Developing a great game is only part of the challenge for game developers in the age of digital distribution. Gamers can’t buy your wonderful game if they don’t know it exists, so getting the word out about your latest and greatest creation has become a vital part of the game development/self-publishing process – and it’s quite a challenge. Big publishers with their multi-million dollar marketing budgets can pay for huge advertising campaigns and arrange expensive press junkets, whisking a hoard of journalists off to a swish venue to demo the game…. followed by a good deal of entertaining.

It’s hard to get noticed

Gamers will know that these big budget games are on the horizon and journalists will write about them because they know there is a ready audience of readers waiting for information. The same can’t be said for the debut title from “Minuscule Studios” as they beaver away on their first ever game. For independent developers with a much smaller/non-existent marketing budget it’s a different story. Blogs, Facebook pages, Twitter Feeds and press releases are all essential tools to build awareness. Of course building awareness in this way takes time -  If people don’t know about you/your game, then they are unlikely to know about your Facebook page either.  It takes time, plus a steady trickle of information, to raise awareness. The hope is that customers will learn about your game and, become interested, and in-turn, tell others about it. Another hoped for outcome is that the gaming press become aware of your game and start to write about it.

Press releases, screen shots and videos sent out to journalists are a great way to let them know you exist. An even better way – and one of the hardest to pull off – is to embark on a press tour and get some real face time with the gaming press. Actually getting to sit down with the press and show them your game can go a long way to boosting your chances of success.

As the latest step in our marketing campaign for Space Ark, our Technical Director Simon Morris has been out and about meeting up with UK journalists, while I have undertaken a US press tour. Simon hit the road first and met with Gamespot UK, FemaleGamers.co.uk, Thunderbolt Games, Brutal Gamer, Electronic Theatre and Girl Gamers UK to show off the latest build of the game.

FemaleGamers.co.uk
“Space Ark is so full of fun, from its bright colours, catchy music, cute characters and wonderfully transformed planets to the sheer addictive pleasure of trying to get as many combos as you can, collect fruit and avoid dying, all whilst bouncing away.”

It’s not easy to get next to even one journalist, let alone a gaggle of them. It takes time, effort and luck. Obviously, as with any business, money can substitute for some of this (you can pay a PR agency to help you). However you manage it though the benefits can be enormous; not only as a result of the increased exposure your game will get. Previews and Reviews are the mainstay of the gaming press but building a good relationship with the press can lead to interviews, developer diaries and assorted other features that will all help to raise awareness of your game.

Brutal Gamer
“Space Ark is a lot of fun. It’s childish and silly but it’s brilliant and incredibly addictive. Completionists and people who like to compete will be in their element here”

It’s not just about gaining exposure

A press visit is not just about giving out information – its a two way process. Getting hands-on the game with the game developer helps the journalist get a better insight into the game. Any questions can be answered and almost as importantly they can see the passion that the developer has for the game. It is also a great way to get independent feedback on your game. Journalists are gamers too and as such they are an excellent source of feedback. Importantly they aren’t invested in the game in the same way that the developer is, which means that their comments and feedback will likely throw up any quirks or problems that the developer may have got used to during the development process. These problems will be thrown into sharp relief when the journalist point them out.  Hopefully you will also get to see them reacting positively to all the great parts of your game as well.

For the second leg of our press tour I flew out to San Francisco to meet with members of the US gaming press including OXM, IGN, Gamespot, Team Xbox, CVG, Gamepro and Giant Bomb, G4, Game Trailers, EGM & Gaming Evolution.

Gamepro
“I must’ve been playing Space Ark for at least the amount of time that Marchant had spent telling me how to play it, but I didn’t even notice. The game is that fun. I was actually kind of bummed out when he wanted to switch to multiplayer because I wasn’t ready to share, in a way.“

As a result of the visits we gained some great insights into Space Ark; a game that we have all become very close to internally. As a result we were able to make final changes to the game before submitting a final version to Microsoft for certification.  It was also really gratifying to have people confirm the  addictive nature of the combo and bonus fruit collecting, the desire for players to beat their previous scores (and those of their friends) and the insanely frantic multi-player mode.

