HOW TO MAKE BETTER RPGMAKER TRAILERS!!!

This is just a longer version of the post I originally made for Momeka's Grimp's a Christmas Puzzle awhile back - This isn't a tutorial, it's just a list of helpful tips on how to create better trailers for rpgmaker games:

I've actually thought about creating a tutorial on how to make trailers for rpgmaker games for awhile, but it takes too long to submit stuff to RMN. So I'm just gonna post a very simple cheat sheet, mostly for my own reference, on how to do this stuff, in case I forget. But hopefully, some of you guys might find this useful too.

Rpgmaker games are very difficult to create trailers for. Not only are rpgmaker games shown from an overhead perspective, but it's very hard to make them look interesting, while you're wrestling with rpgmaker to get the best footage possible for your trailer. Having said that however, it's actually very simple to create a good trailer for an rpgmaker game once you know what to look for. Ultimately, the purpose of a good rpgmaker trailer - what you should be doing - is to create an emotional response that will resonate with your audience, that'll make them want to check out your game. The following tips and examples are just one of the many ways to do this, and might help make the process easier:


Important:

-trailer length should be 1 minute maximum.
-clip length should be 10 seconds maximum.

Do not do the following:

*Do not use text to sell your game:

-if you have to use text, use dialogue from the game and only if you know how to.
-let your game speak for itself.

*Do not use walking/running shots to sell your game:

- Do not use this shot. Every rpgmaker trailer uses this shot - it tells us nothing about your game.
- If you have to use this shot, only use it, if you know how to use it.

These restrictions should be kept in place, in order keep audience retention, but also force you as an editor, to create better trailers.
(Note:You do not need a fancy video editing program to do all this. You can use Windows Media Maker - all that really matters here is the editing.)

Instructions

1)Start by finding a song in the game that's 1 minute in length.
- It needs to be a song that will allow you to easily tell people what your game is about in the shortest amount of time. It doesn't have to be a good song, it just needs to be a song that allows you the most creative freedom for your video editing.
- if you can't find the song, edit the song, so it fits into one minute.

1.5(Optional) Create a StoryBoard. Once you have a song, create a storyboard. This storyboard doesn't have to be especially detailed, but it will help you plot out, how certain scenes will go along with the music -- By doing this, you will have some idea of what you want your trailer to look like, so that when you do go to find footage in your rpgmaker game, you'll know exactly what to record for the trailer. Also, once you have your footage and start to piece your rpgmaker trailer together, you'll have your initial idea to compare it to -- i.e. if the footage you have, is too short or too long, you can go back and shoot more footage. Having a storyboard isn't necessary, but it does makes things easier.

2)The first few clips should tell you what the game is about/how many players/what you essentially do in this game: i.e. push blocks, fight monsters, gather crystals etc.

3)The second few clips should present some sort of challenge or conflict/ who the bad guys are/ what the player is hoping to achieve by the end of the game/What makes your game different from everything else.

4)During the middle or near the end, show any highlights from your game, any really cool battle animations or features, stuff that just looks really great on camera: Make sure these clips show off the variety of your levels, creatures and challenges from your game, because you only have a few seconds.

5)The last shot should be the most exciting moment in your game, leaving your trailer on a cliffhanger before showing the titlescreen.

...Now you're probably thinking: "This is impossible, how do I fit this all in 1 minute!?" you won't have to - the trick is finding the right scene from your game so the footage will tell your audience for you. Following these steps might sound difficult at first, but it's actually quite easy once you see it in practice and know how to do it. You're mostly just following the music you've edited, in order to create a trailer for your game. Here's a couple of modern examples to study from - Watch these examples closely:

Example 1 (Good example of demonstrating game mechanics, told through storytelling)

Game: CastleVania:Aria of Sorrow (GBA) RunTime: 1:11


Notes: No Story, uses gameplay mechanics to create a narrative through editing:
-@0:09 - 0:17: uses 3,3 sec clips to show, you explore the castle, to acquire abilities, in order to reach areas that you couldn't before.
-@0:19 - 0:24: reuses the same 3,3 sec clips to show that acquiring abilities allows you to explore the castle even further.
-@0:25 - 0:49 visual foreshadowing, before launching into montage, showing a variety of monsters and areas you'll encounter throughout the game.
there is no dead air, every clip shows the player and monster in action - remember this when finding/creating clips for your game.
-@0:50 - 0:51 3x1 sec clips of moving grandiose shots before showing the title screen.

