Design Trailer Ideas And design

jazzzar

Member
Hello Guys, as i'm like 90% finished with the game i want to ask and take some feedback on how to make a trailer, i mean, i watched some indie games trailers, but i don't have a clue what to do, how to start and how to edit, like which program, any help is greatly appreciated
If you want i can upload an apk , and you guys can try it to get an idea..pm me if you want to test it too
 
if you have no budget, just stick to windows live movie maker which is free and requires zero tutorials.
Use a capture software like OBS to record your gameplay and mix it with various title sequences and effects.

I personally use after effects and adobe premiere for fancy timelines and stuff, but those things need money, yo.
 

jazzzar

Member
if you have no budget, just stick to windows live movie maker which is free and requires zero tutorials.
Use a capture software like OBS to record your gameplay and mix it with various title sequences and effects.

I personally use after effects and adobe premiere for fancy timelines and stuff, but those things need money, yo.
Thank you, for the reply, my game is an android game so no obs here i guess, for editing i think my brother has vegas thingy, but my main question was how to make a GOOD trailer, i dunno how to go about it, what to show? And how long it should be and these things
 
U

Uneven Pixel Studios

Guest
Thank you, for the reply, my game is an android game so no obs here i guess, for editing i think my brother has vegas thingy, but my main question was how to make a GOOD trailer, i dunno how to go about it, what to show? And how long it should be and these things
Well, my first suggestion would be study at least three other trailers that seem to be comparable to your own game (so in this case other android games) and look at their length. Then decide which parts of your game are the most polished or the most interesting to look at. This will probably take some outside help, as a developer kinda has favorite parts of their game do to the amount of coding effort put into it, but it might not be the best thing to show off. And if your game is story driven, do NOT show major plot points. I hope this helps you out, and I would love to see your trailer when it is finished.
 

Phil Strahl

Member
Here's my two cents on this, since wrote a Master's Thesis on marketing films [humblebrag achieved! ;)], so I feel that I know a little something about trailers.

Give potential customers as much information as possible so they can make up their mind. That's the most important thing. Have a clear idea what you want to communicate with your trailer, who your audience is and what they want consider important for them. A casual audience may want a game that's fun, can be played in short sessions and doesn't force them into micro transaction down the road, for example; and RPG audience is interested in individualization options and depth in both gameplay and story, etc. In any case, research your intended audience first from a marketing perspective. I know, that sounds pretty boring but your trailer will be *the* deciding factor for giving your game a chance or not.

Don't mislead. If you have a puzzle game with puzzles that you consider pretty hard, for example, don't gloss over it and try to sell it as an easy little game for everyone, instead own it and tell people right away that the puzzles are hard but rewarding. If you have an endless runner with some light RPG elements, don't sell it as an RPG with endless-runner elements. People looking for a decent RPG to play will be pissed because the game is lacking depth, while more casual players who are looking just for something to pass the time at the airport will stay away because they might feel it's too involved for what they want. Wither way is bad, people feel cheated and will rate your game poorly regardless of its quality.

Effectively, a game trailer is there to answer questions, so first you have to find the questions your audience might ask, what their tastes are. Start broadly. What's the genre? What's interesting about your game? What separates it from other, similar games? Answering these questions visually means helping your potential customers decide whether your game is a fit for their tastes. Here's a list of questions and answers in written form. Once you have a bunch of these, order them in a meaningful way (=from broad to specific) and find a visual answer for each, i.e. gameplay footage.
  1. Q: "What kind of game is it?" Answer: "A match-three puzzle game for mobile"
  2. Q: "What's different about this one?" A: "It offers light RPG elements and customization"
  3. Q: "How much depth is there?" A: "It's easy to get into and there are 20+ levels"
  4. Q: "How long are the play sessions?" A: "A level takes from 10 seconds to 5 minutes"
  5. Q: "Can I play with friends?" A: "Your Facebook friends can send you gifts but that's entirely optional"
  6. Q: "What does it cost?" A: "Free to play"
  7. Q: "Where's the catch then?" A: "You can pay for boosters that help you level faster and cosmetic items"
If you can't show something, it's perfectly fine to use a bit of text, e.g
  • "20+ levels!" (video in background shows some of that variety)
  • "Light RPG Elements" (video shows snippets of level-up animation, and distribution of points between "Strength" and "Mana")

Structure:
I'd go for a couple of seconds of gameplay footage, then a text plate. That's pretty standard but you won't be too original in your trailer, instead show people what they expect from a trailer. So text plates between some gameplay work especially well on mobile because a majority of people have their sound switched off when browsing the Play store when riding the train to work, for example, so focus in the visuals but also have some music and sound, but it's not that important. These text titles should be short, both in content and length, and, again: Should help in answering questions.

