Pixel Sketch is not a game. Games contain meaningful gamelike interaction and game loops, which are absent in this software.
Instead of being a game, Pixel Sketch is a software application that was published on the mobile app stores as a really weak ripoff of MS-Paint and a crappy virtual art gallery (with no users).
While free on the app stores, disgustingly, the developer of this mobile app tried to scam PC gamers out of $4 USD... charging PC gamers cash money on Steam for free mobile apps is an appalling insult that can't be tolerated.
And yes, at the end of the day this is just MS-Paint with a first person view slapped on it, adding no value to MS-Paint, but making video games worse.
MS-Paint is not a video 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.
Note: This software has a HUGE peak player count. Why? Trading cards. It cost relatively little and has cards which could be sold for far more than the value of the software. So the player counts, which only happened once, are just a product of card idlers and market manipulators. For that reason, don't view the player counts of this product as a measure of quality or popularity.
