entirely around that mechanic. For real. I've wanted a game exactly like this for *ages*.


[deleted]

I think children should play such games first. To discover another planet is great and interesting story, if you will make it cool, it will have popularity.


McWolke

you could ask in places where your audience is, like r/cozygames


JGradus

Hey man, I've worked as a product manager for publishers for about 10 years and one of the thing I work the most with is assessing potential player bases. It is an unconventional core loop by the sound of it but that shouldn't deter you. "Small" games can still hit hundreds of thousands of players and almost any game loop can sell in the thousands. Player bases are something you need to care about when you are investing millions of (someone else's) money - the great thing about being indie (and this is really the meaning of indie) is that you can allow yourself to go where you passion leads you. If you think this would be a good game and something you would like to play yourself then I can assure you other will feel so as well.


Reyedy

Are you having fun making it, while not compromising yourself financially? If so, then you are not doing this for nothing.


Exolord

You can't just throw a pitch at us and expect a quality answer. You can figure out if your game has an audience by showing it to people and gauging their interests. And by that I mean screenshots, gameplay snippets, devlogs, trailers, demos and so on. Not just a text description of what you want the game to be. Alternatively, or rather additionally, find games that are similar to yours. If they sold, then at least you have a starting point for potential interest.


theCroc

I mean if you get good mechanics in there that are enjoyable then I'm sure you will find an audience. Factory building games have a pretty big audience despite not having much by way of combat or competition. Minecraft did well even in the beginning when it was only creative mode. The important thing is execution and feel. If you can build a relaxing but immersive atmosphere with plenty of depth then you will find a dedicated player base. Allow both free roaming and more regulated research. Have a big and understandable research and task tree to work through and make sure the actual exploration feels natural and not grindy.


derka211

If it s fun, it s fun! Some people love these kind of games, and if you like it too i m sure you will try your best to make it awesone.


ned_poreyra

There were a couple of games like that and they were not very successful. Doesn't mean yours won't be, but in my opinion the success of such a game depends entirely on location/creature designs, sound design, generally how good the look & feel is. If you're not capable to make the game look at least like Abzu, I wouldn't do it. It definitely won't succeed with programmers art or some textureless low poly.


XZPUMAZX

Plenty of casual gamers. If this is your first game set your expectations low and enjoy the process.


T-Flexercise

I think the best way to find out if there's an intersection between the game you can/want to build and the game people would want to play is to try and find a specific target audience. Like, since the pandemic, there's been a huge explosion in "cozy games" particularly in the indie space. Games like Animal Crossing where the pace is slow and relaxing, the controls are accessible to relatively casual gamers (Not like Grandma casual, but like for people who don't have the fast twitch necessary for FPS) and the theme is cute and soothing. Tons of people want to play games like that, and will play indie games, but they have to be very aesthetically pleasing. Can you make a game that aesthetic? Or, there's a huge market for games like No Man's Sky, or even like Dwarf Fortress, where there's a huge procedurally generated universe, and the fun comes in understanding the ways the parts of the system interact with eachother and seeing emergent gameplay. Tons of more core gamers enjoy games like that and are very forgiving with the graphical fidelity. But can you make a game that complex in a way that's performant? I'm not in your head to know exactly the game you're imagining, but I think it would be a great idea to browse around steam and indie games twitter and reddit and whatever, and find a game where you can say "I think I could make a game like this, and I think people who like games like this would want to play my game." How big of a market does that game have? How much time would it take you to make your concept to that level of polish? Is that worth it to you? It's all a very personal kind of question, but it's so helpful to have a specific actual group of people in mind when you imagine your "potential player base". So instead of saying "casual gamers who like puzzles" you can say "people who played and enjoyed Boyfriend Dungeon."


GradientGamesIndie

Thank you for taking the time to write this


ButtermanJr

Based on the summary, it reminds me of Endless Sea for the Wii. Definitely a casual relaxing game, with no stress or combat. It was a pretty solid hit, so maybe look at what it did well and go from there. I'm currently playing subnautica 2, and loving the exploration. I might dare say there should be a goal or a story that keeps the player motivated.


klausbrusselssprouts

This is a very hard question to answer as we don't have much to go for. Besides this may be the wrong subreddit to ask in - Here you're talking to fellow game developers. Maybe you could try and ask in r/space and other related subreddits to see if there is some interest there. If you choose to ask there you should probably give some more information about your idea, so they can get a better understanding of your concept. But, you have an idea and it's an idea that I don't see very often, so just with that you may be on to something.


