Essay: Tips for Marketing Your Project

A list of ideas to introduce your project to your audience. This should be useable on forums as well as on the official website if you have one. This page is a draft, feel free to add ideas and fix what needs to be fixed.

= Presentation Ideas =

Game Synopsis by the Characters
Write in character and have them try and describe the plot, the setting, themselves and each other. It could be a lot of fun to both write and read, and if there's dialogue going on, we can already get a hint of how they interact with each other. It's a good way to reveal a lot by not only just dumping it all, but being less explicit about it too. Show, don't tell, after all! If I remember right, Samu-kun did this with his Raidaa no Asahi threads and even included mini-portraits next to the lines so you can see their expressions as well. It was a very very nice touch, and better than anything, it showed how much he cared about his project, and what he was willing to put into it. And that he could have fun with it too.

Examples
 * http://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewtopic.php?p=41055#p41055 (Raidaa no Asashi WIP)
 * http://monele.eviscerate.net/magbou/ (Magical Boutique website, mixed with a regular presentation)

Side Story Skit
Something like a brief side story to help introduce your characters or settings would be fine too. It doesn't even have to relate directly back to the plot in question, but hints of the main story would certainly not hurt in gathering up interest. This is a good way to show not only how your characters react with each other like the suggestion above, but how they would do that in their own environment with the same pressures and conflicts they'd face in the story itself. And again, no harm throwing in a few pictures if you're that far along in the process. Also ideal for those who wanna display their writing prowess but are afraid of spoiling their audience before the game is even finished.

Promo Video / Animation
If you have the means to do this, it can be a pretty neat way to catch someone's eye. Not for everyone, but when done right, very effective. A lot of people like visuals, a lot of people like movies, and a lot of people just simply like motion as opposed to the rigid stasis of run-of-the-mill boring text everyone else is using. I remember complaining about what a waste of time and effort this was to Enerccio while we worked on Araiah... but after he finished making one, I had to admit, it was a pretty neat touch. And if you upload it to a video portal like YouTube, you might even be lucky enough to attract fans from outside the LSF community.

Demos with Placeholder Assets
For as many people there are who intentionally hold back their details, there are those who think they can't share anything... not without the art, or the music, or the customization of the interfaces... but if you are a writer primarily and need to showcase your talents, this is an option to consider. Many people can forgive using borrowed materials if what is original is worth experiencing, and this way is a lot more attractive then just dumping walls of text or whole chapters into your thread. Why not let your writing do the recruiting for you? That artist you need just might play your demo and fall in love with your story... but couldn't if the demo never existed. And feel free to update the demo with the new assets once you get them, so you can show people what the real experience will be like.

Game Box Blurb
Think of what the box of your game would be like.

Try to picture the DVD case of your game if it existed, and most importantly, the back of it (especially if you're looking for artists, you're not about to pull off a front jacket) : what's the short one or two paragraphs long blurb at the back? If there is one, what's the bullet point list of the features of your game? (that's where you'd put the number of expected endings, the approximate length you're aiming for, the number of dateable characters if appropriate to your type of game, etc... and that's where you'd put all the unique features of your game. You don't have any? Well... it might be a problem)

Of course, if you *do* have some graphics at the ready, it would be a blast to actually add some screenshots with associated subtitles, again showing off some of what your game is all about and why it's not just any other game attempt (though screenshots are usually better to show off graphics than the soul of a project).

But barring that, try to go with some "in-character blurb" or at least a motivated "offscreen voice" blurb.

= Things to Keep in Mind =


 * Don't make it too long or make sure the most important parts are found in the first few paragraphs. Alternatively, put important things in bold so people can so people can quickly see the main hooks of your project.
 * Put forward what's unique about your project as soon as possible. You are not the only one out there and most people are not always willing to go through dozens of identical presentations.
 * Don't retain too much information. If you want people to get interested about your project, you'll want to feed them things to be interested about. This is even more important for Work In Progress and recruitment threads. No one is in your head : what you won't tell us, we won't know about.
 * Do what you *can* do. If you suck at video editing, don't make a bad video. Remember what you put forth will be the first impression people get from your project. You want it to reflect the best of your abilities, not the worst.
 * All recommendations and examples aside, try not to copy them verbatim. Put your own twist on things!

What the Presentation is for
Each presentation has a purpose. What's yours?


 * Recruiting help
 * Generating hype
 * Get feedback on ideas and implementation
 * Show people they want to download your game
 * (Insert your custom goal here...)

The state of the project and your needs will determine which it is, and it could even be a combination of these. If the game is done and you just want people to play it, use your assets (screenshots, trailer, ...) If the game is in-progress and you want to recruit people, make sure they know what they are getting into. People willing to work on a project (especially for free) and stick to it are rare : it's your job to give them incentive to work on your project and not another one.

The original article was written by Monele.