need feedback for my game trailer

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gamedev4life

Guest
sup fellow game devs!

i just finished my "test" cinematic trailer for my upcoming metroidvania game. this is NOT the actual trailer, but a test one for feedback purposes only. let me know what you all think!

thanks!

 
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fxokz

Guest
First off i want to say that your game looks amazing, however the trailer doesnt. For one you probably should change the font to BankGothic or anything that isnt what you chose. Also the whole purpose of a trailer is to show off the best parts of your game, to make it short but sweet and leave people wanting more which to be honest your game is more than capable of. And quick tip, make the text seperate to the gameplay otherwise its hard to concentrate on the footage or the text. Lastly i dont know what render settings you used but the black bars are definitely not helping me hype up to play the game lol..

Main changes that are needed:

- Make it shorter, a game trailer on this scale shouldnt be 1:41
- Change the font, it hurts the viewers eyes.
- Focus on showing the best footage of the game
- Render it so that there are no black bars xdddddd

If you need help, i can help you make a better trailer just PM me if you are interested


edit: i dont know how you did it, but the way you made the camera/view looks fantastic
 
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Dantevus

Guest
I'm going to echo waht fxokz suggested, looks very fun. However, I would also add that you be careful about spelling errors and typos. The two I noticed were Parallax and Multiplayer being spelled wrong. It might sound nitpicky, and it's definitely not the reality, but I and many others will judge a game at least in part based on the spelling if we notice errors in the trailer. Not that that's a good thing, but it gives us an admittedly unfounded impression that the game might not have the care put into it that we are looking for.
 

Micah_DS

Member
To be honest, almost all of the text says things that don't need mentioning at all. In fact, much of the text only serves to make the trailer feel like it's being made by a kid, and not just because of how it looks, but because of what it says. This will drive interest away, which is obviously the exact opposite effect that a trailer should have. Truthfully, the game looks quite nice, but the trailer isn't presenting the game in the way it deserves to be presented.

My advice is to narrow down the big key points and only mention in text what really needs to be said. Let the visuals speak as much as possible, as opposed to text.
Do a deep study on a few professional game trailers. I highly recommend this. You can learn a lot when you study professional work and ask yourself things like, "why does this look so good?"
 

Llama_Code

Member
To be honest, almost all of the text says things that don't need mentioning at all. In fact, much of the text only serves to make the trailer feel like it's being made by a kid, and not just because of how it looks, but because of what it says. This will drive interest away, which is obviously the exact opposite effect that a trailer should have. Truthfully, the game looks quite nice, but the trailer isn't presenting the game in the way it deserves to be presented.

My advice is to narrow down the big key points and only mention in text what really needs to be said. Let the visuals speak as much as possible, as opposed to text.
Do a deep study on a few professional game trailers. I highly recommend this. You can learn a lot when you study professional work and ask yourself things like, "why does this look so good?"
This. That was my initial reaction to, most of that test is things that can be shown, and should shown without text. It almost has that feel of you have nothing to show so your just trying to make up extra bullet points.
 
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gamedev4life

Guest
all very helpful, thank you everyone for your feedback! this will all help make the actual trailer that much better.

keep the critiques coming!

:)
 

The M

Member
Think about how you structure the trailer and what you want to focus on. You claim your game's unlike any other and set up a good deal of suspense in the beginning, then the first thing you show off is custom colors and how you can modify them as if that was the biggest feature in the game (more worth than showing actual gameplay). Personally I'd structure it so that you start with the coolest part and put features like colors and gameplay techniques later.
 
