Iron Cauldron - Guess the Colorblock is not a game. Games contain meaningful gamelike interaction and game loops, which are absent in this software.
Instead of being a game, Iron Cauldron - Guess the Colorblock is a software application that displays a cube and gives you a button that changes the colour of the cube. That's it. You're supposed to "guess" the colour of the cube, but what's the point in that? It's not a game.
For those unfamiliar with what actually makes something a game, a "game loop" describes the interaction and feedback a gamer has when playing a game. Tetris, for example, has a game loop where a random block appears, the gamer interacts with the block to position it, and then the game decides if that finishes a row or not, increases the players score if any rows were completed, then gives the gamer another block to position. Counter-Strike has a game loop where a player seeks another player, tests their skill against that player by shooting them or being shot, the computer rewards the player if they win, and then if the player survives, they repeat that loop. There's no loop here, no true interactive feedback. It simply is not a game, it cannot be "played".
This has misleadingly been launched in the "Games" section of Steam instead of the "Software" section. This is a common mistake for developers who are new to Steam, or don't understand the difference between games and software which isn't a game. It seems this software published incorrectly as a game is simply lack of experience/knowledge of the correct process.
Here's a link for the process to publish non-game software on Steam:
[url=https://help.steampowered.com/en/wizard/HelpWithPublishing?issueid=925]Steam Developer Help With Software Publishing[/url]
It's unfortunate this process was not known about/followed, resulting in a software application being published in the wrong place.
Publishing things which aren't games on Steam in the Games section as games is misleading to gamers and somewhat harmful, because it pollutes the Steam marketplace and takes away visibility and market exposure for genuine game developers who do the right thing and make games for gamers.
There are no gameplay loops in this software, no "gameplay", no meaningful game like interaction. It's a software application and as such has no merits as a video game for gamers. Because of this, I cannot recommend this non-game software as a game to gamers.
[quote][url=https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/store/reviews]Developer Response![/url][/quote]The developer has weighed in to inform everyone they didn't read the [url=https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/store/reviews]Developer Usage Rules[/url] for Steam "partners", or they deliberately ignored the part where Valve says:
[quote]Though it may be tempting, not every review needs to be responded to. A developer response will frequently draw more attention than the original statement, potentially turning a small issue into a much larger community discussion. It's also not a good idea to use this feature to refute customer opinions. Your direct attention can be seen as validation or a defensive attempt to silence your customers.[/quote]
The developer argues that games don't need to have gameplay to be games.
The developer then contradicts themselves and insists the game has a gameplay loop when it does not; changing the colour of the cube is not "feedback". The user does not have any opportunity to respond to the change in colour, there is no meaningful interaction. If you typed in what colour you think it is and the computer then responds (the feedback) with a "yes" or "no", that would be feedback. So the developer doesn't know what a game is and also doesn't know what the word "Feedback" means. Already it's obvious they are not qualified to touch a computer.
The developer then, in a fit of bizarre ignorance, claims that because Valve don't actually test whether something is a game or not, it's perfectly okay. You can commit any crime you want, and it's legal unless you get caught, right? You can see how twisted and broken the developers sense of reasoning is.
Three different, conflicting explanations as the developer tries to excuse the harm they're doing by polluting Steam with non-game garbage. The developer can't even decide what he wants to be wrong about.
The developer is clearly extremely confused, but what should we expect, they don't even know what a game is [i]even after it is clearly explained to them.[/i]
I suppose they don't understand why this garbage is one of the most unpopular and ignored products on Steam with a peak user count of only 2 users. The facts speak for themselves, no matter how much mental denial the developer contorts himself into.
That is what FAILURE looks like. And yet we're supposed to accept this "developer" trying to redefine a game is simply because he doesn't know.
What a bizarre cope from a failed developer with an ignored product.
Garbage and pollution like this is why indie developers have such a bad name.
And the use of AI slop in creating this garbage just makes it worse.
Nothing in the developers pointless breach of Valve guidelines changes any of the objective facts of my review. My review stands unaltered. I cannot recommend this non-game software to anyone.
