Marketing as important part of early development
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Marketing your indie game
"When to Begin Marketing Your Game
Before we get into specifics, it is important to dispel the common notion that marketing can only begin after a game is released. As most of you already know, a game draws most of its sales within the first few weeks, and even days, of release. If the proper channels don't already know about your title by the time it's launched, your sales during this critical window are going to suffer.So, instead of waiting until the eleventh hour, follow this general rule:
Begin your marketing campaign the moment you have something that illustrates the fundamental mechanics and look of your game.
Whether it's one finished level, a mocked up (quality) screenshot using Photoshop, or a small demo that displays a nuance of your game, it is imperative that you start generating hype as soon as there is something—anything—worth showing to the public. From that point forward you should be promoting the progress of your game on a semi-regular basis."
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@Jetah said in Marketing as important part of early development:
you never want to hype a game 2 years before release. you start that 6 months before when 99% of the game is settled and wont change (baring some major redesigns).
Also never make a huge hype for the game if the release day is not prepared to any kind of situation.
As a bad example of hyped game that got rekt in the release day was Albion Online. They anticipated badly with the huge amount of player that came this day, showing a lot of server issues and bug. They lost a huge amount of players in 1 week and it took 1 year and a half of struggle to grow back a good playerbase.
TLDR creating to much hype of this game but not managing well the release date = massive playerbase leaving the game after 1 week
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How to make a trailer.
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@Gothix maybe some of the alpha players can help by making lots of streams of gameplay next month try and generate hype, the dev team of fractured is small right?
They probably do all the marketing them selves, and will buy a market team closer to releaseThey are relying on Old fashioned word of mouth, and dedicated members making these videos for us,
Maybe we can change the direction of this thread from what fractured devs can/should be doing, to what we all can do to help and bring hype to this game
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@OwlsaneGaming said in Marketing as important part of early development:
@Jetah said in Marketing as important part of early development:
you never want to hype a game 2 years before release. you start that 6 months before when 99% of the game is settled and wont change (baring some major redesigns).
Also never make a huge hype for the game if the release day is not prepared to any kind of situation.
As a bad example of hyped game that got rekt in the release day was Albion Online. They anticipated badly with the huge amount of player that came this day, showing a lot of server issues and bug. They lost a huge amount of players in 1 week and it took 1 year and a half of struggle to grow back a good playerbase.
TLDR creating to much hype of this game but not managing well the release date = massive playerbase leaving the game after 1 week
But what happened in Albion had nothing to do with marketing or hype. It was purely a development mistake to make core changes just before release without enough time to test out things properly. But you are right about the start, it was absolutly horrible.
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@Xzoviac said in Marketing as important part of early development:
the dev team of fractured is small right?
They probably do all the marketing them selves, and will buy a market team closer to releaseThey are relying on Old fashioned word of mouth, and dedicated members making these videos for us,
Maybe we can change the direction of this thread from what fractured devs can/should be doing, to what we all can do to help and bring hype to this game
Yes they have a small about ten persons team so the marketing can be challenging. Marketing can be done with low expanses, but it will still need human resources.
One mistake what developers can do with marketing is rely only on others. Even community can be in best case a nice bonus, still nothing sells by its own without effort. That is why marketing plan and marketing progression is crucial to do right.
Best thing what we can do is give useable ideas or use foundation program related stuff to promote Fractured. If someone has ideas what we could do, it would be nice to know about that.
I have considered to start a blog, but it is still under planning. I could script a video, but I do not have any experience of making one.
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@Tuoni I think streaming on twitch and youtube videos , and getting some of the more popular mmo youtubers to review fractured (invite them to the alpha to test) would bring in lots of attention, i will post some of the youtubers I watch, I don't really watch twitch- so cant help with streamers
Rhykker - I watch this guy for info on Arpgs mostly diablo 3 builds, 480,275 subscribers
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRl31PWkfF0a3j3hiDRaCGATheLazyPeon - I find this guy funny and I like watching his MMO reviews, 459,466 subscribers
https://www.youtube.com/user/ALazyPeonMMOhut- does live streams with developers and is pretty informative good collection of mmos and a website they could advertise fractured on, 432,473 subscribers
https://www.youtube.com/user/MMOHutif Fractured invite these 3 people that's a potential of 1.5million more people seeing the game just on subscribers , a free alpha account to get them to advertise for you would be worth it IMO
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@Tuoni said in Marketing as important part of early development:
Marketing your indie game
"When to Begin Marketing Your Game
Before we get into specifics, it is important to dispel the common notion that marketing can only begin after a game is released. As most of you already know, a game draws most of its sales within the first few weeks, and even days, of release. If the proper channels don't already know about your title by the time it's launched, your sales during this critical window are going to suffer.So, instead of waiting until the eleventh hour, follow this general rule:
Begin your marketing campaign the moment you have something that illustrates the fundamental mechanics and look of your game.
