Ross Burton
@rossburton.bsky.social
Data Scientist 🤖
Aspiring Indie Game Dev 🎮
Full-time nerd 🤓
One half of the Game Oracle team - check out more: bit.ly/3UTKAQd
Aspiring Indie Game Dev 🎮
Full-time nerd 🤓
One half of the Game Oracle team - check out more: bit.ly/3UTKAQd
When I'm researching #gamedev ideas I find user-defined tags kind of suck. So I use description search. Just describe the idea, in plain English, and immediately get relevant games. Keeps things simple.
#indiegamedev #sologamedev
#indiegamedev #sologamedev
November 11, 2025 at 8:16 AM
When I'm researching #gamedev ideas I find user-defined tags kind of suck. So I use description search. Just describe the idea, in plain English, and immediately get relevant games. Keeps things simple.
#indiegamedev #sologamedev
#indiegamedev #sologamedev
A day of crushing 🐛's with Concept Compass 🧭 our #gamedev tool for idea validation. Our search algorithm was returning some irrelevant results but after a long day and a lot of coffee, I think I've fixed it!
November 7, 2025 at 4:26 PM
A day of crushing 🐛's with Concept Compass 🧭 our #gamedev tool for idea validation. Our search algorithm was returning some irrelevant results but after a long day and a lot of coffee, I think I've fixed it!
If I'm honest with myself, our search bar on
@game-oracle.bsky.social was a bit rubbish. It was ugly & hard to use. So I was excited to put an end to that today with our shiny new design 🙌 it is now easier than ever to find games for your #gamedev market research #indiedev #solodev
@game-oracle.bsky.social was a bit rubbish. It was ugly & hard to use. So I was excited to put an end to that today with our shiny new design 🙌 it is now easier than ever to find games for your #gamedev market research #indiedev #solodev
October 27, 2025 at 1:01 PM
If I'm honest with myself, our search bar on
@game-oracle.bsky.social was a bit rubbish. It was ugly & hard to use. So I was excited to put an end to that today with our shiny new design 🙌 it is now easier than ever to find games for your #gamedev market research #indiedev #solodev
@game-oracle.bsky.social was a bit rubbish. It was ugly & hard to use. So I was excited to put an end to that today with our shiny new design 🙌 it is now easier than ever to find games for your #gamedev market research #indiedev #solodev
It surprised me to find Deep Rock has a low saturation score 3.2/10 (not as many direct competitors). It seems like a bit of an underserved audience and perhaps an opportunity for #indiegamedev folk to innovate #gamedev #sologamedev
October 25, 2025 at 11:02 AM
It surprised me to find Deep Rock has a low saturation score 3.2/10 (not as many direct competitors). It seems like a bit of an underserved audience and perhaps an opportunity for #indiegamedev folk to innovate #gamedev #sologamedev
And now, with the release of v3.4 we deliver on our original vision with Concept Compass 🧭 with just a few paragraphs about the gameplay, narrative, and general vibe you get some immediate, objective feedback to answer that critical question "what game idea should I work on?"
October 21, 2025 at 9:50 AM
And now, with the release of v3.4 we deliver on our original vision with Concept Compass 🧭 with just a few paragraphs about the gameplay, narrative, and general vibe you get some immediate, objective feedback to answer that critical question "what game idea should I work on?"
