Making Ever Roach: Two Months to Learn Steam the Easy Way

Ever Roach Steam Page

I published Ever Roach on Steam after just two months of development. The goal wasn’t commercial success as this was a learning project. I wanted to understand the Steam pipeline: SDKs, store pages, marketing, events, everything that goes into getting a game live.

I leaned on my TikTok audience to help shape the theme and gameplay, which ended up as a cockroach in a simple 2D platformer. I kept the scope small and went down a precision platforming route to avoid combat complexities. Not great for sales, of course, but it let me focus on learning the process and iterating quickly.

The game has 10 linear levels inspired with a series of platforming challenges. I mostly used purchased or free art from itch.io and focused on creating tricky movement puzzles. I obviously ended up running into similar design challenges as Celeste. For example, mushrooms (my version of strawberries) are temporarily collected on contact but only permanently secured when the player is grounded and safe. That solved exploit strategies and kept the challenge fair, and I learned a lot about handling collectibles and player expectations in platformers.

Ever Roach Screenshot

Traversal mechanics were added gradually, with my favourite being sticky climbing walls, which really sell the cockroach feel. Unity’s physics made prototyping fast, but some mechanics weren’t deterministic, so certain angles or velocities caused inconsistencies. I learned firsthand how much time can get eaten just compensating for physics quirks and how to design around them without breaking the fun.

Marketing and visibility were another big lesson. I slowly gathered wishlists over the month before launch, posting on socials. The art style was hand-drawn, gritty, Hollow Knight-inspired, and I even made my own capsule art, but CTR on Steam was rough. The demo helped, but not massively, and it made me realise how much marketing and page presentation matter, especially for small indie projects. Rushing to finish the game in just two months meant the Steam page didn’t have time to gain traction, and I missed opportunities like Steam Next Fest.

Ever Roach Screenshot

Looking back, here’s what I learned and what I want to do differently next time:

• Get the Steam page up early, even if it’s just a few screenshots or a teaser trailer.

• Validate ideas fast, with prototypes and early audience feedback.

• Slow down development enough to balance building the game, marketing it, and engaging with the community.

• Bring in help for areas I’m weak in, particularly art and possibly marketing.

• Make sure the game has strong mechanical appeal and stands out visually-basic platformers alone won’t make waves on Steam.

Ever Roach was never meant to be a commercial hit, but it was invaluable as a learning experience. I now feel much more confident with solo development, the Steam pipeline, and what it takes to ship and promote a game. Thanks to everyone who followed along, I can’t wait to apply these lessons to the next project and make something even better.