Marketing Questions

D

Deleted member 467

Guest
My game is a game I wish to sell, and I have been kind of marketing. You know, #screenshotsaturday here, #gamedev #indiedev #gamemaker there... comment on /r/gamemaker every now and then (on the Screenshot Saturday thread and Feedback Friday thread) As well as sharing my game in real life (it is a thing, can confirm)
However ... I don't think I am doing enough. So far my game has a following of maybe five people, and I think I could be doing a lot more marketing.

But at what point should I market my game?

Right now it's about halfway done, and I think it might be finished by May of 2017, but that's a hopeful date. It probably doesn't help that I wish to put this game on Steam Greenlight when I hardly have enough of a following to get a single download on Gamejolt.

In addition to the timing of the game's development for marketing, what would you recommend someone in my position do to better market their game?
 

SnoutUp

Member
General rule for indie devs is that you should start marketing as soon as you have something to show. Unless you're paranoid and work on some sort of secret or very small & easily steal-able project.
Also, don't hire a marketing director just yet. Save that money and tweet some gameplay GIFs or post devlogs if you like talking about your game. Don't expect followers to mean much, because most of them don't have long attention span, but some will stick around if you'll keep doing what you're doing. Cross link everything with everything.

Follower count doesn't mean a lot in Steam Greenlight, first days in GL front page list brings in most of the traffic anyway, so just prepare a nice moving thumbnail, best screenshots and hope for the best.

That being said, marketing sucks and if you are not making some spectacular shiny gem, you'll have to work harder. But that's how it is for 99%.
 
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Ninety

Member
What makes your game unique? What sets it apart from other entries in the same genre? Focus on that.

GIFs are always good on Twitter, also use #pixelart #gamedev #indiedev #screenshotsaturday, all of which have bots retweeting content.
 
D

Deleted member 467

Guest
What makes your game unique? What sets it apart from other entries in the same genre? Focus on that.

GIFs are always good on Twitter, also use #pixelart #gamedev #indiedev #screenshotsaturday, all of which have bots retweeting content.
Well, the story isn't like the story of any game I have played - but that's not to say other games haven't done a similar thing.
Boss wise I am sure other games have done, but the closest example I can think of is Terraria with the Crimson and Corruption. In this game the Part 2 bosses are different depending on a random number generated at the beginning of the game. I might soon change that to be something you can pick.

Other than that I'm not even sure if it's unique.

As for the hashtags, I use those almost everytime I post a screenshot or GIF
 

Ninety

Member
Let me address a specific quote to demonstrate my point. I'll use the only marketing of yours I have immediately to hand, that being your signature:

Want to be a hero? Fight demons? Be a demon? Go on an adventure?
<snip>
Fight not just to save the world, but to save yourself from the corruption of evil, and stop the Fallen Ancient from rising.
Now I haven't played your game so I don't know if it's any good (seems kind of interesting from the picture or two I've seen around, FWIW). But this signature is maybe the most generic piece of advertising I've ever seen. "Want to be a hero?" could be the tagline for literal tens of thousands of other games. Add minimal art that doesn't give an indication of gameplay and plain white text on a black background, and you've got something which is frankly just forgettable.

When I say you need to stand out, I mean someone needs to be able to see what's "different" about your game with one screenshot, or within the first few seconds of a GIF. Now obviously most games aren't that original (I mean, I'm working on what's basically a Harvest Moon clone) but you need to think: what can my game offer that others can't? It's hard to succeed if you don't stand out in some way, whether that's really good art or funny writing or difficult combat. Giving an "overview" of the game may give the viewer a good idea of what to expect but it fails to properly engage their interest. This is extra important on platforms like Twitter where first impressions matter most. AAA games with huge marketing budgets can make a profit without much innovation. But in the indie scene it's important to be unique (or at least pretend you are!).

Quick aside: maybe let the player choose the boss path based on a story decision (like who to ally with, or something)? I think you're right that it might feel a little less "random" if they get some choice. Having different boss paths is an interesting decision though, and perhaps an example of something you might focus your marketing (at least in part) around.
 
D

Deleted member 467

Guest
But this signature is maybe the most generic piece of advertising I've ever seen. "Want to be a hero?" could be the tagline for literal tens of thousands of other games. Add minimal art that doesn't give an indication of gameplay and plain white text on a black background, and you've got something which is frankly just forgettable.

Now I haven't played your game so I don't know if it's any good (seems kind of interesting from the picture or two I've seen around, FWIW).

Quick aside: maybe let the player choose the boss path based on a story decision (like who to ally with, or something)? I think you're right that it might feel a little less "random" if they get some choice. Having different boss paths is an interesting decision though, and perhaps an example of something you might focus your marketing (at least in part) around.
For boss paths I now have a way the player can choose which bosses they want to fight by picking up an item (think fossils in the Pokemon games. Get one fossil you get Kabuto, pick the other you get Omanyte) and I designed so if you effed up and picked the wrong gem, you can just exit the game and restart the fight with the fifth boss in the game. Actually no - I think he's the sixth. Point is you beat the final boss in Part 1 of the game you get to choose the bosses you fight in Part 2.

Regarding the banner, I will change it very soon, I first need to make a lot of GIFs.

Regarding my game seeming interesting, thanks :D
 
M

MrTP

Guest
Unfortunately marketing & pr isn't a task you should start with just shortly before releasing a game, as it's a mixture of community building ('acquiring' potential players and keep them interested and engaged to your upcoming game) and classical pr activities (e.g. providing early versions of your to gaming sites, let's player etc. so they can spreads news, previews etc. about you game) - so you are very wise thinking about the marketing & pr subject at this point. :)

When it comes to releasing a game - in best case - you already have a living & eager community ( = potential customers) in place. Otherwise you have to start from zero to make your game visible and you have to find your potential customers within a very short time while each day X new games get released (and your game is getting more and more invisible).
BTW: The value of X depends on the platform you plan to publish your game on. If you plan to release it on Steam, you have to deal with around 15 news game releases per day. If you plan to release it for Android/iOS, between 200-400 news games get released each day.

Of course - if you have a marketing budget - you can use the digital channels (e.g. facebook) to advertise your game to a specific target group. But these acquired players are normally expensive compared to a well planed (long term) community building strategy.

I am afraid it would break the mould at this place to write down each and every part of marketing & pr tasks you should take care of before releasing a game. But speaking to other devs who already have experience in releasing a commercial games is a good start. :)

Last but not least: Hahtags like #screenshotsaturday, #gamedev, #indiedev and #gamemaker are typical game developer hashtags, which is absolutely fine to share knowledge and progress, but in the end you have to find your potential customers doing marketing. You have to find the people who may interested in buying & playing your kind of game.
 
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