Whether it's one finished level, a mocked up (quality) screenshot using Photoshop, or a small demo that displays a nuance of your game, it is imperative that you start generating hype as soon as there is something—anything—worth showing to the public. From that point forward you should be promoting the progress of your game on a semi-regular basis."Yes and they have done that already. So whats the point? What they should change now is just showing their progress more regulary, like every month in the news, because those news are published by plenty online magazine which are read by plenty of players.
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@Sindariya said in Marketing as important part of early development:
@Tuoni said in Marketing as important part of early development:
Marketing your indie game
"When to Begin Marketing Your Game
Before we get into specifics, it is important to dispel the common notion that marketing can only begin after a game is released. As most of you already know, a game draws most of its sales within the first few weeks, and even days, of release. If the proper channels don't already know about your title by the time it's launched, your sales during this critical window are going to suffer.So, instead of waiting until the eleventh hour, follow this general rule:
Begin your marketing campaign the moment you have something that illustrates the fundamental mechanics and look of your game.
Whether it's one finished level, a mocked up (quality) screenshot using Photoshop, or a small demo that displays a nuance of your game, it is imperative that you start generating hype as soon as there is something—anything—worth showing to the public. From that point forward you should be promoting the progress of your game on a semi-regular basis."Yes and they have done that already. So whats the point? What they should change now is just showing their progress more regulary, like every month in the news, because those news are published by plenty online magazine which are read by plenty of players.
There has been lack with promoting part quite long for now. Communication between community dropped almost to unexistence, news are quite rare nowadays and especially Spotlight Series has not seen for long time. Devs' focus has been in test phases, but still they have forgot promote, market and communicate. It gives wrong signal outwards and I hope we can see some improvements in near future.
What would be better place to boost marketing and promote your product than just before new testphase? So I suggest DS to invest some effort and resources on those milestones to get more backers.
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One nice low expanse marketing trick would be a DevBlog. People loves to read those and I can almost see @Prometheus keeping one.
"A development blog: While development blogs are less essential than a website and a strong social media presence, gamers and developers alike love to read about the personal struggles and triumphs associated with making a game. Keep it personal, as if you're speaking directly to your readers. Humanize yourself and viewers will connect with and appreciate your plight. Post as frequently as necessary, but try to avoid posting about every little bug fix or new art piece. It's enough simply to prove that your game is coming along."
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@Xzoviac
you'd have to find a youtuber that'll stick with the game. most of them just review, play a month then move to another game.
i think we're good for a while. the game needs to be developed. DS doesn't have the staff nor budget to be constantly developing and advertising the game while in Alpha.
I really think it's a bad time to push advertising because the game isn't a game, it's a system of test.
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We need Fractured t-shirts and hats to wear them around the town.
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@Jetah said in Marketing as important part of early development:
i think we're good for a while. the game needs to be developed. DS doesn't have the staff nor budget to be constantly developing and advertising the game while in Alpha.
I really think it's a bad time to push advertising because the game isn't a game, it's a system of test.
That is the common mistake what developers can make. Stop marketing and focus only on development.
Here is another article pick up from Intel Dev Zone: Get Ready, Get Noticed, Get Big: A Practical Guide to Marketing Your Indie Game
There is a lot of information (from professionals) about indie games marketing and how it is crucial to keep pushing marketing through the whole development process. They also highlights the importance of communication and updates between developers and community. That is one part of marketing too. Here is few points taken from article:
Why marketing matter
Intel’s Patrick DeFreitas is a partner marketing manager who outreaches to the independent gaming community. For him, the answer to the question, “When should I start marketing?” is obvious: IMMEDIATELY!“I’ve seen reports that over 4,000 new games are launching every year,” he recently explained. “That’s 11 games a day!” He suggests you start marketing your title early. “Every day you let pass allows another stack of competitors to fall into your same genre, attracting the same customers, pulling for the same share of wallet,” Patrick explained. “You must decide how much time to devote to marketing. If you spend ‘x’ hours developing your title, you must put in an equal amount of time toward its promotion.”
