Kids
Author: arimia
The Importance of Landing Pages for Indie Games
There’s a new restaurant being built in my town- it’s a refurbished old warehouse, so it’s less being built and more being brought up to code. This has been going on the past few months, with the parking lot and landscaping recently being completed, so it was apparent that the restaurant was going to open very soon- however, the restaurant has yet to put a sign up with the name, let alone saying that it’s even a restaurant and not some kind of shop.
Today while driving past it, I remarked that they now had condiments and paper towels on the tables near the windows- surely it was going to open soon after they put the sign up. Tonight while driving past it, the parking lot was full. People were sitting in all the tables we could see. It was a soft launch where they were testing their speed and kitchen, so not the full launch- but yet, there was still no sign for the restaurant. As an outsider, I’d assume it was another boutique or even just a small warehouse like the surrounding stores.
This was mind-boggling to me- you want to open up a store and not even advertise what kind of store you are, let alone your name? Even a nearby restaurant that was hidden down a set of stairs had a few small signs (and even a menu) on the wall next to it. So, as a game developer and person who attempts to market said games, it got me thinking- what would this be like if a game did this?
I’m going to use a couple different cases here in my analogy since there won’t really be anything 1 to 1.
Case #1 – No Name/Branding
The first case is the most obvious and extreme- you are posting on social media or Discord servers and such but you’ve yet to put a name to your product, or you fail to refer to it as such/put no logo with the images. People might see a screenshot of the game but if you don’t have a name for it or don’t put a name where people can easily see it, how will they be able to find out more? Sure, sometimes they’ll see it on your Twitter, but what if they happen to see it out in the wild where you can’t easily reply with an answer?
This should be a case that, if you’re reading this, shouldn’t happen. Most, if not all of you, should already have a name set for your game and be calling it by that name if you’re actively promoting it in places. Now, I’m not saying you should throw you game’s logo on all your promotional material for the game (I find it somewhat annoying to receive screenshots of in-engine looks with the logo plastered on it), but I am saying it’s typically best to have the name visible when promoting it in places for consumers.
Case #2 – No Landing Page
This case is going to be more prevalent for most devs- we forget to have a landing page. In this sense, a “landing page” is going to be broad, but something where consumers can view what the game is about and see some form of updates for it. In this sense, the following (I feel) qualify as a “landing page”:
- Steam/Itchio/GameJolt store page
- Website with newsletter
- Social media specifically for the game
I’ve picked the types above as they all include some way to see updates for the game as well as get notifications for new updates- while I normally wouldn’t consider social media to be a “full” landing page as they’re more for sharing links to the above two places, they are ways for players to subscribe to your content. I would very much prioritize the first two, i.e. making a store front for your game where players can wishlist/follow it and making a website where players can easily see what the game is about.
Your goal with a landing page is to convert viewers into customers. You want a landing page to entice a consumer into supporting your game, even if it hasn’t launched- this can be by them following your social media, wishlisting the game, subscribing to your newsletter, and more.
So, what on Earth does this have to do with my long-winded analogy at the beginning of this? Well, them not putting up their name meant I had no way to search them up online, which means even if they did have a website (which they did) I couldn’t find it so I couldn’t see their menu, their “launch” date, and more. Make pages where potential customers can wishlist your game or sign up for updates!
When do I make a landing page?
As soon as possible! …No, but really, you should try to make landing pages for your games months before release if you can. Wishlists on Steam are basically an automated email blast of when a game launches and goes on sale, so you want to collect as many of those as you can. And like I said with the analogy, if you wait until release to have a landing page, you’re missing out on potential customers who lost interest because there wasn’t a way for them to follow the game.
As game devs, we’re all guilty of procrastinating things that aren’t coding or art or writing (aka, everything business) but we really should try harder to put landing pages and such up sooner. Maybe next time I’ll write on the abysmal importance of wishlists on Steam and how they translate to sales on launch day…
Sketches, the Sequel
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40+ Game Dev Social Media Post Ideas
One thing I frequently get asked is “what do I post to social media? How do I keep it active? I don’t have any art!” and I always send them a long list of ideas on what to post but I never consolidate it anywhere. So, it’s about time I do that.
Below are a list of ideas on what to post to social media- ones in bold are ones I very much recommend for being high in engagement / eye-catching. Don’t forget to check out my Game Dev Social Media Calendar and my Twitter Guide!