Example 2 (Good example of what the game is about, and who you play as)

Game: Super Castlevania IV (SNES) RunTime: 0:48


Notes: Story cutscene is too long - splice story cutscene and various clips with music to create trailer narrative.
-0:01-0:12: Shows Title Screen, Shows Cutscene (Grave Stone), Shows TitleScreen, Shows Cutscene (Grave Stone Smashed), Shows TitleScreen
-0:12-0:16: Shot of main character approaching castle, with whip sfx edited in (this is who you play as in Castlevania!)
-0:17 - 0:28: Various moving shots of levels, monsters, bosses and game mechanics you'll encounter throughout the game.
Again, there is no dead air, every clip shows the player and monster in action.
-0:28 - 0:29: Music is edited to fit within the 1 minute limited
-0:29 - 0:38: More various moving shots of levels, monsters, bosses and game mechanics you'll encounter throughout the game.
The last 3 clips being the most grandiose, and 1 revealing a secret, before showing the final titlescreen.

Example 3 (Good example of finding moving shots and showing the player in various states)

Game: Mega Man X2 (SNES) RunTime: 0:46


Notes:No Story, narrative created through various moving clips, along to music.
-0:05 - 0:14: - various shots of bosses, levels and secret upgrades you'll encounter throughout the game,(this is what you do in megaman X2!)
-0:18 - 0:23: long shot of X, demonstrating his normal abilities (this is who you play as in Mega Man X2!)
-0:24 - 0:33: various shots continue, showing X in various states of armour and acquiring new abilities.
0:33 - 0:37 The last 3 clips, 1 sec each, are the most grandiose, showing off a secret move, a Boss fight and ending with an explosion before showing the title screen.

Example 4 (Good example of a trailer told through multiple playable characters)

Game: Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (NES) RunTime: 0:57


Notes:No Story, but game has 4 playable characters - narrative created through showing each playable character. Set to music.
-0:04 - 0:11: 2 sec clips of each character in action before being introduced to main character.
-0:12 - 0:18: 3 sec clips of main characters abilities in different levels, before switching to new character
-0:19 - 0:26: 2 sec clear footage of new character's wall climbing ability, before switching to another new character
-0:27 - 0:32: 2 sec clips of characters projectile abilities set against new areas and bosses before switching to another new character.
pay attention to how these clips are framed: because you have so little time, the action shown, needs to be clear and distinct
-0:33 - 0:38: 2 sec clips of characters projectile and flight abilities - last shot is a grandiose moving shot with an animated background.
-0:39 - 0:45: final 1 sec clip of each character, including main character before showing title screen again.

...Now, these examples are mostly trailers for action games and not every trailer needs to follow this format. This format is really only meant to serve as an outline - the MegaMan X2 trailer doesn't have story cutscenes and neither does the trailer for Super Castlevania IV - But often the footage will tell it's own story, which is what you're essentially trying to do with this format. If you're a good enough editor, you'll know how to apply these methods when creating trailers for rpgmaker games, even if most of those shots are overhead views or ATB sidebattles. Following this format saves a lot of time - you do not want to spend 3 months toiling away, on just one trailer. You just want to create something very quickly, that will show off what you're game is essentially about in 1 minute or less to get players excited about it and check it out - that's the purpose of this trailer.

So, in summarization, here's A Breath of Fire 2 Trailer:



Here's A BETTER Breath of Fire 2 (fan) Trailer (following the above format):

EDIT: If you liked this article and thought it was useful, please say something in the comments. I like putting this stuff together for you guys and would like to do more of it. But, because RMN doesn't have a like/reccomend system in place, there's no way to tell if you guys like this stuff or not.

Eitherway, Thanks for checking this out.♥