For many indie game developers, sharing unfinished work feels like inviting someone into your home while it's still under construction—walls missing, furniture not yet arranged, and dust covering every surface. The fear of judgment or criticism can be paralyzing. Yet, in today's connected development ecosystem, showing your work-in-progress (WIP) has become an essential skill for success.
This article explores how to overcome that fear, what to share, when to share it, and how to use early feedback to create better games while building a supportive community.
Understanding the Fear
Before we discuss solutions, let's acknowledge the common fears that hold developers back from sharing their WIPs:
- Fear of judgment: "What if people think my graphics look amateurish?"
- Fear of idea theft: "Someone might steal my unique game mechanic!"
- Fear of unrealistic expectations: "Players might expect the final game to match my early promises."
- Fear of wasted effort: "What if I show features that get cut later?"
- Fear of negative feedback: "Early criticism might kill my motivation."
These fears are natural but often overblown. Let's address each one and reframe how we think about works-in-progress.
The Real Benefits of Sharing Early
When you share your game during development, you gain advantages that closed development simply can't match:
- Early problem detection: Players will spot issues you've become blind to
- Community building: People love watching games evolve and feeling part of the journey
- Accountability: Public development creates gentle pressure to continue progress
- Marketing momentum: Building interest gradually is more sustainable than a single launch push
- Developer identity: Your process becomes part of your brand as a creator
"The best playtesters are the ones who haven't seen your game before. Your own perception becomes skewed after looking at something for hundreds of hours."
What to Share (And What to Keep Private)
Not everything needs to be shared during development. The key is being strategic about what you reveal and when.
- Core gameplay loops: Mechanics that define your game's moment-to-moment experience
- Visual style direction: The aesthetic approach, even if the assets are temporary
- Development challenges: Technical or design problems you're working through
- Major milestone achievements: Completed systems or features worth celebrating
- Design philosophy: Your thinking behind game decisions
- Story spoilers: Major plot points that would diminish the player's discovery
- Experimental features: Mechanics you're not committed to including
- Business details: Financial information or partnership specifics
- Long-term roadmap: Specific timelines that might create expectations you can't meet
- Proprietary tech: Truly unique code solutions that represent competitive advantages
Remember that for most games, execution matters far more than the initial idea. Even if someone sees your concept, they can't easily replicate the passion and vision you bring to your own project.
Framing Your WIP Effectively
How you present your unfinished work significantly impacts how it's received. Use these approaches to frame your WIP updates:
- Be explicit about the state: Clearly label work as early, pre-alpha, prototype, etc.
- Highlight what you want feedback on: Direct viewers' attention to specific elements
- Show progress over time: Before/after comparisons demonstrate growth
- Explain your intentions: Describe what you're trying to achieve, even if you're not there yet
- Be authentic about challenges: Honest discussions about difficulties build trust
Your communication style sets expectations. A humble, transparent approach invites constructive feedback rather than harsh judgment.
Platforms and Formats for Sharing
Different platforms serve different purposes in your WIP sharing strategy:
- Specialized developer communities: Places like our platform, itch.io devlogs, or r/gamedev provide knowledgeable, supportive audiences
- Twitter/X: Perfect for quick visual updates with the #screenshotsaturday hashtag
- Discord: Ideal for building a dedicated community with regular progress updates
- Steam: Developer blogs reach players who might wishlist your game
- TikTok/YouTube: Short-form videos can showcase gameplay feels and progress milestones
- GIFs/short videos: Show mechanics in action rather than static images
- Side-by-side comparisons: Before/after views demonstrate progress
- Dev diaries: Written or video logs explaining your process and decisions
- Livestreams: Working on features in real-time with community watching
- Playable builds: Limited demos of stable features for direct feedback
Handling Feedback Constructively
Feedback is the primary reason to share WIPs, but processing it effectively requires strategy:
- Separate signal from noise: Look for patterns in feedback rather than outlier opinions
- Consider the source: Weigh feedback from your target audience more heavily
- Look for problem identification, not solutions: Players are good at spotting issues but not always at solving them
- Ask specific questions: "How did the combat feel?" gets better responses than "What do you think?"
- Create feedback categories: Separate bugs, balance issues, and feature requests
"Players are excellent at identifying problems but terrible at prescribing solutions. Listen to their experiences but make your own design decisions."
Remember that all feedback, even seemingly negative comments, represents engagement with your game. Someone took the time to respond—that's valuable in itself.
Case Studies: Successful WIP Sharing
Cult of the Lamb
Massive Monster shared distinctive art and animations long before gameplay details were finalized. Their unique visual style generated interest that carried through development. The team regularly posted animated GIFs that showcased the game's personality without revealing every game mechanic.
Satisfactory
Coffee Stain Studios embraced radical transparency with weekly development streams and honest discussions about challenges. They acknowledged bugs and limitations openly, which built tremendous goodwill with their community. Their approach turned players into collaborators rather than just customers.
Slay the Spire
Mega Crit Games used Early Access to iterate on card balance and mechanics. They implemented weekly patches based on player data and feedback, publicly explaining their reasoning for changes. This open development process resulted in extremely well-balanced gameplay that satisfied both casual and competitive players.
Setting Boundaries for Your Mental Health
While sharing WIPs is valuable, protecting your creative process and mental wellbeing is essential:
- Schedule specific days for sharing updates rather than constant exposure
- Create separate development phases where you work without external input
- Be selective about which communities you engage with based on their supportiveness
- Remember that you don't need to implement every suggestion
- Take breaks from public sharing when you need focused development time
Your primary responsibility is to make your game, not to document every step of the process. Share at a pace that energizes rather than drains you.
Getting Started with Your First WIP Share
If you've never shared your in-development work before, here's a simple process to begin:
- Select one specific aspect of your game that you feel represents your vision
- Prepare a brief explanation of what you're showing and its current state
- Clearly note that this is a work-in-progress and subject to change
- Share in one or two smaller, supportive communities first
- Ask one specific question you'd like feedback on
Start small, in supportive environments, with clear context. As your confidence grows, you can expand both what you share and where you share it.
Conclusion: From Fear to Freedom
Sharing your unfinished game may always cause at least a flutter of anxiety—that's normal. But with practice, the benefits far outweigh the discomfort. Each time you share, you're not just building your game; you're building your skills as a developer who can communicate, collaborate, and create in public.
The most successful indie developers today aren't those who worked in isolation and emerged with a perfect game. They're the ones who brought players along for the journey, learning and adapting based on real feedback, and building communities around their creative process.