Length:
Trailers usually range from 1 to 3 minutes, but especially on mobile I would aim for 20-30 seconds. Show the most interesting part as early as possible to keep potential players watching, but don't throw it at them without some context of what your game is about. The first impression is what sticks, so if you have a memorable character, an interesting look / mechanic that's easy to grasp in 2 seconds, put that in front.

I hope that more theoretical replay was useful!
 

jazzzar

Member
Well, my first suggestion would be study at least three other trailers that seem to be comparable to your own game (so in this case other android games) and look at their length. Then decide which parts of your game are the most polished or the most interesting to look at. This will probably take some outside help, as a developer kinda has favorite parts of their game do to the amount of coding effort put into it, but it might not be the best thing to show off. And if your game is story driven, do NOT show major plot points. I hope this helps you out, and I would love to see your trailer when it is finished.
Thank you so much man :)
Here's my two cents on this, since wrote a Master's Thesis on marketing films [humblebrag achieved! ;)], so I feel that I know a little something about trailers.

Give potential customers as much information as possible so they can make up their mind. That's the most important thing. Have a clear idea what you want to communicate with your trailer, who your audience is and what they want consider important for them. A casual audience may want a game that's fun, can be played in short sessions and doesn't force them into micro transaction down the road, for example; and RPG audience is interested in individualization options and depth in both gameplay and story, etc. In any case, research your intended audience first from a marketing perspective. I know, that sounds pretty boring but your trailer will be *the* deciding factor for giving your game a chance or not.

Don't mislead. If you have a puzzle game with puzzles that you consider pretty hard, for example, don't gloss over it and try to sell it as an easy little game for everyone, instead own it and tell people right away that the puzzles are hard but rewarding. If you have an endless runner with some light RPG elements, don't sell it as an RPG with endless-runner elements. People looking for a decent RPG to play will be pissed because the game is lacking depth, while more casual players who are looking just for something to pass the time at the airport will stay away because they might feel it's too involved for what they want. Wither way is bad, people feel cheated and will rate your game poorly regardless of its quality.

Effectively, a game trailer is there to answer questions, so first you have to find the questions your audience might ask, what their tastes are. Start broadly. What's the genre? What's interesting about your game? What separates it from other, similar games? Answering these questions visually means helping your potential customers decide whether your game is a fit for their tastes. Here's a list of questions and answers in written form. Once you have a bunch of these, order them in a meaningful way (=from broad to specific) and find a visual answer for each, i.e. gameplay footage.
  1. Q: "What kind of game is it?" Answer: "A match-three puzzle game for mobile"
  2. Q: "What's different about this one?" A: "It offers light RPG elements and customization"
  3. Q: "How much depth is there?" A: "It's easy to get into and there are 20+ levels"
  4. Q: "How long are the play sessions?" A: "A level takes from 10 seconds to 5 minutes"
  5. Q: "Can I play with friends?" A: "Your Facebook friends can send you gifts but that's entirely optional"
  6. Q: "What does it cost?" A: "Free to play"
  7. Q: "Where's the catch then?" A: "You can pay for boosters that help you level faster and cosmetic items"
If you can't show something, it's perfectly fine to use a bit of text, e.g
  • "20+ levels!" (video in background shows some of that variety)
  • "Light RPG Elements" (video shows snippets of level-up animation, and distribution of points between "Strength" and "Mana")

Structure:
I'd go for a couple of seconds of gameplay footage, then a text plate. That's pretty standard but you won't be too original in your trailer, instead show people what they expect from a trailer. So text plates between some gameplay work especially well on mobile because a majority of people have their sound switched off when browsing the Play store when riding the train to work, for example, so focus in the visuals but also have some music and sound, but it's not that important. These text titles should be short, both in content and length, and, again: Should help in answering questions.

Length:
Trailers usually range from 1 to 3 minutes, but especially on mobile I would aim for 20-30 seconds. Show the most interesting part as early as possible to keep potential players watching, but don't throw it at them without some context of what your game is about. The first impression is what sticks, so if you have a memorable character, an interesting look / mechanic that's easy to grasp in 2 seconds, put that in front.

I hope that more theoretical replay was useful!
Man, that's indeed what i wanted, great reply, i appreciate the time you put to write this, i think i got the point, so already have a trailer in my head now, i have a puzzle game so i think i'll go with showing some mechanics, showing how much levels, and saying how the puzzles are a good mind teaser, okay so i thought of actually making a trailer of someone playing my game like minecraft mobile edition did, what do you think :p
Learning from a successful video game trailer is the best way to go unless you have an assured large audience IMO.

@Phil Strahl covers most of the good points, but you might be interested in this article:

https://www.videopixie.com/make-a-game-trailer
Thank you Aura, i'll take a look at the article for sure
 
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