Hey all, What are some effective ways to generate hype about your game and / or get people to your website, prior to having any REAL content. What I mean is, how can you get people to know your game exists and make them WANT to download it, before it technically even "exists". With big companies, its rather easy. Release a screenshot or two here, put a little plug there, etc. etc. So what can us small time developers do to generate hype?

In the general case I actually think hypeing your game before it is near compleation is a bad idea.

To draw a parallel, were you kind of dissapointed when you found out the segway was a glorified razor scooter? Especially after all the buzz was about some new mode of transportation that would revolutionize the way people travel? Often publicity that is not 100% true can turn out to be negative publicity when the product finally does come to market.

And how can you put forth 100% accurate information about a game you haven''t really even begun to build? so many things will change over the course of development. You have to ask yourself if this will end up as negative press when you finally do release your game.

Developing a community that follows your game is not an easy task for one. Managing it over the lifetime of the development of the game is even more difficult. Especially since you have an obligation to support and cater to that community and if they dont feel loved and respected by you they will turn on you very quickly. (read just about any mmorpg message board)

To answer your question however, if you are really sure you want to hype "vaporware" (because no matter how sure you are of yourself, until it exsists, it is just that) then I would reccomend not giving any implementation details. Post some concept art and hint at the story and maby some of the most basic technical aspects of the game. Tile engine/3d/web based.. etc.

Keep a plan file and update it regularly, if people are interested in the development of yor game they will keep comming back and checking it out. Maintaining a message board will only be an added distraction from actually making your game, and you may fall into the trap of updaing it more then you do your game.

The game is two weeks from release, we''re hammering out final bugs now and then we''re going to torture test it after that.

So theres nothing thats really going to change about the game itself, but we do however want to get a small community to instantly start playing the game, a couple of hours after release.

What sort of mediums are effective for this kind of thing? Just advertising the site itself and hope people stick around, or are there more methods?

quote: Original post by Ironside
In the general case I actually think hypeing your game before it is near compleation is a bad idea.

On that note, take a look at my sig, then try to figure out what it is.

Ron Frazier
Kronos Software
www.kronos-software.com
Miko & Molly - Coming July 2002

quote: Original post by GroZZleR
What sort of mediums are effective for this kind of thing? Just advertising the site itself and hope people stick around, or are there more methods?

Tough to say. If you are trying to get people to line up, it might be a bit difficult to do this late. I''m not sure what kind of lead time the game review sites have. It would also depend on what type of game it is (and if you are thinking about hyping it now, why not spill the details to us in an exclusive GameDev.net scoop ). What I would probably do (if possible) is to pick a few games that are similar to yours that have been successful. Do some online searches to find what sites have reviewed/previewed those games. Then send out press releases to them.


Ron Frazier
Kronos Software
www.kronos-software.com
Miko & Molly - Coming July 2002

I imagine word-of-mouth is the best bet. One tactic would be a small open beta test (assuming the game is solid). Try and get testers that are regular posters to online sites or USENET groups and they will naturally help spread the word.

There''s a strat game called Dominions that used something similar. The game was released (a stable v 1.0) and the developers continued to work on it, with discussion in the comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategy (strategic?) news group. The rapid responses and public involvement generated good buzz for the designers. The threads and praise also encouraged folks to try the demo. The newsgroup was already focused on the core audience (strategy gamers who liked to converse online).

Last time I checked they were at version 1.19 and had started developing a sequel.


Or figure out where your target audience goes on the web, and send a copy to the folks who run that site. Penny-Arcade, for instance, shills all sorts of computer game stuff. I don''t know if they charge for the service.

HTH,
JSwing

Take example from a few recently-released or historically-popular titles:

NeverWinter Nights: Might be one of the most anticipated games of all-time. Why? I''m not really sure, except that almost every gamer I knew, was ready to frickin'' donate blood for the game a month prior to its release. Upon its actual release, most of them bought a copy (as opposed to pirating it, which is a common practise in my ''circles'' for a mediocre game). I didn''t see many ads (though they did exist, I don''t generally monitor game-sites for pre-release propoganda). Yet Bioware seemed content with releasing hundreds of screenshots, permitting interviews with the developers, and giving details on the game engine''s complexity/dynamic editor etc. Didn''t help that the game was 3 years in the making.

Tomb Raider: Take an original 3D action puzzle game, add a female polygonal model voluptuous enough to get teenage hormones excited with virtual thoughts of ... whatever, sprinkle in Indiana Jones-reminiscent titles, and you have a potential winner for at least a few releases (as proven by the track record of Eidos'' series). Though at the end of all the releases (I think there were 4 originals, but they had the "gold" re-releases too, someone correct me on this), people (and reviews) apparently got sick of how Eidos milked the Croft franchise. But they did get a decent movie out of it!

Daikatana: Judging by its pre-release hype and previews, this is the all-time greatest game ever made. But upon its release.... claims of "John Romero Wants To Make You His Bitch" etc (yes, this was an ad that got some attention) literally flopped because the game played so poorly, or was ugly, or whatever sordid reason reviewers could come up with. The "success" of this game seemed to be that it was going to be a Quake-killer (Romero seems to often be compared to Carmack in different reviews); the "failure" of this game is that it took too long, and was too poor of quality to be considered anything but a "download the demo, stay away from the gamestore" game.

So there you have it. Anticipation, sex, and literal over-hype. The first and last reasons require more money and time than is usually dedicated to a game''s budget, and the second reason takes shamelessness.

For indie developers, I would say "truth" is probably your strongest weapon in the fierce battle of online advertisement and game hype. If your game is released and is viewed by its players as a Holy Grail of gaming goodness, then you have found some mystical development strategy that works (i.e. quality). However, and allow me to emphasize:

If your game, in the eyes of your users (who are ultimately the most important reviewers you will ever encounter), "sucks", then no amount of hype, advertisements, or marketing mumbo-jumbo will save your sorry ass when the critic wolves come knocking at your door for an explanation of why your trash-title was deemed greater than it actually is.

That being said, good luck with your marketing strategy...