Tue 21 Aug 2007
building buzz
Posted by alex under publishing
I’m trying to figure out how to build buzz for my game and Justin D. Jacobson designer of Passages asked in this thread why people aren’t buying his game. This is what i came up with based on the thread.
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actual plays
theme = thematic purpose, how does it address its theme?
tag line (elevator pitch)
how is the game unique? What does it do?
situation generators?
use my blog!!!
keep price in the low $20’s, don’t go over $30.
Some of those are obvous, while others I struggle with. Like the tag line, or situation generators.
So any of you have any ideas of how to address these issues? can you come up with others I should consider?
[edit] There’s also this to consider.
August 21st, 2007 at 7:18 pm
I’m increasingly wondering if the name of the game needs to fundamentally be the roles that the players take up. Consider the games that you’d call successful: about 90% of them, I’d wager, have titles that describe the protagonists.
August 21st, 2007 at 7:33 pm
You know, I’ve been thinking that the name may not be the best thing either… Though I still think its a great name.
My concern came from this thread…
http://www.story-games.com/forums/comments.php?DiscussionID=3982&page=2
… where a few people commented that the name “Passages” was passive. Is unWritten passive?
August 21st, 2007 at 8:16 pm
I think one thing to add is what I’d call networking or better yet, face time. If not face to face, some ‘net equivalent of it. This is just a minor anecdote, but having chatting with Christian a few times on #indierpgs, I feel about 3x as likely to purchase Beast Hunters.
Also, designers that make character sheets and demo chapters available are more likely to get my buck.
You could also help build brand name and community rep by getting involved in one of the contests to come along (game chef, etc).
August 21st, 2007 at 8:24 pm
I think it’s a good name, and I think it’s a provocative name, which is good, and which is what Passages lacks. It also describes what the players do — “the story is unwritten because you must write it.”
August 22nd, 2007 at 3:14 pm
I don’t feel like unWritten has the same problem that “Passages” has. Like Josh said, the game’s name implies that the story is waiting to be written by the players.
The other problem is that in this game, there is no setting, implied or otherwise. Most other games that have names that relate to what the protagonists do are tied to the settings of those games. Without a setting, it’s pretty tough to come up with a title that explains what the characters do in play in a way that would interest potential buyers.