Building in public
The build log.
What shipped, what broke, and what I learned along the way. Every update, newest first.
ComposerScout opens up to every craft
Artists, VFX artists, programmers, writers and video editors can join ComposerScout, with art protection built in, and PlayScout lists got cleaner.
Read entry: ComposerScout opens up to every craftComposerScout's best signup day yet, and a glow-up to match
10 new ComposerScout members, an Announcements tab and inbox upgrades, a survey about artists, and PlayScout through a Google review.
Read entry: ComposerScout's best signup day yet, and a glow-up to matchA new look for Maevyra, smarter PlayScout lists, and a ComposerScout tune-up
maevyra.com got a real look and a welcome email, PlayScout ranks creators by what they post regularly, and ComposerScout got a full outside review.
Read entry: A new look for Maevyra, smarter PlayScout lists, and a ComposerScout tune-upSmarter PlayScout, safer ComposerScout, and a night of SEO
PlayScout gets better game matches, ComposerScout gets protections for creators, and I learned how to get found on Google and Bing.
Read entry: Smarter PlayScout, safer ComposerScout, and a night of SEOBWV is now Maevyra
The brand gets a new name and two divisions, and ComposerScout opens up to sound designers and voice actors.
Read entry: BWV is now MaevyraComposerScout is live, and the site got some game feel
ComposerScout opens as a free beta, PlayScout gets a Safari pass and hidden achievements, and this site picks up animations and easter eggs.
Read entry: ComposerScout is live, and the site got some game feelFirst feedback, better outreach, and finding the right sound
PlayScout gets outreach tools, ComposerScout becomes a demo you can try, and my game gets a round of fixes.
Read entry: First feedback, better outreach, and finding the right soundListening to the first devs
The dev behind Darkest Path gave me the most useful feedback so far: creators who played the same three games is a start, but what they'd pay for is creators who cover their genre. So PlayScout got rebuilt around that. Paste your Steam link and it reads your tags, finds smaller indie games like yours, and searches their creators too. It drops studio and official channels, checks each top YouTuber's latest uploads, and moves indie and genre regulars up. Big searches were coming back with 1,000+ names, which is too many, so every list now opens on a "Start here" shortlist of 25, with a few hidden finds mixed in. Two devs let me quote them on the site. That one felt good. Next: getting PlayScout in front of more indie devs before Steam Next Fest.
Read entry: Listening to the first devsWeek 1: PlayScout is live
PlayScout went live. You enter games like yours and it finds the YouTube and Twitch creators who played them recently, ranked by fit, with the contact info they list publicly. The top 10 are free. My first real user said $29 felt steep for a brand they'd never heard of, so I added a $12 single search and kept $29 for three. I also shipped accounts (sign in with an email link or Google), saved lists, follow-up reminders, and free creator pages for 24 popular indie games. The flop: I posted the same link in a bunch of subreddits and Reddit banned my account. Lesson learned, one community at a time. The brand website, a business email and the logo all went live the same day.
Read entry: Week 1: PlayScout is liveDay 0: Going all in
I went all in today. I spent the morning tearing through business ideas and threw most of them out, because I didn't want to build another thing that depends on me closing deals. The one that stuck came from my own problem: as an indie dev, finding YouTubers and streamers who'd actually play my game eats whole evenings. The options out there are hand-made lists that cost $99 for 50 emails and take days to arrive. So the first product is PlayScout, a tool that finds those creators for you in seconds. I picked the name BWV (now Maevyra), bought tryplayscout.com, and started building. Everything I learn, I share here.
Read entry: Day 0: Going all in
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