STOIC'S PROFILE

Designer, producer, cool dude
Master of the Wind
An episodic superhero role-playing game

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Interview: Artbane talks Games As Art, Commercial Pressure, and Labyrinthine Dreams

Well maybe we can do a follow-up interview now that the game is out. Although we should probably wait at least a week.

Overcoming Creative Blocks In Game Making

Thanks for the comment. I'm one of those people that usually work in spurts too. I'll be in a real creative mood and just pump out content and then I'll hit a dry period where I'm not really working on the project at all. This is especially true for longer projects. I find more success with shorter projects like my last one since usually I can keep the creative flow going for at least a few weeks.

RMVXAce Workarounds

Thanks a lot Ness! I've had that no. 1 problem before in the past. Great to know there is a workaround.

Marketing Your RPG Maker Game

As an addendum, I've been having some success on reddit. Most of my traffic comes from the links I've been posting in subreddits that focus on indie/free games. I haven't seen too many other RM games up there so it might be something worth trying. Just make sure you follow proper "reddiquette" and try not to spam too many places. You should try to contribute as well and vote/leave comments on other links to up your reddit karma.

Marketing Your RPG Maker Game

Thanks for all the great comments so far. I'm glad people are adding to the discussion.

@Seeric Your comment about the importance of the game title is amazing. Since it is usually the first thing people will see - especially if it is a reviewer browsing emails and just reading the subject line - you do want to make sure it draws people in. You have some great examples of how to use alliteration and assonance properly. Setting up expectations with keywords is important to, but remember that sometimes that can work against you. With one of our more recent titles, X-Noir, we set up expectations for people that are fans of classic film noirs even though our game is more of a neo-noir. There were a lot of people telling us how our game didn't meet their expectations for a noir which became frustrating.

author=Hasvers
could you (ArtBane) tell us more about your expercience with contacting indie sites and promoting your games there (and more generally outside of the RM world) ?


Sure I can go into that a little more. I've been contacting indie sites off of a big list I found on that link in my post. Every time I contact an indie site I keep track of their press info (email, name, twitter, etc.) so I remember who I contacted already and to also have them on record if I want to contact them again in the future.

So far I haven't had too much success. Of the 30 sites I've emailed I'd say about 3 got back to me and 2 did articles on the game. Based off my analytics, I haven't gotten much traffic from those sites either. But it's definitely worth the time. Once you get your game featured on a big site like Kotaku or RPS then usually other sites will pick it up too and your traffic will explode. So far I've had more luck with smaller blogs that are usually run by 1 or a few people.

@Xanedis Those things you mentioned are definitely important - especially for getting your game noticed on RMN. With the article I kind of assumed you already had a good looking game and wanted to focus more on general marketing outside of just this community.

Once again thanks for the awesome comments guys/gals!

Marketing Your RPG Maker Game

Thanks! First impressions definitely are important. I think most viewers will be drawn to video which is why on the Labyrinthine Dreams page I have the trailer featured right at the top of the page. Obviously interesting screenshots are important too. A description of the game that viewers can easily scan is also important. If I see a game page with a huge chunk of text I'm probably not going to read it. Try breaking it off into sections with 3-4 paragraphs tops. I wouldn't underestimate the lack of attention of most viewers (myself included).

And like you said it's also important not to make a game page too early. At least with RMN you require 3 screenshots before the game page can even be approved.
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