Think of marketing as any activity that starts a conversation and builds a relationship with the gaming community. You’re probably marketing without realizing it. Developer blogs, websites, social media, gamer- and game-developer forums, video trailers, and a host of other tasks let you lift the curtain on your game’s development to promote its progress and features. Every chat with a potential customer is a marketing activity. Along the way, you’ll be able to gather feedback to help iterate designs and even extend the shelf life of your title.
Maintain Your Marketing Momentum
Once you have a playable demo, you’re ready to step into the limelight either as an exhibitor or a vendor. Or create your own event. For example, Inc. Magazine has an eight-point primer on staging your own event. Some of their advice may seem costly, but many examples don’t require a big budget. The key is to plug away on social media with continual build-up and updates, via your Twitter handle, Facebook page, and blog posts.Common Mistakes and Pitfalls to Avoid
Keep these points in mind while working on your marketing activities:-
Establish a schedule of marketing activities and commit to it. Don’t stop.*
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Plan to spend at least as much time and energy on marketing activities as you do on development. Some experts advise that you may drop to a ratio of one-third development, two-thirds marketing.
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@Xzoviac said in Marketing as important part of early development:
@Tuoni I think streaming on twitch and youtube videos , and getting some of the more popular mmo youtubers to review fractured (invite them to the alpha to test) would bring in lots of attention, i will post some of the youtubers I watch, I don't really watch twitch- so cant help with streamers
Rhykker - I watch this guy for info on Arpgs mostly diablo 3 builds, 480,275 subscribers
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRl31PWkfF0a3j3hiDRaCGATheLazyPeon - I find this guy funny and I like watching his MMO reviews, 459,466 subscribers
https://www.youtube.com/user/ALazyPeonMMOhut- does live streams with developers and is pretty informative good collection of mmos and a website they could advertise fractured on, 432,473 subscribers
https://www.youtube.com/user/MMOHutif Fractured invite these 3 people that's a potential of 1.5million more people seeing the game just on subscribers , a free alpha account to get them to advertise for you would be worth it IMO
Yes it is important to get famous YouTubers interested of Fractured and at least make that one review. That one video can only reach about half million players so it is definitely worth it. Of course if some of them interests to start playing more regulary, that would be even better. It is reasonable to make a review when there is enough working content, and lets see if this will be in A2,B1 or B2.
I follow LazyPeon too and I really hope he will check out Fractured at some point, and I do not actually see why he would not. Btw, you could post your Youtuber suggestions here if you have not done that yet.
Community call youtubers
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@Tuoni said in Marketing as important part of early development:
@Sindariya said in Marketing as important part of early development:
@Tuoni said in Marketing as important part of early development:
Marketing your indie game
"When to Begin Marketing Your Game
Before we get into specifics, it is important to dispel the common notion that marketing can only begin after a game is released. As most of you already know, a game draws most of its sales within the first few weeks, and even days, of release. If the proper channels don't already know about your title by the time it's launched, your sales during this critical window are going to suffer.So, instead of waiting until the eleventh hour, follow this general rule:
Begin your marketing campaign the moment you have something that illustrates the fundamental mechanics and look of your game.
Whether it's one finished level, a mocked up (quality) screenshot using Photoshop, or a small demo that displays a nuance of your game, it is imperative that you start generating hype as soon as there is something—anything—worth showing to the public. From that point forward you should be promoting the progress of your game on a semi-regular basis."Yes and they have done that already. So whats the point? What they should change now is just showing their progress more regulary, like every month in the news, because those news are published by plenty online magazine which are read by plenty of players.
There has been lack with promoting part quite long for now. Communication between community dropped almost to unexistence, news are quite rare nowadays and especially Spotlight Series has not seen for long time. Devs' focus has been in test phases, but still they have forgot promote, market and communicate. It gives wrong signal outwards and I hope we can see some improvements in near future.
What would be better place to boost marketing and promote your product than just before new testphase? So I suggest DS to invest some effort and resources on those milestones to get more backers.
As soon as the new date is out we will get news which will go out to the mass because the gaming websites will post it. That will bring people in.
@Znirf started new content pills now every 2 weeks so we will get new informations. It's not like they stopped marketing. Sure they could do more at the moment but that would be the wrong timing in my opinion. When beta starts, they have to do something, but not when we have so limited time to play.
