itch.io

Yet, having a negative review about the game by just judging the tool we used moderately is what strikes me the most. 😕

Ah, well, that's the nature of reviews and ratings overall. I've gotten low ratings and poor reviews by people who hated my art style, as well as low ratings because my game has gay characters in it. No matter how moderately you've used a tool, or who your target audience are, there will be a few who will be vehemently against it. I remember digital artists in the past getting trolled a lot for using the Burn and Dodge tool in Photoshop back in the day (and yes, they drew and colored everything by hand). A lot of people just get off being hateful - and telling themselves that they're right in going out of the way to attack others because they somehow possess a moral high-ground.

It is why a lot of innocent men and women have been burnt as witches in the past. Human beings have not changed much at core, I'm afraid.

Though... if it helps, have you considered making a game without any Generative AI assistance at all, by using pre-made assets, supplemental code and tools by other creators and developers, just to see if there's a difference in reception and community? Granted, it is the sloooooow old way of doing things, and the way to choose and curate your assets will be different - but it does allow you to explore a different kind of workflow, development and player community.

It's a bit like... bringing different leftover food from a community potluck together and cooking a whole new meal from them, if you will; very quaint and mix-and-match, and very creative in its own way. It's got a lot of challenges and limitations compared to using AI to generate assets, but the community seems to appreciate the effort and unexpected uses from what I've personally experienced.

Anyway, if you're new to this method of making games and you don't know yet, you can download free pre-made handdrawn/3D-modeled/pixel character sprites from Itch Io itself;

Free backgrounds (Although I also get my backgrounds from photo stock sites such as Pexels and Unsplash)

Free Music on Itch Io. I tend to get my sounds and music from FreeSound and Kevin MacLeod.

And free development tools created by other developers on Itch Io. Some of these are full-blown engines, mind.

For reference, two examples of games come to mind (I tend to prefer narrative games, so very obvious bias here):

Orchid Duet by Pyrrhaiphis uses pre-made sprite and background assets that they've painted over, as well as a medley of backgrounds, music and coding from other developers;

Three Turtle Doves by Alice D Games uses pre-made sprites, backgrounds and music mostly as-is; they're mixed and matched to fit their narrative.

The Game Jams that you get to join will be different too. Looking at your profile pic of that girl from that Disney show, the Once Upon A Time Game Jam might be up your alley. It's one of the traditional, long-running Game Jams (meaning it's an annual one that has been hosted for more than two years consecutively) with a lot of people joining it to just watch the feed and play the games.

It's not a bad idea to try doing things differently to experience a different community, methinks. Might widen your circle a little bit.