SontayoDungeons & Diagnoses — a fantasy therapy sim.
Stop using AI, that instantly makes me uninterested in your game. Your title picture for this poat has two ampersands, after that I found more stuff that was wrong. I bet the translation is also AI.
Fair point on the AI art. The translations were also done with AI assistance — I’m not a polyglot. I reviewed and edited them, but I won’t pretend it was all manual work. As a solo dev with no budget, AI was the only way to make this happen at all. If that’s a dealbreaker for you, I get it
It’s lazy. And I mean this out of respect because I believe anyone that uses AI art has the potential to do basic drawings if they put in the effort. In a world where pixel graphics are popular and games like Among Us can make millions of dollars while looking like middle-school doodles there really is no excuse. I’m not saying you’re lazy because you literally made a game and that in and of itself is not lazy, I’m just saying AI art is lazy. People will have bucketloads more respect for you if you draw stick figures instead of using AI art. Not only that, most people (especially on this site) have a visceral reaction to AI art and will discount your game entirely if it has it. From a purely financial standpoint, is saving time really worth upsetting the very same people that want to give you money?
If it’s placeholder art I can totally understand that. You gotta get the game out somehow in order to actually acquire the funding you need. Maybe use that funding to eventually hire artists. Hell, I do pixel art as a hobby and you can hire me if you want. Just go to a site like Bluesky (even if you hate it) and search “pixel art” and you can find thousands of eager artists.
Anyway, that’s my advice. Good luck with your project it seems really neat. :)
That’s genuinely good advice, and I appreciate you taking the time to write it out. You’re right that placeholder art + real funding → real artist is the more honest path, and I’ll seriously consider it.
And thank you for the offer — I might actually take you up on that one day. For now I just want to see if the game itself resonates with people before investing more into it.
Really glad the concept seems neat to you. That means a lot.
I understand where you’re coming from, but there have been indy solo devs before AI.
At least mark them, visibly, as AI. What is your strategy. Do you want to release it with AI Art? Do you want to replace it first? Communicate that. It has bitten bigger devs in the ass.
I get languages are hard, but then release in your native tongue first and in languages you can actually correct. If your game is good, you will get peeps from all over the world that will be wilking to help you translate the game in their native languages. Or start a git for the translations. There are so many better ootions than AI.
At least mark them, visibly, as AI. What is your strategy. Do you want to release it with AI Art? Do you want to replace it first? Communicate that. It has bitten bigger devs in the ass.
I get languages are hard, but then release in your native tongue first and in languages you can actually correct. If your game is good, you will get peeps from all over the world that will be wilking to help you translate the game in their native languages. Or start a git for the translations. There are so many better ootions than AI.
You’re right on all points. To be transparent about the plan: the AI art is placeholder. The goal is to replace it once the game gets enough traction to work with a real artist. I’ll add a visible note about it in the description.
On translations — that’s actually a great idea. A community-driven translation approach would be much better than what I did. I’ll look into setting something up for that.
Thanks for the honest feedback, it’s genuinely helpful.
LumidaubI am so bad with Name Your Own Price. Fuck.
Edit: Ah. I was wondering about the images. Well that’s that then.
schmorpI really want to like this, lovely idea. But I will not touch AI slop if I can help it, sorry.
You deleted the other thread before I can respond, so I’ll do so here. In regards to your
I did notice it hard to miss. I figured it works as a built-in disclaimer: if the AI artifact in the title bothers you, you’ll know right away this game might not be for you. The cover stays as is until I move away from AI visuals entirely. If you’re genuinely curious it reads Dungeons & Diagnoses. The second ampersand is just the AI doing its thing.
Based on your other comments and the updated post body, it sounds like you realize that only letting the second ampersand be the “AI marker” is a bad thing. I understand you’re not a native English speaker, and I commend you for putting this out there.
But the cover art being obvious AI slop (and the attitude you had about it in your initial response) is really a detraction from your product. Even if you’re going to stick with the AI art for now (and I’m just going to leave that topic alone), fix your cover image. It’s your product and you can do whatever you want with it. But from a potential consumer of your product, if you can’t even show you care enough to make a cover image that doesn’t have a glaringly obvious flaw that could only exist due to AI, do you think I’m going to think that your actual product is any better? Do you really want the first impression of your passion project to be instant dismissal as lazy AI slop?
I understand you, and the cover question is fair I’ll fix it.
But I want to be honest about one thing. I understand why AI is a deal breaker for some people. What’s harder to accept is when it becomes a reason to completely abandon everything else the code, the mechanics, the dialogue, the story. I’ve put over a hundred hours into this project. The writing is mine. The systems are mine. The design decisions are mine.
I’m not asking you to ignore the AI issue. I’m just asking that one aspect of the project not erase everything else that went into it. You may decide not to play it that’s perfectly fair. But “I won’t even give it a chance” based solely on the cover is like judging a book by its literal cover.
In any case, I’ll fix the image. Thanks for your honesty.
No worries about the other thread, we’re all new at some point
What’s harder to accept is when it becomes a reason to completely abandon everything else the code, the mechanics, the dialogue, the story.
Because the implication is that since you were so lazy with the cover, it’s also likely you were lazy with the code. I code as part of my day job, so I have a lot of chances to interact with AI code. From that, I think you can assume why I would never want someone else’s AI code running on my device. Based on your statement, the code isn’t AI, but I have no way of knowing that. And the cover image hurts your case on that front as well, so I’m glad to hear you’re changing it.
I’ve put over a hundred hours into this project. The writing is mine. The systems are mine. The design decisions are mine. I’m not asking you to ignore the AI issue. I’m just asking that one aspect of the project not erase everything else that went into it.
With all the slop going around, especially given the number of high profile security events, AI usage is absolutely going to affect how people see and consume your product. It’s not fair, but you have to understand that the consumer’s opinions about your subject matter and how it was made matter just as much as your passion for the game you made.
But “I won’t even give it a chance” based solely on the cover is like judging a book by its literal cover.
I get where you’re coming from, but you can’t deny that people DO judge a book by its cover constantly. That’s just human nature. And given how much of a hot button issue AI is, along with the points I’ve brought up, it’s to be expected, unfortunately.
Part of it is that AI stuff just feels soulless. Like, I found a band I liked recently that had some interesting songs but something didn’t sound right. I ended up finding out the “band” was just AI that someone was directing, and I lost all interest for the songs. I consume media to feel someone else’s passion for their products, and knowing that they used AI sucks the passion out of the project in my mind.
I genuinely hope the best for your project, maybe I’ll go enit a chance later after you’re able to put some polish on it and get rid of the AI stuff.
The band analogy actually hit different — I get it now. Thanks for sticking around and explaining instead of just moving on. Hope you give it a shot someday.
Glad to hear I got my feelings across is a way you’re able to process!
And you’re welcome, friend. I remember the struggles I had when I started getting into new tech, and I’m always happy to help someone further their knowledge and skills.
And finally, thank you for sticking around as well and taking some constructive criticism. I’ve had plenty that take criticism of the project as a personal attack, and it’s nice to see someone receptive to it.