What eight weeks of Crit Pick data actually show
An early Crit Pick checkpoint: cumulative search figures, uneven page results and the conclusions those observations cannot support.
Guides, notes & experiments.
Practical explanations and useful tools for game developers, alongside honest notes from my own projects.
All articles
Newest first. Each piece is labelled as a guide, tool article or experiment.
Your brand SERP: what a publisher sees when they google you
Check what someone finds when searching for your game or studio, and make sure the correct project is easy to identify.
Your game press kit: what a journalist actually opens
A practical game press kit: clear facts, accessible assets, current links and contact details, without promising coverage or sales.
Steam Next Fest: what actually happens before, during and after
Prepare an indie game for Steam Next Fest. The October example is historical; use current edition deadlines and eligibility for your next entry.
Steam capsule art: check whether it reads at thumbnail size
A practical readability check for Steam capsule art: representative visuals, a legible name and the distinction between display and upload sizes.
Crit Pick, month two: one page per Pal, and the web that ties them together
A historical Crit Pick build log about page structure and internal links, with the planned mechanisms kept separate from measured results.
Why your website isn't showing up on Google
Not indexed and not ranking look identical and share almost no fixes. How to tell which one you have, in about five minutes.
How to grow a Discord server for your game
Decide whether your indie game needs a Discord server, give players a reason to return and allow time for moderation.
Social media for game developers: what it's actually for
Choose social by the players, the material and the time you have. Separate attention, visits and wishlists without a mandatory posting routine.
Google core update 2026: is there one in August?
A historical August search investigation, corrected to distinguish observations, aggregate averages and unresolved causes.
Steam tags: how the algorithm actually uses them
Describe your game accurately with Steam tags. Understand matching and relevance without treating metadata as guaranteed exposure.
Your Steam store page: help players understand your game
Help players understand your game on Steam: representative gameplay, clear copy and accurate metadata, with visibility and visits kept distinct.
The archive also keeps useful work beyond game marketing. Experiments on Crit Pick describe a publisher’s experience; traffic and views do not prove game sales or wishlists.