Marketing - Not every Techie Can Do It

[WebGameDev]

And yet despite years of programming expertise, months of blood, sweat and tears to create the perfect game, it can be all undone if you don't have someone who knows about it and wants to buy it, play it etc.

Here's a few ideas:

• Has it got at least a webpage showing screenshots, what its about? What it will cost?
• Have you got review copies or reviewers who can play it?
• Can you build a community around it?
• Facebook page or on BigPoint.com/Chrome Webstore?

I see many browser game websites that look interesting but next to nothing about the game, maybe a few rules, a login/signup page. And that's it! Der!

Any other suggestions?

David

Guide to Online Game Development

[Koyaanisqatsi]

Well of course most techie's can't think in terms of marketing, it's a totally different way of thinking and most people can only think in one way, unless they have multiple personalities. I always thought techies think in binary and code and sales and marketing people think about smells and tastes. A game will sell because an average person can make someones head explode with great detail...... A techie likes a game because of the code written that makes someones head explode with great detail! There is a difference!

When you market a game you have to have that edge of what is hot right NOW and from what I see is EVERYBODY HAS MISSED THE BOAT ON WHAT SHOULD BE THE THE HOTTEST GENRE IN GAME DESIGN!!!! Come on guys....... war games....GTA garbage.....Build the Civilization junk......ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzz boring!

If you want to market a game successfully you better follow what the movie industry does and give clips of what the people think is interesting AT THE TIME! How many times have you seen a preview for a movie and it got you in the theater...Only to find that when you left the theater the best parts of the film was what you saw in the previews. Or the Big Mac looks soooo good in the commercial and HA when you get one it looks like someone sat on it!

---------------------------------------------------------------With that said, what is the most appealing part of your game that would attract the average buyer in the USA? Personally if there was a game out there where I could waterboard a terrorist I'd buy it. Figure what is most appealing to the average buyer, NOT WHAT IS COOLEST TO TECHIE'S, face it techie's don't buy, they approiate the game design and attempt to make it better. Let me be more direct... Techie's don't buy, they STEAL the game design and attempt to make it better. Even if the game contains only a small content of what users really like then market that idea! You may have a way to make peas taste better than ever but I guarantee that advertising great tasting peas will get you nowhere. It's the sizzle of the steak that will attract the bussiness!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------If you want to know more about my game idea that is being missed then figure out how to get ahold of me.

[WebGameDev]

Well I looked for Koyaanisqatsi and I think I've got you identified. Can you hear a helicopter hovering overhead? <g>

Ideas are fine but as I wrote recently  in Is Copying a Game Idea Wrong?  The best way, indeed about the only way, to protect it is to keep it secret.  Else this can happen!

The average buyer well online anyway seems to like running a farm and/or cafe. 

David

Guide to Online Game Development 

[DannySee]

Yeah! I truly agree with this one. Some gamers don't have great skills in marketing the same way they do as developing games. I have an experience with this one because a friend of mine is a game developer himself but doesn't have enough skills to market his games. Since I'm a graduate of marketing, I tried helping out. We are in business together up to date and this have been going so well. Marketing can be a bit hard because you need the skills to talk-the-talk with consumers and make them feel how special and how great your game really is.