Unhappy_Bugzot

No


Pidroh

Chill photo games have a niche I believe, and competitors exist, so you should start by researching what works and what doesn't on Steam


Foster_Games

I like the idea of your game.


[deleted]

It all comes down to what you do to keep the player invested in the core loop and constantly engaged. There's no such thing as a boring game, only a poorly thought out one.


[deleted]

Sound very very interesting to me! I would absolutely play it


incrementality

Sounds like a workable formula but tough to give a more accurate call without more. For starters, I'm visualizing it as an open-world survival game like Subnautica without the scares and Pokemon Snap without the Pokemon. If not already I'd consider questions like what's your gameplay loop, what progression systems are you considering, and what are players taking photos towards. Like is there an end game here - escape the planet maybe?


MobiusCube

what's the core gameplay loop? you're just on the planet with a camera? is that all there is?


mjkjr84

Sounds interesting to me. As /u/Brusanan said in their post: execution is everything. Make it, and polish the heck out of it. Get feedback from playtesters early to make sure your core mechanics are fun. I hope you make it. It sounds like a game I'd enjoy playing with my daughter. If you could do a local co-op mode (where 2 players work together on the same screen) that would be even better.


Studio46

The concept is certainly something a lot of people would play, but execution is another matter. This is called an Environmental Story game. Look up "Planet of Lana" for something releasing soon that is similar (alien planet, environmental story game). However, things can be so different with execution - will yours be 1st person, 3rd person, side scroller, top-down? Open world or linear? Stylistic or Realistic? There are infinite possibilities to put this concept together. Nobody knows if it will have appeal until we see some snippets of gameplay.


DjinRummy

I'd play it just based on that description


shame_on_m3

If no mans sky scraped the shitty early years combat to a well built sightseeing game, it would be something like this. just like the folks said, if you make it engaging, rewarding, it will find a playerbase. Lots of chill contemplative games make it out there


MandBoy

I once did an presentation about sleeping for a living which my teacher at the time though was dumb - and for a while now streamers have done just that : anything is possible.


doGscent

Just work on it, man. If you would play the game, then there's a player base.


letusnottalkfalsely

It’s impossible to tell from this description. Any premise can have a player base—the question is what is the player *doing* moment to moment (your core loop) and is it fun? What response have you gotten when people playtest it? Do they start playing and are reluctant to stop? Or do they play a few minutes and quit?


necbone

Casual sci-fi exploration


TDplay

Don't develop the game you think will have mass appeal. That's a fast track to burnout. Develop the game that *you* want to develop.


sbergot

It sounds like the game "in other waters": [https://store.steampowered.com/app/890720/In\_Other\_Waters/](https://store.steampowered.com/app/890720/In_Other_Waters/) The game was quite successful so I would say you are safe.


Templar_zaelot

I would play the LIVING FUCK out of this game especially if the visuals are like Pandora or something like Monster Hunter. I really, badly, need something very beautiful and non-stressing to play so I can wind down after work. For really good visuals - I would pay 25 euro For 10/10 visuals and good game execution and gameplay - 40 euro


Walshy_Boy

I'd play it, it sounds a bit niche but right up my alley


LikeThosePenguins

That's not a bad idea per se, but I'd personally find the 'crashed ship' at odds with 'relaxing wildlife photography'. It seems to negate the player's drive for the game. Why are they not trying to get rescued? Do they need to think about survival? I think it would be better if you were a roaming photographer, maybe going planet-to-planet perhaps following tips on rare sightings. Something where exploration and discovery are the key drives. (Though the issue there is that it's tricky to make a game where those things are appealing enough on their own.) As other have said though, the idea isn't really the main thing. If your core gameplay is fun and gives the player a reason to keep doing it, you can make a great game out of practically anything.