- Post a screenshot
- Post a WIP screenshot
- Post a progression screenshot (post an old WIP screenshot and then show how far its come)
- Post a gif
- Post a video/trailer
- Post concept art
- Post finished sprites
- Post finished full art
- Post a funny expression from your character sprites
- Post a snippet of music
- Post a full piece of music
- Post a playlist that you listen to while working
- Share (and credit) a piece of art that inspires you
- Share a piece of fanart
- Post a snippet of writing / a funny quote
- Post a snippet of code
- Post a picture of animals in the office
- Post a picture of your workspace
- Talk about your daily work routine
- Give a review for a piece of equipment/software you use for work
- Ask for feedback on something (piece of art, dialogue, etc)
- Run a poll (ask what people’s favorite game is, what their favorite x is, etc.)
- Do a Q&A session
- Talk about where you got the idea for your game
- Talk about the game itself
- The lore of the game
- The process for making a part of the game
- How you concepted different areas
- Talk about future projects you’d like to do
- Interview your staff / introduce them
- Talk about what your dream merch for the game would be
- Make a mood board / aesthetic board for the game
- Post something inspirational for #MotivationMonday
- Write an editorial to help other game devs
- Post a link to an editorial you found helpful
- Post a small preview of something upcoming
- Do a giveaway of a previous game or merch
- Post a progression shot of how your game’s art has changed
- Thank your followers and highlight some of them
- Link a Let’s Play of one of your games
- Talk about a game that inspired yours but what you’d change about it
- Post a drawing of a girl from your game and tag it #CutieSaturday
- Post a meme about your game
- Post links to where people can find your other social media (Discord, devlog, etc.)
- Post a funny chat log from your Discord
- Post a picture of you showing the game off at a convention / booth
- Post a survey to find more about your consumers and what they like
- …And more!
Here’s a few examples of me doing these ideas on my studio Twitter:
Sketches
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Opinion- Why You Should Run Game Dev as a Business
Rather than an editorial, I want to preface this as being mostly opinion, as this is something that I have argued with people about before. I also want to preface this by saying I only mean this about games planning being/on Kickstarter and commercial games– games made just as a hobby are not what I mean by this article. I don’t want any accusations that I’m against hobby dev- after all, that’s how I got in the industry. Now with that out of the way, let’s begin.
Game Dev as a Business- What Does that Mean?
“Game dev as a business” means just that- it means looking at how you build games and refining that process from a business perspective, making decisions that are business oriented rather than fully game developer oriented. Again, let’s get some disclaimers out of the way.
- This does not mean making every single decision from a business perspective, throwing all creative freedoms out the window in favor for more business-savvy choices
- This does not mean becoming a full-on business person and taking courses in running a business
- Again, this only applies to developers making games for Kickstarter and/or commercial games
So, in a more liberal sense, what does “game dev as a business” mean?
It means taking a step back every once in a while and looking at your game objectively- seeing it as something besides just your baby and evaluating if you’re making smart decisions for the game that consumers want. It means making tweaks to the game that consumers will enjoy- after all, you’re taking their money, so they should be happy with the product. It means not slacking on all the fields (namely marketing) while in development so your company can stay afloat after launch and make it to another launch.
On a smaller scale, it means adding more choices to a visual novel to make players who want a bit more interactivity happy. On a larger scale, it means changing the art style to be more appealing to a wider audience while also refining it to look more polished. On any scale, it means keeping marketing strong through the process rather than waiting till the last minute.
Why Should I?
Game dev is an artistic medium, and allow a lot of creative liberties with it. However, when you start taking people’s money for said games (aside from donations), you are now producing games for said consumer, and they must have some sort of input in the game. You are giving them a product and taking their money for it- therefore, you should refine some details of said product to be tailored for the consumer. As I stated before, this doesn’t mean making a game completely based off of consumer feedback and lacking in creativity- it means changing smaller parts of the game to make it overall more polished.
Specific Examples
Here’s a few specific examples from my own games:
- That Which Binds Us: I didn’t do this before launch, and I regret it- I wish I had added more choices to the game. There are long stretches without any choices, and all the choices in the first playthrough of the game are basically meaningless. Adding more choices would have increased interactivity as well as replay value. I also had a cool phone CG that should have been used more to increase the unique style.
- Asterism: The art style was not good. Don’t get me wrong, I like my own art style- but it wasn’t what I wanted for the game, and people agreed with me. It took me what felt like hundreds of times (it was at least 50) to edit and reshade the sprite for Kotachi, but I eventually got him to a style I really like for the game. It’s more anime but it’s also much more polished than before.
For a good amount of months, I was fine with the 2018 version until I realized that people (including myself) didn’t like it.
Why Should I? Part 2
Making more business-oriented decisions can help keep your studio afloat from one launch to another- it can mean the difference between actually making it to that next launch. Delaying a game release in order to properly market can lead to lots of sales that you would have missed otherwise had you waited until after launch to market the game. Adding some more interactivity can bring in new customers who would have otherwise been put off by the lack of gameplay. Basically, making business decisions for the game can bring in new customers and/or satisfy current ones.