Then, we turned our Steam map towards finding underserved audiences & missed opportunities w/ Game Gap 🧩 we identified over 100 unique market segments that you can explore for inspiration
October 21, 2025 at 9:50 AM
Then, we turned our Steam map towards finding underserved audiences & missed opportunities w/ Game Gap 🧩 we identified over 100 unique market segments that you can explore for inspiration
Next, we wanted to let you explore the map yourselves, so we built Saturation Map 📍a bird’s-eye view of saturation in the Steam market in an interactive dashboard
October 21, 2025 at 9:50 AM
Next, we wanted to let you explore the map yourselves, so we built Saturation Map 📍a bird’s-eye view of saturation in the Steam market in an interactive dashboard
Then we used the Steam Map to build Data Explorer 🔍 flexible Steam market research. Just search for a title or describe a game concept and we'll find the most similar competitors, calculate the market saturation, and provide a honest view of the market
October 21, 2025 at 9:50 AM
Then we used the Steam Map to build Data Explorer 🔍 flexible Steam market research. Just search for a title or describe a game concept and we'll find the most similar competitors, calculate the market saturation, and provide a honest view of the market
#indiegames like The Red Lantern seem to fit an underserved audience - survival & exploration in the wilderness but w/ deep narrative - studying 15 similar games players love emotional & engaging stories but don't want to feel like a spectator #gamedev #indiegamedev #sologamedev
October 20, 2025 at 11:03 AM
#indiegames like The Red Lantern seem to fit an underserved audience - survival & exploration in the wilderness but w/ deep narrative - studying 15 similar games players love emotional & engaging stories but don't want to feel like a spectator #gamedev #indiegamedev #sologamedev
What excites me most about the Steam Map on Game Oracle are these dark regions between games. To me this represents potential. The frontiers of #gamedev creativity that have yet to be explored. #indiegames #indiegamedev #sologamedev
October 18, 2025 at 11:02 AM
What excites me most about the Steam Map on Game Oracle are these dark regions between games. To me this represents potential. The frontiers of #gamedev creativity that have yet to be explored. #indiegames #indiegamedev #sologamedev
PEAK is being called "friendslop". I used Data Explorer to study 1000 most similar games & to no surprise, in terms of sales the market here performs incredibly well. But on average these games are poorly rated (we use medians btw). I dunno, seems like a gamble making games like this. #gamedev
October 13, 2025 at 11:02 AM
PEAK is being called "friendslop". I used Data Explorer to study 1000 most similar games & to no surprise, in terms of sales the market here performs incredibly well. But on average these games are poorly rated (we use medians btw). I dunno, seems like a gamble making games like this. #gamedev
There is a big red blob on our Saturation Map which is #horror games but I was curious about this cluster to the left of it (red circle) - turns out its psychological horrors revolving around anomaly detection & looping reality. Example game being I'm on Observation Duty #gamedev #indiegames
October 10, 2025 at 11:03 AM
There is a big red blob on our Saturation Map which is #horror games but I was curious about this cluster to the left of it (red circle) - turns out its psychological horrors revolving around anomaly detection & looping reality. Example game being I'm on Observation Duty #gamedev #indiegames
Have you heard of the DreadOut series? 3rd person #horror game set in an Asian - Indonesian setting. Thing is, none of its direct competitors have managed to hit the same mark. Missed opportunity? 👀 #gamedev #sologamedev #indiegamedev
October 3, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Have you heard of the DreadOut series? 3rd person #horror game set in an Asian - Indonesian setting. Thing is, none of its direct competitors have managed to hit the same mark. Missed opportunity? 👀 #gamedev #sologamedev #indiegamedev
Interesting #gamedev market gap: shipping logistics simulator. Best performing game in this segment is probably TransOcean – The Shipping Company but there are not many other highlight rated titles despite reasonably player demand. #indiegamedev #sologamedev
September 30, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Interesting #gamedev market gap: shipping logistics simulator. Best performing game in this segment is probably TransOcean – The Shipping Company but there are not many other highlight rated titles despite reasonably player demand. #indiegamedev #sologamedev
What is this strange cluster hanging off to the side of our Steam Map? Horse Games 🐎 and they perform really well! Hats off to the #gamedev folk that have cracked emulating horse riding tho 😱 no easy feat I bet! #horsegames #gamedev #sologamedev #indiegamedev #indiegames
September 26, 2025 at 11:02 AM
What is this strange cluster hanging off to the side of our Steam Map? Horse Games 🐎 and they perform really well! Hats off to the #gamedev folk that have cracked emulating horse riding tho 😱 no easy feat I bet! #horsegames #gamedev #sologamedev #indiegamedev #indiegames
Labelling the latest iteration of our #gamedev map of the #steam marketplace so @jennie-burton.bsky.social can make some cool visuals!
September 20, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Labelling the latest iteration of our #gamedev map of the #steam marketplace so @jennie-burton.bsky.social can make some cool visuals!