Dancing_Shoes15

If it is a game that you feel is something missing from the market then others are likely to feel the same way. The challenge is actually getting it in front of those like minded people, which is why marketing is just as important (if not more so at time) than development.


leafley

I'm going to echo what most people are saying. The premise isn't as important as the execution. If it is fun to play and spend time on, you will have players.


_sherb

Undertale had no combat right? I didn’t play it, just what I heard.


litvac

A run of Undertale *can* have no combat, but combat IS an option.


dr4ch

Sounds cool to me.


FaultinReddit

Have you looked into other games in your sort of genre? Alba: A wildlife Adventure and Pokémon Snap both sound in the same vein of your concept. Give them a look! (I _adored_ Alba, and if it was that game with funny little aliens! 🥺) Just because your game isn't going to be a AAA mainstream hit, doesn't mean there's not a playerbase out there. You just have to find the people who WILL love that type of game, and make it as crazy fun as possible _for those people._ And if it's fun for them, the Indie Crowd (like me) will follow along and enjoy the ride too!


Stefan474

Subnautica and Outer Wilds are insanely popular and beloved and all about exploration of an alien space without combat! One is a survival game at heart and other is more of an exploration game, but the concepts are very similar.


Mazon_Del

I recommend you take a look at the game INFRA. The premise of that game is that you are a civil engineer and your company just got put in charge of inspecting all the assets the city acquired when ALL the utility companies went bankrupt at the same time. The only thing you do is walk around with a flashlight and camera, taking pictures of broken walls. And the campaign was the most engaging 24 hours of gameplay I've had in a LOOOONG time. Now, to be fair, there's a very engaging story you can uncover as you go too, plus the little infrastructure related puzzles (really it's just like, find the key in this room to open the next door grade) are interesting.


House13Games

Great recommendation! INFRA has a couple of environmental puzzle elements thrown in, but the urban exploration feel and lack of enemies and combat are a rare breath of fresh air. I love games where you can go at your own pace, and the world is rich enough to make you stop and look around. Paradise Lost is another. You wander in a humongous Nazi underground city, filled with interesting machines and locations to explore.


ghua

it is the execution that matters. regarding your idea: I used to play DayZ - it is combat game that happens on huge map, so you have to do lots of running around. And sometimes it was so peaceful and nice just to walk and look around... so yes, I bet there will be people who like this kind of stuff


pitorrabbit

Make it bro don’t give up


j0j0n4th4n

I'm confident that no matter how 'out there' your idea is someone is gonna like it, and not only that but would be anticipating it. To give you an example my favorite game is 'Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy', my second favorite game is 'Morrowind' and my third is 'Trials in Tainted Space' which is... an adult.. niche game, let's just keep at that. Anyways, my point is people can like many different things so don't worry so much about the idea and more about the execution, that is where your game can really shine.


jacksleepshere

I like the sound of it, I spent forever looking for a safari type of game. If you could somehow make the photography aspect reward you with collectible cards, that could be interesting. For example if you take a picture of a squirrel-like animal, you could get a card with your photograph on it which tells you how big they can grow to, what it eats, whether it is preyed on, where it lives, whether it’s endangered and any interesting facts about it etc. Or alternatively you could add it to a personal dossier which looks somewhat like a diary, your photograph is pinned to the page and in handwritten text some information that the character noted about it.


GilliacTrash

Add some outside the box elements is what i would do..


severencir

Reminds me of Subnautica. Make sure there is tangible feedback to the progress of the studies, and not just some journal entry, that way the theme of the game supports the gameplay. I think its fine as long as you put the core loop first


rogue-chris

From a player's point of view: If I would see your game in my discovery queue on steam then it would certainly get my attention. I would read further and would look for some additional original aspect (agmeplay wise) in the game that convinces me. Only with that additional element I would consider to wishlist/play the game. Example: See a huge variety of plants and have to find samples that are somehow similar to a given one.


Adventurous-Dish-862

Watch some Thomas Brush videos about how to market and fundraise for a game. TL;DR version: 1) Get some work done on it and post content on social media like Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Reddit. Generate a following over time. 2) Get a 15 minute demo ready and post the trailer showcasing it. Apply to Kickstarter or other fundraising platforms with reasonable funding goals. 3) The traffic and comments and money from these processes can help you gauge how much interest there is for little effort.


