Dwarves: Glory, Death and Loot is a game you've probably heard about or stumbled upon, and it stands out with an interesting combination: auto-battler combines RPG progression with the unpredictability of expeditions that contain roguelike elements, as you gather your clan of dwarves to fight the hordes of orcs. It was developed by solo developer ichbinhamma, who published the game on Steam last year, on August 17th to be exact. Since then, it has attracted a significant number of players, and the developer himself has shared a lot of information about the game on various platforms, so we decided to talk to him about how the game became a success.
Your dwarves initially start with basic equipment and limited combat skills, and each time you defeat enemies you gain experience, earn gold and upgrade their equipment, developing their combat abilities. Through further training and recruiting new warriors to your ranks, you can achieve victory.
Furthermore, every dwarf warrior can be tailored to suit your preferences. Outfit them with varying gear and they will adopt vastly different roles. For instance, some may endure heavy damage, while others become nimble assassins or skilled archers, or may deliver devastating damage as mages. By adjusting the equipment and formation of your dwarves, you can flexibly change your legion composition and fighting style while shaping your ideal battle-strategic tactics.
After each battle, players can choose one of three paths to follow. You can focus on killing monsters to progress, invest in equipment or recruit new warriors. Each choice carries its own opportunities and risks. Also, the more you play, you gain gems that unlock various skills in your skill book, providing bonuses for all future battles and further enhancing your preferred fighting style.
If you are interested in playing this game, you can find it on Steam, and be sure to follow this great developer on X and YouTube.
I’d like to start with your recent X post where you mentioned that the game got 65k wishlists and 50k units sold, was this something you predicted or was it unexpected? How do you look at these statistics as a developer?
Very unexpected. I did not even think that I could just put a game on Steam when I came up with the concept for it. I have only done mobile games as a hobby starting around 2016/17, which received maybe 100 downloads. When some of my concept art posts to Reddit gained some traction, I somehow decided to go with the Steam route this time. It’s absolutely insane to me to have to type out such a big number when talking about this statistic.
Your game has a publisher, how did you meet up with them and how much did they help you? What is your experience working with a publisher?
A content creator on BiliBili (basically the Chinese YouTube) somehow found the demo of my game on Steam and published a video. It received over 500k views within a short amount of time. From there, I got approached by several Chinese publishers. It’s pretty nice to be able to offset some of the marketing efforts to the publisher. Also I think it is a special case for China, since you need to access different channels (they don’t have X, Discord, Reddit, etc…). They helped a lot in creating and pushing my channel on BiliBili and also handled ad creation and Steam store presence.
What do you believe sets your game apart from others in the same genre?
I guess it’s mainly that there is/was nothing that was quite comparable. My idea was to transform 3D auto-chess (Dota Auto-Chess, Teamfight Tactics) mechanics and apply them to a 2D/sidescrolling environment.
What marketing strategies did you find most effective in promoting the game?
Things that I could actively influnce: Reddit. The most traction was gained through streamers though. SplatterCat found my game early on through reddit and made a video and later on I got the video from the BiliBili creator.
What do you think contributed most to the game’s popularity and success?
I think it’s the "just-one-more-turn" feeling players get from the game. As some streamers put it: "This does something to my brain that I just want to keep going".
Have you noticed any specific trends or patterns among your player base? What do they like the most about the game?
They really like to find and abuse bugs!
Looking back, what are the key lessons you’ve learned from the experience of developing and launching the game?
To gain traction for your game, Steam is 1000 times better than the mobile stores. It’s important to share your game early and get feedback from players. I published a playable web version of the game after ~4 months of development.
The game is still in Early Access, how far did it get, i.e. is the game almost complete and when can we expect the full release?
I’m updating the game every 2-4 weeks usually. A lot of things have been changed and polished, though the core game-loop remained the same. I hope for a full release later this year or early next year.
Did player feedback or community suggestions influence any significant changes or updates to the game post-launch?
Yes! A lot of changes were influenced by the community. Most notable I would say a complete UI overhaul and separating the single card deck I had at the beginning into 3 distinct ones. Also many smaller QoL were detected by the players and after implementing them I could clearly see and feel how the game improved! As a developer it’s often hard to notice how a small change could be a huge QoL improvement.
Can you discuss more about collaborations or partnerships that contributed to the success of the game (Streamers, YouTubers, anything else)?
I already disclosed my biggest success contributor: SplatterCat. However, all bigger streamers that covered the game with a video (i.e. 10k+ views) found the game on their own, without me reaching out or partnering.
Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently in the development or marketing?
Looking back, it was pretty smooth sailing for this game. Only small regret that I have was the timing of Steam Next Fest. I should have moved this closer to release and polish the demo a bit more.
What advice would you give to aspiring game developers based on your experiences?
My main advice would be to test your game ideas early and show them to an audience. Ideally you have a playable prototype (even better if it’s browser-based) ready after a short development time so you can start gathering feedback early on.
What can we expect from you in the future? Will you keep making the games in the same genre or try something new?
I will try to explore different things, but I already have a more clear idea of a new game which would be in the same genre with a different twist.
What it’s like being a solo developer?
I still have my 40h day job, so solo development is like watching TV after work for me. For now, I’m happy solo, having to wait and rely on no-one else but myself.
Were you ever thinking to go full time developer?
So the plan is to go full time dev after writing up my PhD thesis (which is linked to my current job). I learned gamedev myself, but I have 15 years of programming and academic background.
English (UK) 
Hrvatski