Hi everyone!

I already shared Lovewood's analytics 1 week after its initial release, and since half a year has passed since that day, I think it's worth looking back and gathering some new insights. As before, I am sharing these analytics because it's the kind of information that I would have liked to read when I was starting out and didn't know what to expect.
So let's dive into it!

The game has been downloaded a total of 7000 times since its release on June 16th. The most daily downloads were right after the release, then evening out at a lower level after about 4 weeks. You may notice that downloads went up a bit in October, since that was when the little  spinoff Frightwood was released for the Spooktober Game Jam, and the numbers have stayed a little higher since that. It's a pleasant surprise that many people chose to check out Lovewood after seeing its Halloween prequel!

Circa every 270th user chose to pay for Lovewood (it's a free game, pay-what-you-want), usually the suggested amount of 6€, sometimes less, sometimes even a bit more! Regardless of the amount, thank you so much if you chose to support the game, I seriously appreciate it. <3

Since I'm not actively marketing the game on any external sites anymore (maybe a mistake? I only posted about it shortly after the release), the vast majority of incoming visits are from Itch.IO itself. This is why picking good tags, a decent thumbnail and filling out the metadata for your game is important, it will get more eyes on your game. The tags that are bringing Lovewood the most traffic are #gay, #lgbt, #furry, #romance and #dating-sim, all of which I like to think are appropriate descriptors.
I'm also happy to see that some people are seeking out Lovewood via search engines, maybe because it was recommended to them!

I updated the game a little bit one month after its release, but since then the files have stayed the same. As you can see, Windows is the OS for which it gets downloaded most often, but if making an Android build for your project isn't too difficult, it's totally worth offering one!

Closing thoughts

I'm still pretty floored over the response to this game, despite it being free to play! 7000 downloads is a lot, I'm happy that it brought joy to so many people <3
The main critiques that were raised were that it's a rather short game, and the story can feel rushed at times, since there aren't a lot of events for each love interest - a very valid point! On the positive side, players found the story cute and wholesome, perceiving the characters as decently authentic with good representation. I always love to hear if someone has a favourite route/character and why!

At the time of writing, I'm working on a new VN game that will take place in the same setting as Lovewood, and with a similar length too. I hope to release it sometime in late summer 2022 - Prepare to see lots of familiar faces in that story! You can follow the process via my game dev tumblr if you're interested. Of course I'll also write an update when the game releases.

Until then, thank you so much for the support and stay safe!