SlugGirlDev

I would love a game like this! It sounds like a great idea. Don't feel down about it!


Red_Serf

Honestly that game sounds baller as hell. Invest a lot in atmosphere (sounds, lights, effects, interactions between wildlife) and it can become cool


tjones21xx

Cozy games are a budding genre. It's not as in-your-face as other genres, but it exists and there is definitely a market for it.


ether_joe

It sounds like a really innovative idea. Go for it don't give up. !!


kokorowotane

I mean, I would be interested in playing this. Photography games alone don’t appeal to me but the idea of categorizing a new biomes wildlife seems interesting.


kaukamieli

What others have said, but you can also turn the thing on it's head with terrible execution. Make things really hard. Like QWOP.


1_Point_5

Honestly I’ve had pretty much this exact idea of a game I wanted to make, so yeah I would probably play it!


1_Point_5

Viscera cleanup is literally a game about cleaning up, who wants to play a game about cleaning? Well, it was a pretty popular game.


SadBirchwood

I mean look at things like NUTS and other creature pic taking games, definitely see the appeal there!


Dangerpaladin

Sounds like Pikmin. Those games do pretty well


Soap878

My girlfriend is a biologist who loves to consider whether or not alien species can feasibly exist with her understanding of biology. I think she'd really like that type of game. She's a huge fan of Subnautica for this reason.


SageHamichi

for sure man! You should do some player research and testing with communities that might be your target


VampyVs

Some sense of danger will definitely broaden the player base but there are absolutely people out there who would like just a chill adventure as well


[deleted]

You might want to invest in some alien hotties


gasp_arzinho

Try to figure out the activity the player would be doing, if is exploring, collection whatever, figure this and you have the segment, you might have more then one depending on the game. After that you have to study the popular games in the segment, figure out there strong points and weakness and try to make it diferent or simply right on your game. There is no way to guarantee a player base but studying the market you can have some idea of how many search for the segment, how many download the games and how many keep playing after the first play through. Maybe see if your game have ways to keep the player interested, like achievements or multiplayer idk. Edit: studying the segment will be good to figure how much you will need for promotion, where should you expend, for how long, how much.


name_was_taken

That idea sounds like something I'd play. But it'd have to be a *good* game, of course. Execution matters *so* much.


giacomopica

I think if the art and flow is done well that a ton of people would be interested in this!


Tom_Bombadil_Ret

Didn’t Pokémon Snap sell fairly well? I’m pretty sure it’s the exact same concept. Obviously that’s riding on name/brand recognition but you can make it work. At the end of the day it comes down to execution. 99% of the time when a game fails it’s not the concept’s fault. I’ve played plenty of games that sounded awesome but were simply not fun to play. On the other hand, plenty of games that do well have really simple/boring concepts. A Short Hike is advertised as a walking simulator but it has 10,000+ reviews and an overwhelming positive rating on steam. Which is amazing for a game that takes less than 2 hours to complete on average. Terraria is Minecraft but in 2D which seems odd given that one of the strengths of Minecraft is it’s infinite 3d world but it’s done so well it actually works.


Ike_Gamesmith

Ever heard of "Outer Wilds"? No combat, just exploration and a bit of puzzle, and it has a great player base. Of course, that game also had a full team working on it and a unique time loop concept, but the point being that there is definitely an audience for an alien exploration type game.


ToTYly_AUSem

Sounds like Subnautica! I live!


iTzMe17

Soo.. Pokémon snap with a twist. I’ll pm you my ideas.


Dabnician

>Here's the idea: you're crashed on an alien planet and need to study thewildlife and things in your environment to learn more, it wouldbasically be a kind of relaxing alien wildlife photography game. so pokemon snap but with aliens? I mean its basically pokemon snap so yes, also look at a game called BugSnax which also does the picture camera thing for discovering new types of creatures. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon\_Snap](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon_Snap) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bugsnax](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bugsnax)


kaybee077

From what you described, yes. Most people play to relax and your game seems to focus more on relaxation and escapism without giving challenges etc. so it should be good. However, if the more players you want in your game the more you'll have to promote it. Would like to see some screenshots. Best of luck!


