10-01-2018, 06:43 PM
Blog: Indie marketing – It’s never too soon
<div style="margin: 5px 5% 10px 5%;"><img src="http://www.sickgaming.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/blog-indie-marketing-its-never-too-soon.jpg" width="200" height="200" title="" alt="" /></div><div><p><strong><i><small> The following blog post, unless otherwise noted, was written by a member of Gamasutras community.<br />The thoughts and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not Gamasutra or its parent company. </small></i></strong> </p>
<hr />
<p>My first venture into solo game development, oOo: Ascension <a href="http://bit.ly/oOo_Ascension_Steam">launched this morning on Steam</a> and will be out on Nintendo Switch a week today. It has been pretty well received by the few that have played it, earning a place as a <a href="http://tiga.org/awards/2018-categories">TIGA finalist for ‘best game by a small studio’</a> and a <a href="http://www.bafta.org/scotland/awards/ceremony/nominees-winners/british-academy-scotland-awards-nominees-in-2018">BAFTA Scotland nomination for Best Game</a> – but it’s not all as rosey as it could have been.</p>
<p>A quick summary of how I got here – I had been working in bars for nearly 8 years, before deciding that the only thing I truly wanted to do was make games, so I began teaching myself to make 3D models during the evenings and days off, and eventually managed to get a job working for an architectural company making pre-build visuals. When my portfolio was strong enough I landed a job working for a game developer, and by then I had also taught myself to code so that I could start making my own prototypes and mini-games. Eventually, I entered Ludum Dare 38 and the <a href="https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/38/$17816">resulting compo entry</a> became the game that came out today, but I spoke about that in a <a href="https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/KennyCreanor/20180430/317196/oOo_Ascension_From_GameJam_to_Xbox_One_in_12_Months.php">blog post back in May</a>. </p>
<p>When I look back on this whole journey though, I tend not to focus on the things that I think I’ve achieved in that time, but rather what I wish I had done differently. By the time the game was finished (at least, there was an end level that you could complete and some amount of polish had gone into it), I felt like I’d completed a near-decade long learning experience, and from here on in I was armed with all of the skills that I’d need going forward.</p>
<p>How wrong I was.</p>
<p>I had missed out one, enormous, gaping skill-set that meant that everything from this point onwards would be an up hill battle: <strong>Marketing</strong>. </p>
<p>I had read countless articles stressing the importance of marketing, but I always though that it was something I’d get round to ‘once this feature is finished’ or ‘when I get time to put together a video’. I always felt that the game wasn’t the best possible version of what it could be so I kept holding of until I felt it looked polished enough. I left everything until the game was nearly finished, and by then it was far, far too late. I want to go back and punch myself squarely in the face for not taking on board the glaringly obvious (well, it seems it now) advice to create a mailing list, discord server and all the other little things that seem like they wouldn’t be enough to make much of a difference on their own, but when all put together become the driving force of a community, and as such, generate interest in the game.. </p>
<p>The only reason for the awards the game has been nominated for is because by submitting the game the judges actually <strong>had </strong>to play it, otherwise I doubt any of them would even have heard of it, let alone give it a shot. Every game that has had time and effort spent on it deserves to be seen, and as such I implore any aspiring developer to start talking about it as soon as they have a title, hell even before then you could be sharing sketches, wireframe models, story concepts – absolutely <strong>anything </strong>that might attract one new fan is worth it in the long run – it all builds up. </p>
<p>Learning how to code, model or design for games is a relatively insular process – it’s about you and how you learn best. Marketing, on the other hand, involves constantly putting yourself out there for others to judge, and that comes naturally to almost nobody. However, I cannot stress enough that it is just as important, maybe even more so, than any other element of the indie game development process.</p>
<p>In short, yes, marketing is an uncomfortable, densely packed minefield of pain, but it’s one that I strongly suggest you gracelessly bellyflop onto from a great height – and do so as early as possible. </p>
</div>
<div style="margin: 5px 5% 10px 5%;"><img src="http://www.sickgaming.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/blog-indie-marketing-its-never-too-soon.jpg" width="200" height="200" title="" alt="" /></div><div><p><strong><i><small> The following blog post, unless otherwise noted, was written by a member of Gamasutras community.<br />The thoughts and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not Gamasutra or its parent company. </small></i></strong> </p>
<hr />
<p>My first venture into solo game development, oOo: Ascension <a href="http://bit.ly/oOo_Ascension_Steam">launched this morning on Steam</a> and will be out on Nintendo Switch a week today. It has been pretty well received by the few that have played it, earning a place as a <a href="http://tiga.org/awards/2018-categories">TIGA finalist for ‘best game by a small studio’</a> and a <a href="http://www.bafta.org/scotland/awards/ceremony/nominees-winners/british-academy-scotland-awards-nominees-in-2018">BAFTA Scotland nomination for Best Game</a> – but it’s not all as rosey as it could have been.</p>
<p>A quick summary of how I got here – I had been working in bars for nearly 8 years, before deciding that the only thing I truly wanted to do was make games, so I began teaching myself to make 3D models during the evenings and days off, and eventually managed to get a job working for an architectural company making pre-build visuals. When my portfolio was strong enough I landed a job working for a game developer, and by then I had also taught myself to code so that I could start making my own prototypes and mini-games. Eventually, I entered Ludum Dare 38 and the <a href="https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/38/$17816">resulting compo entry</a> became the game that came out today, but I spoke about that in a <a href="https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/KennyCreanor/20180430/317196/oOo_Ascension_From_GameJam_to_Xbox_One_in_12_Months.php">blog post back in May</a>. </p>
<p>When I look back on this whole journey though, I tend not to focus on the things that I think I’ve achieved in that time, but rather what I wish I had done differently. By the time the game was finished (at least, there was an end level that you could complete and some amount of polish had gone into it), I felt like I’d completed a near-decade long learning experience, and from here on in I was armed with all of the skills that I’d need going forward.</p>
<p>How wrong I was.</p>
<p>I had missed out one, enormous, gaping skill-set that meant that everything from this point onwards would be an up hill battle: <strong>Marketing</strong>. </p>
<p>I had read countless articles stressing the importance of marketing, but I always though that it was something I’d get round to ‘once this feature is finished’ or ‘when I get time to put together a video’. I always felt that the game wasn’t the best possible version of what it could be so I kept holding of until I felt it looked polished enough. I left everything until the game was nearly finished, and by then it was far, far too late. I want to go back and punch myself squarely in the face for not taking on board the glaringly obvious (well, it seems it now) advice to create a mailing list, discord server and all the other little things that seem like they wouldn’t be enough to make much of a difference on their own, but when all put together become the driving force of a community, and as such, generate interest in the game.. </p>
<p>The only reason for the awards the game has been nominated for is because by submitting the game the judges actually <strong>had </strong>to play it, otherwise I doubt any of them would even have heard of it, let alone give it a shot. Every game that has had time and effort spent on it deserves to be seen, and as such I implore any aspiring developer to start talking about it as soon as they have a title, hell even before then you could be sharing sketches, wireframe models, story concepts – absolutely <strong>anything </strong>that might attract one new fan is worth it in the long run – it all builds up. </p>
<p>Learning how to code, model or design for games is a relatively insular process – it’s about you and how you learn best. Marketing, on the other hand, involves constantly putting yourself out there for others to judge, and that comes naturally to almost nobody. However, I cannot stress enough that it is just as important, maybe even more so, than any other element of the indie game development process.</p>
<p>In short, yes, marketing is an uncomfortable, densely packed minefield of pain, but it’s one that I strongly suggest you gracelessly bellyflop onto from a great height – and do so as early as possible. </p>
</div>