Game has been launched - what now?
Hello All.
I have launched my Android based game, Broken Skies, and it is live on the Playstore.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.companyname.BrokenSkies&hl=en
Now I am sitting here thinking: Mmmm, maybe I should tell people about this so that more people will install it and play it and validate my months of toil.
Only hassle is that I don't know a damn thing about marketing. Does anyone have hint or 7 about how one markets their games?
I am really no good at this part of the process :)
I have launched my Android based game, Broken Skies, and it is live on the Playstore.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.companyname.BrokenSkies&hl=en
Now I am sitting here thinking: Mmmm, maybe I should tell people about this so that more people will install it and play it and validate my months of toil.
Only hassle is that I don't know a damn thing about marketing. Does anyone have hint or 7 about how one markets their games?
I am really no good at this part of the process :)
Comments
http://www.pixelprospector.com/the-marketing-guide-for-game-developers - not finished yet, but still a good place to start.
http://devmag.org.za/2009/06/16/zero-budget-indie-marketing-guide - @Nandrew wrote this a while ago, it's still good.
Basically, search places like Gamasutra for interesting articles once you've got your head around the sort of stuff you could be doing. The core ideas go: Make sure your game makes people want to play it (usually this is done before production, yay prototyping) -> Figure out channels that will introduce those kinds of people to your game -> Make it easy for those people to tell others about your game -> Put your game on those channels by creating content or reaching content creators.
So, build yourself a website for the game (it doesn't have to be huge or complex), build a press kit, send that and a brief description of your game to press that you think will like the game and put it in front of readers that will do the same. Experiment with video recording, see if you can use things like streaming or Youtube to help you grow players. Try things.
But. And this is a big but: Don't try to market your game to get validation for your work, market it because you believe that people will have a good time playing it. Expecting people to like something because of the amount of time you've put into it is a surefire way to get disappointed - the amount of effort you've invested isn't relevant to players, they only care about how good the game feels while they're playing it :)
What now? Improve it based on feedback or make another.
Congrats on completing your project and publishing it on Google Play. Yaaay! It's a tough market out there, eh? :)
@dislekcia is right. The "Big But" part of his response is for real. Make a fun game. I'll check out yours to see if it grips...
Personally I am learning more and more that the upfront design work and focusing on fun game mechanics - is what is really really important, more so than the art or the development. It's seemingly very hard to achieve success (whatever that means).
I have a few games published on Google Play too that are personally satisfying, but not financially or professionally successful - yet. I need to dig down into my inner child and try and remember what games made me so addicted to this franchise in the first place. Then distill and apply into something new and fresh. Easier said than done... LOL
Your game will market itself if you get the "magic formula" right - whatever that is. Luck is also an ingredient it seems. Share your secret if you do find success, cause I and others here still need to find it too :)
You'll get a lot of advice and support in these forums, so you've come to the right place. Have fun ;)
http://slideme.org/