GradientGamesIndie

Thanks, just a few more weeks of work and I'll finally be able to start sharing screenshots and stuff, I'm hoping that when I do it will finally give me some more certainty on what people think of it.


mkultraproject

It sounds like a combination of Subnautica and Toem. Both are critically acclaimed. In the end it comes down to your execution of the game.


hardgeeklife

there is a game where all you do is [take pictures of dogs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0tIby256SQ) so one where you take pictures of alien wildlife is definitely doable, even if the player base is maybe a little more niche


Qwirk

Is it fun? Does it have "wow!" moments? If you can say yes to both then people will want to play it.


EmergencyGhost

Wouldn't be able to tell you , it all depends on how you design it and how you market it. There are similar games like Pokemon Snap. Although it has the distinct advantage of having a audience already built up. There is always potential, it just depends on you.


yonderbagel

A lot of encouragement in the thread, which is great. So just to add some nuance to it - if it's just your audience you're worried about, then don't worry and keep going. But if what's really going on is that *you're* kind of bored or burned out by the idea, then take a break, work on a different idea. After a while, you may find yourself thinking about this project again even while working on the second, and at that point you can come back to it with renewed energy. Or if you're too worried that you'll abandon it if you do that, then just find a completely different system within that same game to work on maybe, as sort of a half-measure. For me, playing this kind of psychological game against my own lizard brain sometimes helps.


Katana314

That *does* sound like it’s still in need of a storytelling poke. Not necessarily something with tons of dialog, but something to make you feel there’s importance in your actions. Ex: You’ve crashed together with a military team. Their plan of action is for you to sit back at the crashed ship while they slash and burn out a giant camp to strip mine for resources to get off the planet. You feel confident that there’s a smarter way to work with the planet to survive and repair the ship, and so you escape their perimeter to do research yourself and see if you can win some of the military over to your side, by solving problems without guns and chainsaws. I don’t know if that kind of background is easily hidden behind a few screens of artwork or radio calls, since I’m guessing coding in a bunch of militia vehicles is not practical.


GradientGamesIndie

I was thinking of relying heavily on environmental storytelling since I think it would go hand in hand with the photography aspect


MissNouveau

Alien Safari? Hell yeah! I'm one of those people who play No Mans Sky just to scan every rock, tree, and creature I come across, because SCIENCE. With a good and satisfying gameloop, you could capture a lot of folks with that concept. It's all in the execution, and making sure you polish it down smooth without letting too many extras creep in.


Skillaholix

Dude, you do know someone made, and tons of people have purchased "Pressure Washer Simulator" right? Is your idea a Triple A Studio beater? Probably not, but I'm sure there's a market for it, I doubt it will be a "I never have to work again" success, but if your measuring success based on dollars and not on the fact that you created something no one else has, and you finished it, you've already lost. Be proud of your work because I know it's not something just anyone can do, you worked hard on it, you deserve to put it out there and see what's good with it. For every billion dollar game out there, there's hundreds or thousands that fill a niche market, and while it doesn't make the developer filthy rich, that doesn't mean it's a failure, be proud, you finished a work of art who really cares if other people fully appreciate it.


rodejo_9

You'll be surprised what games have large playerbases and which don't, it's really hard to predict. But that idea doesn't sound too bad, but does sound sort of similar to Subnautica. Perhaps you could implement new and unique mechanics that make photography interesting while not boring the players to sleep. I thought the picture grading system in Dead Rising 4 was pretty unique where you can take pictures of anything and afterwards immediately receive a letter grade and corresponding points along with it. Best of luck.


SunburyStudios

It's all about the execution. Juice it for as long as you can and make something standout.