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@Tuoni said in Marketing as important part of early development:
@Xzoviac said in Marketing as important part of early development:
@Tuoni I think streaming on twitch and youtube videos , and getting some of the more popular mmo youtubers to review fractured (invite them to the alpha to test) would bring in lots of attention, i will post some of the youtubers I watch, I don't really watch twitch- so cant help with streamers
Rhykker - I watch this guy for info on Arpgs mostly diablo 3 builds, 480,275 subscribers
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRl31PWkfF0a3j3hiDRaCGATheLazyPeon - I find this guy funny and I like watching his MMO reviews, 459,466 subscribers
https://www.youtube.com/user/ALazyPeonMMOhut- does live streams with developers and is pretty informative good collection of mmos and a website they could advertise fractured on, 432,473 subscribers
https://www.youtube.com/user/MMOHutif Fractured invite these 3 people that's a potential of 1.5million more people seeing the game just on subscribers , a free alpha account to get them to advertise for you would be worth it IMO
Yes it is important to get famous YouTubers interested of Fractured and at least make that one review. That one video can only reach about half million players so it is definitely worth it. Of course if some of them interests to start playing more regulary, that would be even better. It is reasonable to make a review when there is enough working content, and lets see if this will be in A2,B1 or B2.
I follow LazyPeon too and I really hope he will check out Fractured at some point, and I do not actually see why he would not. Btw, you could post your Youtuber suggestions here if you have not done that yet.
Community call youtubersthanks i posted the info, in that thread hopefully the devs, find it useful
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@Sindariya said in Marketing as important part of early development:
@Tuoni said in Marketing as important part of early development:
@Sindariya said in Marketing as important part of early development:
@Tuoni said in Marketing as important part of early development:
Marketing your indie game
"When to Begin Marketing Your Game
Before we get into specifics, it is important to dispel the common notion that marketing can only begin after a game is released. As most of you already know, a game draws most of its sales within the first few weeks, and even days, of release. If the proper channels don't already know about your title by the time it's launched, your sales during this critical window are going to suffer.So, instead of waiting until the eleventh hour, follow this general rule:
Begin your marketing campaign the moment you have something that illustrates the fundamental mechanics and look of your game.
Whether it's one finished level, a mocked up (quality) screenshot using Photoshop, or a small demo that displays a nuance of your game, it is imperative that you start generating hype as soon as there is something—anything—worth showing to the public. From that point forward you should be promoting the progress of your game on a semi-regular basis."Yes and they have done that already. So whats the point? What they should change now is just showing their progress more regulary, like every month in the news, because those news are published by plenty online magazine which are read by plenty of players.
There has been lack with promoting part quite long for now. Communication between community dropped almost to unexistence, news are quite rare nowadays and especially Spotlight Series has not seen for long time. Devs' focus has been in test phases, but still they have forgot promote, market and communicate. It gives wrong signal outwards and I hope we can see some improvements in near future.
What would be better place to boost marketing and promote your product than just before new testphase? So I suggest DS to invest some effort and resources on those milestones to get more backers.
It's not like they stopped marketing. Sure they could do more at the moment but that would be the wrong timing in my opinion.
No they have not stopped marketing and I have not said so either. Here is just some people thinking that nothing needs to be done atm with marketing. I have posted now several articles/comments (with references) from real gaming industry professionals who all says totally opposite, and whom I have used to cover my arguments and original post. It is not hard guess whom word values more, random people or marketing experts with indie game industry experience.
But yeah I know, it does not matter how much I show evidence how the marketing should be done or what kind of improvements could be considered if you want to be more efficient. People won't change their opinions, even they do not have much experience of the whole matter.
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Here is good video related for indie game marketing tips with low budget. Speaker is IndieGameGirl Emmy Jonassen, a indie game marketing specialist.
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@Tuoni said in Marketing as important part of early development:
But yeah I know, it does not matter how much I show evidence how the marketing should be done or what kind of improvements could be considered if you want to be more efficient. People won't change their opinions, even they do not have much experience of the whole matter.
I want add to this, that there is nothing wrong if people have own opinions and it is hard to anyone change their mind no matter what. And I am now speaking more generally and that incluedes also myself. And my intend is not actually change anyones opinion, I just want to justify my opinion to Fracured developers with references of what industry experts have said about marketing.
With this thread I more like hoped we could discuss about different marketing possibilities and ideas, so we could give developers something to think about. Maybe they have talked about most of the things already and made a marketing strategy which suits best for them. However, always there is this chance, that something has not thought yet and maybe because of lack of time.
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There is no need to advertise fractured atm as it first in the alpha phase so there is no substance of content / storyline /etc. Basically if we advertise the game right now it's like saying "Hey guys, we're making a game. Nothing more to say but come check it out".
They can imo begin to advertise it when the game is in the beta phase.
