First off, a huge thank you to everyone who supported the project during the RTS-Fest on Steam! The interest, wishlists, and kind words absolutely made it a joy and honor to be part of the event. Your enthusiasm means the world to me, and I’m so grateful for your support.

This post is a little behind-the-scenes look at the festival—why I decided to jump in, what I learned along the way, and some insights for other devs (or anyone curious about the meta of game development). I’m sharing this not just to keep you informed but also to help other developers avoid some of the mistakes I made.

The Rush to Join the RTS-Fest

I had exactly three days to decide whether or not to participate in the RTS-Fest. Three. Days. It was a last-minute decision, and to say I was unprepared would be an understatement. I run a business in "normal life," so there was no time to polish, no chance to crunch—it was pure chaos.

Here’s the state of things when I joined:

• No screenshots.
• Nothing polished.
• No trailer.
• No demo.
• Capsule art? AI-generated slop.

Everything was rushed, and all my decisions and actions happened under the looming shadow of “no time.”

What I Learned

1. Get Good Screenshots and a Gameplay Trailer This is critical. A good trailer and screenshots make or break your game’s page. I can’t count how many people told me they only wishlisted my game because they saw my posts talking about it. Lesson learned:
   • Post about your game during development, even before your Steam page is live.
   • Share your process—it keeps people engaged and builds trust.
2. Translate Your Page On day three, I discovered my game page didn’t even show up for a friend when searching on Steam. Why? His Steam settings only showed pages in his native language—and my page wasn’t translated.
   • I quickly translated it using AI. It wasn’t perfect, but it was better than nothing.
   • Proper translations can come later, but make sure your page is accessible when you publish it.
3. Invest in Good Capsule Art The capsule art is your game’s first impression. Bad art (like my AI-generated placeholder) will turn people away before they even click on your page. Take the time to make something eye-catching and polished—it’s worth it.

Things I’d Do Differently Next Time

• Prepare Earlier I only started adding proper images and GIFs to the page on day four of the fest. That was a bad move. Having everything ready before the event starts is crucial.
• Publish Your Page and Register Early One week before the fest, influencers and media get access to browse the games. Since I joined just three days before the event, I completely missed that window. Even though the chances of media coverage might have been slim, it was a missed opportunity.
• Reach Out to Journalists and Streamers Next time, I’ll create a press kit and reach out to journalists, influencers, and streamers ahead of time. Even without a demo, this can generate some buzz and help you get noticed.
• Leverage Outside Traffic Steam rewards games that bring in outside traffic. The more people you direct to your page (through posts, promotions, or press), the more Steam boosts your visibility in return. It’s like a snowball effect—start rolling it early!

The Numbers & Video

I’ve included some screenshots showing the numbers from the festival, so you can see how it went. If you’re curious about more details, I’ve made a longer video where I dive deeper into what went well, what didn’t, and what I’d recommend for anyone thinking about joining a Steam festival.