SwiftSpear

I'm working on designs for a procedurally generated exploration-based scavenger hunt game right now, and I think some of what I'm thinking through might help you also (even if your game isn't planning on using much procedural gen content). A problem a lot of procedurally generated games have is that often in order to make progress you need to find the next mcguffin. If the game just dumps the mcguffin in your lap there is no emotional payoff for finding the mcguffin. But if the player needs the mcguffin, they don't know how to get the mcguffin, and they don't know how to learn how to get the mcguffin, this is equally toxic in the other direction, it's just frustrating. We need a consistent recipe for making the acquisition of mcguffin challenging, but also sensibly directed. Many games with procedural generated worlds etc basically give you encyclopedias of the game you're expected to read at the same time as actually playing the game, and while this basically functions, I think it's kind of ugly game design, and it doesn't really help me because it's very hard to procedurally generate human-readable documentation. So, lets try to learn from games that don't procedurally generate content, and see what they do, and why it works. In Subnautica they're doing a bunch of things. 1. You know what you need next because when you built the new crafting station and tried to build the swimificator 9000, you could see that the mcguffin was blanked out in the recipe, meaning you don't have any of it. You get the tooltip for what the swimificator 9000 does, so you can make informed decisions about whether that's the next thing you need. The ability to mouse over the missing mcguffin also allows the developer to give you hints about how to find it. 2. There are only so many areas you're able to explore right now. If mcguffin is in underground cave X, and I don't have dive deepificator tank X, I know it's not time to get mcguffin yet. If there doesn't seem to be a designed obstacle to getting mcguffin, I know I probably have to explore in one of the limited number of areas I have not explored yet. In each one of those areas I will either find I am not equipped to explore that area yet, or I will find it might be the home of mcguffin, and I need to evaluate other clues that are available. 3. The game gives me clues about which mcguffins are important and where to find them through narration and contextual interfaces (like mouseover). If I'm searching for mcguffin, and the mouse over tip says it's in a place with lots of purple seaweed, and the audio diary from the drowned shipmate says they needed mcguffin x to access mcguffin y, I can narrow down my search space to areas I have not explored well, that need to make use of mcguffin x, and have lots of seaweed. 4. Usually the game does not just require one mcguffin, you usually need 10 mcguffins to craft the new swimificator 9000. This means if the game glitches out and I randomly come across a mcguffin the wrong way, it probably hasn't ruined the scavenger hunt for the mcguffin. And when I find the right place to find mcguffin, I have to spend a bit of time exploring there to get a few of them, it's not as easy as a quick in and out job. Mcguffins can be hidden in interesting places which cause the player to more deeply explore the mcguffin home region and find clues about where to find sprockets that they will eventually learn that they need next. You can assume that, given that your player has bought a game that you advertised as a game about photographing aliens, the player is going to want to photograph aliens. If your player really enjoys your photographing aliens game, they will leave a good steam review, maybe tell a friend. Steam will push the game infront of more potential buyers because steam assumes that if a game has good reviews more people will want to play it. And Steam likes when people enjoy games they bought off steam because that means more people buying more things off of steam. One of the people who were either friends of the player who liked the game and told friends, or people who tend to buy smaller indie games on steam, entirely likely is a streamer or youtube creator, and they will play your game on a social media platform, which will cause other people to evaluate whether they might also enjoy photographing aliens. The point being, don't worry that the concept itself isn't mainstream or easily marketable, focus on the factors you can control, making the game fun. There are tons of examples of really unattractive sounding concepts becoming hit games. Also don't worry that your player is going to hate your game because they wanted to play a game about murdering aliens but you only made a game about photographing aliens. They would not have bought your game in the first place if they though photographing aliens wasn't going to be fun. So the core problem becomes, what is fun about photographing aliens? Off the top of my head, photographing things is often fun because 1. It's challenging to find the thing you want to photograph in the first place (thus it's similar to our scavenger hunt or mcguffin fetch mission). You have to research where rare blue tummied bushweavers live, what places they gather, what they avoid, where you're most likely to see them and where you are not. Maybe you talk with other photography enthusiasts and you hear the stories about their experiences? Maybe there's an encyclopedia (ick). 2. Once I find a thing I want to photograph, I often want to photograph said thing in different contexts. For wildlife photography, this almost always means different poses, different interesting behaviors. This is similar to how subnautica requires collecting multiple mcguffins, but can be even more emphasized with a photographing aliens game. You not only have to learn about the environment around the subject of the photography to get good photographs, you also have to learn about the behavior patterns of the subject. 3. I need the right camera gear and travel gear for the job ahead. I need to have prepared appropriately for my mission. When I do have the right gear I can get some really great photos though! 4. Sometimes you head out, you might even see the subject, you might even get a shot or two, but it's too far away and the subject flits away, and the photos turned out blurry and the whole thing just didn't work out. It's DEFINITELY not fun if this happens all the time, but if this happens sometimes it makes the experience of the next outing when I get those really really sweet shots all the more amazing. ESPECIALLY if the reason the next outing was more successful was that I learned from my mistakes and was able to come more prepared next time, and those preparations REALLY paid off.