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gamedev4life

Guest
Think about how you structure the trailer and what you want to focus on. You claim your game's unlike any other and set up a good deal of suspense in the beginning, then the first thing you show off is custom colors and how you can modify them as if that was the biggest feature in the game (more worth than showing actual gameplay). Personally I'd structure it so that you start with the coolest part and put features like colors and gameplay techniques later.
well the custom colors and multiplayer--co op and pvp--are some of the key features of the game, dont you think?

i will be making more content too like mini-bosses, inventory etc for the next trailer too
 
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Dantevus

Guest
A list of ways to shorten it in chronological order:

1) You stayed on the colors too long.
2) For co-op you went on a bit long with redundant points. I'd personally only keep the "Explore with a friend" part and that tells us all we need to know.
3) Same for the arena, I'd remove the Epic Combat part.
4) I'd remove the entire multiple cameras part and just do that naturally in the other sections so people will see it without it needing to be pointed out.
5) When demonstrating all the things you can do, I'd similarly not mention them outright and just put them in as things that happen while the rest of the trailer is going on. That way it doesn't take up video time pointing it out specifically.
 

SnoutUp

Member
Custom colors is probably the least key feature of any game. Co-op and PvP and all the cool movement is where should your focus go. Also, use more of the "Show, don't tell" in your trailer.

well the custom colors and multiplayer--co op and pvp--are some of the key features of the game, dont you think?

i will be making more content too like mini-bosses, inventory etc for the next trailer too
 

NicoDT

Member
The game looks awesome, but there are problems with the trailer.

The very first thing I want to see is gameplay, but instead I see "custom player colours". I also think it's not necesary to mention the skills/mechanics (super jump, crouch-walk), just showing them is fine.

Changing the stage/background would help too, not showing only one.
 
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gamedev4life

Guest
very help everyone, thanks again.

i think i was using all the text to make up for the lack on content and other cool stuff. so im going to be focusing on creating more content that will speak for itself
 
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BobFish

Guest
Game looks amazing but the fact that the trailer was made in movie maker (or looks very much like it) doesn't really seem professional at all. The same with the transitions of the text. Hope you keep improving at it though because this game looks very well made!
 
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DariusWolfe

Guest
The constant text effect is offputting. Don't do that. Either do a simple fade in/out, or change up the text effects a bit. Personally, I'd go with the former.

Also, simple white over the game background is difficult to read. Either do interstitial text on solid background, or add a stroke/shadow effect to the text to make it more readable.

Unlike other commenters, I like the custom colors announcement. Even in as simple a game as this, customization is often attractive. Only mention it in a single text overlay, though; Maybe headline-subtext format. Make the text short, punchy, 2-3 lines, max.

Combine the 2-player text with the explore a new world text. The PvP lines work as a separate bit of text, though. Also, avoid "Metroidvania". Those who know the term will recognize the style, those who don't will be confused.

No one cares about cameras. Controller support is a worthwhile mention.

Hand-drawn, who cares? The images will speak for themselves, or not. 60 fps, likewise; Those who care will see it for themselves (if the video itself is 60 FPS), most won't care.

No to Dynamic HUD. Show, don't tell. Same with movement options (crouch, backpedal, wall jump, etc.)

"Let nothing stand in your way!" Decent text for the movement section.

Layered animations - NO. Weapons and gear you can see: Find a better way to say it, but this would be a plus in my book.

The game development tutorials section: NO. Yes do them, no don't mention them in the trailer. Tutorial videos which feature your game should be *additional* means of generating buzz and interest, not a "feature" to be advertised. Cut this whole segment, and your video will be a minute or less, which is easily within the attention span of your average internet surfer.

The slo-mo section at the end, it looks more like lag than slo-mo; In the main portion of the video, the animation looks fairly smooth, but here it looks like powerpoint. I'd ditch it entirely, or replace it with something memorable, perhaps humorous?

On the outro bit, have a few bits of info to look for more information, a webpage address, twitter handle, etc. This is the part where you'll want what they call a "Call to action", where you ask your viewer to do something: click a link or read the description for more information; If the video will be purely on YouTube, this is a great place to use annotations to click on. Ensure that it still looks good without the annotations, as they don't work with mobile, and you may want to put the video up somewhere else, as well.
 

Yal

🐧 *penguin noises*
GMC Elder
Also, use more of the "Show, don't tell" in your trailer.
This is probably the most important advice in the thread so far IMO. Showing-and-not-telling has several benefits, and one of the side benefits is that the player has to GUESS what's going on - if you tell them about a feature they don't like, they might drop interest, but if you only show it, they might not notice it at all, or hope it's better than they imagine.

