In my last post I discussed “Anchors” which are the qualities of a game that make it familiar to audiences. It’s the complement to your game’s “hook” which is what makes your game unique. I have been thinking about how I could codify the Anchors for my upcoming games. Strangely, Continue Reading
Know your game’s anchor
Some of the most well trodden advice for indies is “define your hook.” A hook is what distinguishes your game from the rest. Superhot had “an FPS where time moves when you move.” This War of Mine had “not everyone is a soldier.” Untitled Goose Game had “you are a Continue Reading
How I did competitive analysis for my next game
My last game Return of the Zombie King was released just over 1 month ago. I am about to ship some new holiday content for it but I am already in pre-production for my next game. This means market research! BIG TIME. Let me walk you through what I am doing. Continue Reading
What is word-of-mouth?
I just completed another round of Steam User observations. I am writing up my notes now and there will be a new analysis article very soon. For this round I ran it during the Halloween Steam Sale. Store-wide sales add a whole new layer of urgency to get people to Continue Reading
The stairstep approach to indie game marketing
I was thinking about this tweet a lot last week You should really read his whole thread I write a lot about marketing. One worry I always have is that people will literally do everything I talk about. Which is impossible and not good for anyone. That fear is part Continue Reading
How to please your customers with Steam’s New Library Feature
(Title art by Qui-Gon Jinnah who makes custom Steam Art. You can see his Patron here) I been interested in what most Steam users have been saying about the new Steam Library Release which turns an otherwise dull list of games into a beautiful showcase of box art. The update Continue Reading
Methodology for a qualitative study of Steam
The following is the methodology I used to run my user test of Steam. Goal I am an independent game developer who is not employed by Valve. I do have 1 pixel art platformer game (soon to be a second) on the Steam store and have earned money by selling Continue Reading
If Paul McCartney needs to market himself, you do too.
I love the Beatles. I also love the way they marketed their stuff back in the day and it has greatly influenced me. For instance they had a fan club in which they would “give give give.” Listen to this special Christmas album that was only given to members of Continue Reading
The best slides I saw at GDC 2019
It’s numbing how many slides you see at GDC. Most blow over you like a late afternoon breeze. However there were some that made me sit upright and hoist my phone in the air like some sort of modern-day Statue of Liberty so that I could bring you this image. Continue Reading
GDC 2019: Platforms Are People Too: The Importance of Finding Your Champion
CZ Note: This is a great talk because it covers one of my favorite topics: small actions that can make a big distance on the outcome of your game. Read this carefully as a list of todos. This is how most platforms are organized from a personnel standpoint. For example Continue Reading