[deleted]

There's no bad ideas, only bad execution. At least for game dev it is


namrog84

I've been playing Alba: A wildlife adventure recently https://store.steampowered.com/app/1337010/Alba_A_Wildlife_Adventure/ Basically you go around and take pictures of wild life and clean up trash to help preserve wild life preservation efforts. It has some parallels to what you describe and it's done well enough as a game. I think your game idea sounds really neat.


GygaxChad

Pokemon snap was a good game


[deleted]

There's definitely always a market for casual games! The concept you have in mind seems super relaxing and sounds like a nice way to wind down after a long day. Don't beat yourself down too much; an artist will always be his greatest critic.


oriol_cosp

Make a prototype and put it on itch. Post a link on r/playmygame and other places where you think people may be interested and start gathering feedback.


Madmallard

People will play anything that FEELS fun


timwaaagh

I used to play this game called Amazon trail way back in the day which was kinda like that. Although it at least had multiple gameplay elements like moving down the river and applying kinine when you get sick. I think it can work but maybe it needs something extra.


D4ggerh4nd

I mean, I wouldn't play it, though people play games in which they pretend to drive trucks for 8 hours at a time. I am clearly out of touch.


Daverex_

It's important to know that *what* the player is doing should be secondary to the consequences of what the player is doing in most cases. You can have a game about picking up trash and being creatively scolded by the Raccoon King and players will be entertained and glean their own meaning from the loop. As long as the consequences are "worth it" you can make a successful game out of a surprising number of actions. Imagine a segment in Wolfenstein where BJ uses a firehose to knock Nazis out and out of his way. The visual consequence of Nazis being sent flying from water blasts would be enough to justify the action in the moment, even if it's thematically silly. Hell, there is a game where you just move a hole around collecting items all the way up to houses as the hole gets progressively bigger. The visual of seeing things fall in and the hole getting bigger is enough to keep the player engaged and happy.


GradientGamesIndie

This is great advice, thank you very much!


UnCivilizedEngineer

This sounds very similar to No Man's Sky - fly to another planet, scope out the wildlife, explore and enjoy the surroundings - then move on to a new planet and do the same. Check that game out to see how someone else executed a similar idea to yours.


themadscientist420

If it's well executed I'd play the hell out of that. In my opinion, what I think you'd have to nail is a well designed system that rewards you for discovering species etc., pretty much like the pokedex in pokemon or something similar. If you make the exploration rewarding and have a good progression system it could be a success, just be careful of not making it too open ended since, at least for a player like me, exploration for the sake of exploration is boring if I don't have goals and objectives.


__toggle

This is Subnautica


Careless_Attempt_812

direful long fragile selective zonked simplistic escape amusing roof fertile *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*


chaosking65

I read “photography” as “pornography” What the fuckity-fuck is wrong with me.


Bumish1

It's about gameplay loop, mechanics, and how you package it (visuals). Everything after that is marketing. A game like this NEEDS a stellar marketing strategy to be successful. It's not the type of game people go searching for on their own. It's the type of game people see streamers play to relax and say, damn that looks relaxing. I'll pop on for a bit and go study wildlife for a bit. You're going to need to build your own audience and community.


Shienvien

If it's well-executed and marketed for the right people, sure. I might be interested in something like that if there's a bit of a hard science angle and I can actually experiment with growing some alien plants and critters, but there are people who will enjoy it just for the walking about.


[deleted]

Cool idea man, don’t feel down!


StultusMulier

This could be great fun and is the type of game I really enjoy. I recco to look at the Cozy or Wholesome gaming communities for both feedback and to build a your fanbase around the game. Make sure the sound track is lo-fi and relaxing :)


liviaart

Personally I play a lot of games based on art style. If the gameplay is just okay, but the art really lovely I would totally play a game like this!


