Finding the Hook: Lessons from Echoes of Myth

Game development wisdom—especially for indies—says you need your key and audience-validated game hook in place from the very beginning. Ideally, this means creating multiple prototypes, testing them with players, and identifying which ones have real potential based on actual feedback.

For first-time commercial developers coming from a hobbyist background (like me with Echoes of Myth), a common failure mode is starting with a vision, working on it for years, only to realize there’s no audience. I learned this the hard way.

In Game Development is Iteration - Pivot, Pivot and Pivot Again, I outlined the history of Echoes of Myth’s pivots. I believed I had a strong vision—fusing genres that hadn’t been combined in this way before. My thinking was, “I'll refine the details along the way.” A Diabloesque ARPG with Soulslike elements and deep RPG narrative. But after multiple pivots, the core mechanics changed significantly. Only in the last year, with a self-imposed release deadline approaching, have I truly focused on the game’s marketability.

Genre Mashup is Not a Hook

A genre mashup is not a hook. It can be a great initial driver, but it’s only the first half of the formula: "Like X meets Y, but with twist Z." My vision for the game included a large number of fundamental systems—inventory, items, various combat mechanics, leveling up, talents, quests, dialogues, and more. I built these, along with tooling and content to support them, resulting in multiple intermediary playable versions. But despite all this, I wasn’t finding an alluring hook—something that would immediately draw players in and define the game's unique appeal.

There are different types of hooks:

  1. Unique gameplay hook – the rarest but most powerful, where the name alone suggests how the game plays (Crypt of the NecroDancer).
  2. Distinctive visual style or mechanical twist – something immediately recognizable (Superhot).
  3. Compelling story or setting – this can work, but in an interactive medium, it’s best paired with a strong mechanical hook.

I’ve gone through hundreds and hundreds of potential ideas for hook ideas for Echoes of Myth and basically had to settle for a story/setting hook: "The world has broken, and the gods have fallen silent." From there, I started pivoting all the key system designs towards enforcing that, as well as creating the setting and story to similarly reinforce it.

The systems design work relating to this hook is now initially mostly in place. Next up is visuals and game content—how does "world is broken" actually appear in the game, to the NPCs, and to the player in a variety of ways? Gods having fallen silent is increasingly becoming the key thematic glue, directly tying into the power left behind by the gods—resulting in direct player progression boosts via Divine Echoes (talents), Divine Treasures, and Remnant Echo buffs.

Even though I’m trying to keep the scope in check, having a game world that is consistent with the lore, key hooks, and associated mechanisms is a lot of work. At the time of writing, my Story and World document is 37 pages long and still missing a variety of key parts. Of course, this doesn’t even include actual dialogues, Divine Treasure designs and descriptions, or similar.

The Key Takeaway

Next time, I'll take a POC/prototype-driven approach—validating hooks early with minimal prototypes and ensuring they have an audience before committing to full-scale development. This experience has been a tough but valuable lesson in balancing vision with commercial viability.

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