which made me feel like i just wasted my time putting all of this effort into it,
Even without players, you still learn out of it. ;) But I understand it feels better to have someone play the game and appreciate the details, as a game lives through its players to some extent — although I tend to think the creator is the first player, so, the game will live through you anyway. :)
By the way, I did not test Hivemind (although I may! I have several games from several game jams I wish to play… ALL, in fact XD), but watching the animated screen captures, I think the concept reminds me partially of Sleepy Blocks (which I did not play either…). (Checking: it turns out this one has colour too, but uses it differently, apparently!) So, I may come by at some point. :)