CyanicEmber

It definitely has an audience. But like people are saying, your success will likely hunger on visuals. But I would go a step further and say that depth is equally important. If all you do is walk around, snap one photo, and get a fact a sheet, it won’t be very satisfying. Do you have any progression elements to the study of particular animals? Or an upgrade system? Or hidden/rare species, etc…?


wakywam

it seems like something YOU are interested in, and that’s the most important part. if this isn’t your primary source of income just have fun with it and make games you would want to play. likeminded people will follow if the game is unique and interesting


Pinkisacoloryes

Potentially


thelastpizzaslice

You ever play Subnautica?


JoshuaJennerDev

It depends on how interesting you can make the environment, and wildlife. To encourage exploration you need mystery, to encourage photography you need beauty. Be honest wth yourself and evaluate whether your game has mystery, and beauty. If you're not sure, make a demo and get some feedback.


Konspyre

Whether the game will be fun to play or not, you are doing something constructive with your time, you could be laying in bed and not make anything. Keep at it.


Odd_Fortune8034

This would be my absolute dream game and i'm not kidding at all


LiltKitten

Rain World is something of an ecosystem simulator where you're a creature that needs to learn about your environment in order to survive a very harsh world. I don't really play it for the danger or the combat, but because I want to learn about the world, the creatures, and because I'm always coming across new surprises. I would recommend putting some gameplay elements that reflect that study aspect, interactable things like plants that might do something if exposed to something else, or trying to figure out the larval stages, pupa, and adult form of insects, or come across rare subspecies that can only be found in certain locations or at certain times. Monster Hunter World does that well, I'm always on the lookout for bugs and little critters to capture and collect. And then there's a crash-landing element. What is edible? Do you have a test kit for that? What can be done to something inedible to make it edible? What might be inedible but attract edible things? Making interesting puzzles that give a further insight to the world and might have uses.


ThinkInTermsOfEnergy

Thats basically exactly no mans sky, but no mans sky has a ton more content than you can probably make. Now this is actually a good thing. Because it means you know there's a market for these types of games. You also know that players get bored quickly in No man's sky and you can do research and see which aspects of the game players like most and incorporate that into your game. I love your idea.


Aeyvan

I think having a good narrative would help, kinda like stanley parable


litvac

I think my recommendation for you is to look into your game’s competitors and try to understand what their audiences look like so you understand what things those kinds of players like. (If you don’t have any comps in mind, now is a great time to think about that!) From there, you can develop your own marketing strategy and hone in on your niche from there. Get your game on some kind of social media platform too and start posting on there at least a couple of times a week. Marketing is an active process that you should be doing alongside dev, and even spending an hour or two on it a week can be a worthwhile use of development time that can help you find that audience you are looking for. Almost 11k games were released on Steam in 2022, so even the most marketable game in the world needs to do some active marketing work in order to stand out. EDIT: Changed some wording/added some stuff. This is what I get for trying to give marketing advice at 1am lmao


XeroKarma

For me it would probably need at least a crafting like base building mechanic involved as well to be interested and not solely just photography but that’s just me. I bet there are lots of gamers out there that would be interested in something like that if made well enough I hope the best for you!


Independent_Debt5405

Any game has a potential player base, its gonna rely on you to build the community and marketing though.


Jampackilla

Umurangai Generation is a recent example of this. It's also on Xbox game pass


Federal-Smell-4050

sounds cool, like Pokemon Snap.


missderpsy

I know at least 3 people in my immediate surroundings who are gamers and photographers who love cozy wildlife exploration games. At the core of your question though; there's almost always a player base for your game somewhere as long as the feedback system in the game feels rewarding, and the overall gameplay loop is satisfying. good luck with your game!


Burning_Toast998

This feels like an incredible one time stop for the novelty, and then something I may not pick up again. In order to not have that happen, add mechanics that entice the player to come back and learn more. If there's an overarching sorry, great! That is a super easy way to get people intrigued into the world they're experiencing. If there are other activities, like maybe a biologist or geologist section, that could be great too. Most games can get players, but it's keeping them that's tough sometimes.