The trailer should also be fast-paced with each segment of gameplay be like just a few seconds long, and instant cuts or moody fadeouts-fadeins/crossfades instead of flashy 3-second transitions. And given the pace of your game, I'd say fast cuts is the way to go.
 

Micah_DS

Member
one of the side benefits is that the player has to GUESS what's going on - if you tell them about a feature they don't like, they might drop interest, but if you only show it, they might not notice it at all, or hope it's better than they imagine.
Tips to make your game a hit, just like No Man's Sky.

EDIT: I should clarify because I realized this might come off a bit rude/mean if read incorrectly. I understand the mystery aspect of a trailer to give hype and wasn't disagreeing with @Yal. It just made me think of NMS, and NMS actually promised some things and let people down when it didn't live up to them, ect.
So I just wanted to clarify that I was only joking around and not actually disagreeing. But it's actually a pro marketing tip to let people dream a bit and get excited, as long as it's done in a way which accentuates existing content rather than leading people to believe content exists that doesn't.
 
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DMike

Guest
These are the things I think could be better:
  • trailer is too long, after looking at the analytics for some of my trailers I saw people have an attention span of 20-30 secs
  • too much text
  • don't end your text with a comma
  • try to customize your text with some effects and use a thematic font, something which is related to your game's niche
  • try not to block too much of the screen with said text
  • try to make a list, prioritize your best features and show them in that order
  • you are aiming your trailer at regular players who don't know or care about the technical aspects, I would just cut the bits about GameMaker, Photoshop, etc.
  • get a logo for your studio or at least write it in a fancy way to stand out
  • i know this is the internet but try to capitalize some proper nouns like "Metroidvania"
  • make your video HD or full HD, if your game has a weird resolution just pad the sides with some decorations like spooky walls or something similar

I hope this helps! :)
 

Yal

🐧 *penguin noises*
GMC Elder
Tips to make your game a hit, just like No Man's Sky.

EDIT: I should clarify because I realized this might come off a bit rude/mean if read incorrectly. I understand the mystery aspect of a trailer to give hype and wasn't disagreeing with @Yal. It just made me think of NMS, and NMS actually promised some things and let people down when it didn't live up to them, ect.
So I just wanted to clarify that I was only joking around and not actually disagreeing. But it's actually a pro marketing tip to let people dream a bit and get excited, as long as it's done in a way which accentuates existing content rather than leading people to believe content exists that doesn't.
Yeah, one of the biggest reasons everyone critically pans NMS nowadays is because it promised things, quietly decided to drop them, and never told anyone until the actual release. Heck, the same reason Mighty No.9 got such a terrible reception, too. It's one thing to promise things you obviously can't deliver on - people will notice that and treat you with low expectations (not that that's a good thing either) - but when you COULD reasonably live up to promises but then don't, people will feel like they were betrayed.

And let's not forget that the NMS hype itself was really destructive - people didn't want to believe their starry-eyed dream game could have flaws at all, and would rather attack other people than tone down their own expectations to a level where they'd not get disappointed. Jim Sterling's videos on the game before and after release kinda sums it up really nicely.

It's always kinda like balancing on the edge of a knife, getting people interested but with reasonable expectations. Try to cater to both these sides, because too much hot air will make either make your bubble burst or get so hot people get burned.


An interesting counter-example is Undertale's Steam store page, where Toby only quotes bad criticism and lists the game's flaws. It doesn't work for all games, but the self-deprecation gives off a vibe that you believe in your product: you KNOW there's flaws,but you KNOW it's so good you don't need to hide the flaws.
 
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atxgamedesigner

Guest
You've got a lot of great advice here.
Especially in the recommendation to do a deep study in game trailers from successful game titles.
See what works for them, and implement that into your video.

The big thing I would recommend is simple - "Show, dont tell"..
You write a lot about these different features of your game - simply show a short clip of that feature being used - the viewer is likely more intelligent than you give them credit for.

Also - zoom into the scene a bit more. Let the viewer be more "in the action", because the game looks great.

Keep it up!
 
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