For example, here I have used Data Explorer to find games similar to Lethal Company but only included those with an AI disclosure. I personally think this is so interesting & I want to do an analysis soon of the most common use cases being described in peoples statements, differences in revenue etc
September 18, 2025 at 3:03 PM
For example, here I have used Data Explorer to find games similar to Lethal Company but only included those with an AI disclosure. I personally think this is so interesting & I want to do an analysis soon of the most common use cases being described in peoples statements, differences in revenue etc
We just shipped v3.3 of @game-oracle.bsky.social - full devlog coming soon - but I just wanted to highlight one of the small features we just introduced for #gamedev #indiegamedev folk researching the market that I think is really interesting: filtering the market by AI Disclosures
September 18, 2025 at 3:03 PM
We just shipped v3.3 of @game-oracle.bsky.social - full devlog coming soon - but I just wanted to highlight one of the small features we just introduced for #gamedev #indiegamedev folk researching the market that I think is really interesting: filtering the market by AI Disclosures
I've been very quiet on here of late because we're working hard on v3.3 of @game-oracle.bsky.social - we've got a new #steam map to power #gamedev insights boasting a 3pt increase in search accuracy + AI disclosure data, new market segment algorithm, & improved revenue estimates 🙌🚀
September 8, 2025 at 8:07 AM
I've been very quiet on here of late because we're working hard on v3.3 of @game-oracle.bsky.social - we've got a new #steam map to power #gamedev insights boasting a 3pt increase in search accuracy + AI disclosure data, new market segment algorithm, & improved revenue estimates 🙌🚀
August 28, 2025 at 7:13 PM
This is a heatmap of #steam. Red = more games. Blue = fewer games. It's our way of simplifying how we measure market saturation and we think it can help discover under served audiences. If you're a #gamedev trying to validate an idea, you can start exploring for free today 👉 www.game-oracle.com
August 27, 2025 at 11:01 AM
This is a heatmap of #steam. Red = more games. Blue = fewer games. It's our way of simplifying how we measure market saturation and we think it can help discover under served audiences. If you're a #gamedev trying to validate an idea, you can start exploring for free today 👉 www.game-oracle.com
Hey @f0lak.bsky.social I went back into the data & I'll be updating the article today to help understand those games w/ <10k wishlists using this chart. TLDR: more wishlists is still better but not a guarantee for sales, but the quality of the game makes all the difference.
August 23, 2025 at 7:38 AM
Hey @f0lak.bsky.social I went back into the data & I'll be updating the article today to help understand those games w/ <10k wishlists using this chart. TLDR: more wishlists is still better but not a guarantee for sales, but the quality of the game makes all the difference.
Our latest #gamedev analysis is all about wishlists. For #indiegamedevs feeling disheartened by the "7000 wishlists" goal, remember there is huge variation, as shown in this graph of estimated first week sales Vs estimated wishlists at launch. You're not a failure, there are many factors at play.
August 21, 2025 at 7:20 AM
Our latest #gamedev analysis is all about wishlists. For #indiegamedevs feeling disheartened by the "7000 wishlists" goal, remember there is huge variation, as shown in this graph of estimated first week sales Vs estimated wishlists at launch. You're not a failure, there are many factors at play.
Day 28/30 of my outlier series & today I'm highlighting the current No. 1 on our Outlier leaderboard at Game Oracle: The Last Night - an upcoming cinematic platform game set in a #cyberpunk world - this game has an astonishing estimated 800k+ wishlists!
#gaming #gamedev #indiegamedev
#gaming #gamedev #indiegamedev
August 16, 2025 at 7:24 AM
Day 28/30 of my outlier series & today I'm highlighting the current No. 1 on our Outlier leaderboard at Game Oracle: The Last Night - an upcoming cinematic platform game set in a #cyberpunk world - this game has an astonishing estimated 800k+ wishlists!
#gaming #gamedev #indiegamedev
#gaming #gamedev #indiegamedev
@jennie-burton.bsky.social and I have landed in Köln ready for our first #devcom #gamescom adventure 🇩🇪🥳
August 15, 2025 at 1:35 PM
@jennie-burton.bsky.social and I have landed in Köln ready for our first #devcom #gamescom adventure 🇩🇪🥳