CVG
“Do you remember when games were jolly? When the key to success wasn’t how angry you could make your protagonist, or how many shades of brown you could coat the walls with? 20 years ago all you needed was a bright blue sky, happy animal hero and a crap-ton of fruit to collect – Space Ark resurrects this spirit.”

All in all a very rewarding and enjoyable experience. Now we just need to get the game finished and released.

Paul did an interview with Gaming Bits a few weeks back. You can read all about it here.

This week’s GTKYD features Paul Smith, from Strawdog Studios. They’re an indie game developer from the UK who create some unique and addictive games for the Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 3, iPhone and PC. Space Ark is a new Xbox LIVE Arcade game you can look forward to soon from Strawdog Studios. Read on below to learn more about Paul’s role in Strawdog Studios and get a sneak peek at what games are the works and coming soon!

Often times it takes a bad game to show a journalist’s true literary skills. Great games tend to write their own reviews, they command you to write about the same excellent features that everyone else is writing about. Bad games on the other hand allow journalists the freedom to exercise their creativity. It takes real skill to slice hundreds of wafer thin strips of flesh from the still living (and writhing) body of a game without killing it. The deserved victim should suffer until the very end of the review if the reader is to understand the full depth of its awfulness. As a prime example I give you Quintin Smith’s review of WET http://videosgames.wordpress.com/2009/09/25/wet-review/

“All told, Wet is a man who vomits on you on the bus and doesn’t even say sorry.”

Obviously as a developer I feel for the guys who worked to make the game. I know only too well how many factors outside of the developers control can result in a game failing to meet its design goals. Having said that, gamers do need to know and if you are going to put yourself/your game out there you need to take the resulting knocks.

I don’t think I have enjoyed a review quite as much since the 1992 release of Domark’s AV8B Harrier Assault for Amiga (developed by Simis). After all these years most of it is long forgotten but the line in the review which bemoaned the slow frame rate is forever burned into my mind…

“If i chopped my legs off and nailed the stumps to the floor, I could still run round the block faster than this game.”

A new selection of screen shots have been added to the Space Ark page and can also be downloaded from the new Space Ark media page. The media page also includes previously released assets such as videos, company information and copies of previous press releases.

After a rather prolonged journey through Apple’s approval process the updates for our iPhone title Turbo Duck have now been released.

The updates include the launch of a free Lite version, and an update to the main app (with a special offer price of 99 cents.)

Full App updated to version 1.1
The game, which has users race against the clock to guide a rubber duck around a pool, avoiding hazard and collecting flags, has been updated to version 1.1 which includes:
* Global high scores – post your scores to see how you compare against everyone else
* Freeplay mode – play with the water, double tap the screen to feed your duck
* Improved Duck controls and bug fixes.
* Special offer price of 99 cents

App store link: Turbo Duck full app

Free Lite version launched
The free version contains:
* 3 levels of watery fun plus
* Freeplay mode – play with the water, double tap the screen to feed your duck
* Turbo Duck now even more turbo charged!
* Even more special price – Free

App store link: Free Lite version of Turbo Duck

The guys over at Console Arcade just posted an interview we did with them last week. In it we talk about our fondness for bright colours and the fact that Digital Distribution may let developers escape the problems of retail publishing but it also presents you with a whole new set of challenges.

You can check out the whole piece over at http://www.console-arcade.com/features/strawdog-studios-interview/

As detailed in a story on GI.biz (here) the UK government have finally decided that video games sold in the UK will now be rated exclusively by the pan European ratings body PEGI. This finally eliminates the long running dual ratings system in which PEGI (http://www.pegi.info/en/index/) rated games that did not require a UK 18 rating and the BBFC (http://www.bbfc.co.uk/) would rate games that required an 18 rating.

The past
The BBFC was designated as a body able to classify movies (and games) under the Video Recordings Act 1984. However it was not a legal requirement to get a game classified unless it meets the criteria necessary for it to be classified 18 or 18R.

For those games that didn’t meet the requirements for an 18 rating there was a voluntary ratings system in place. It was down to the developer/publisher to ensure they submitted to the right system and if you distributed a film/game without an 18 classification, which was later found to require an 18 rating, you could face a hefty fine and/or imprisonment.

As of now
Following the Byron report and some hard lobbying by various trade bodies the UK government have decided that the BBFC will no longer be involved in rating games. The PEGI system will be adopted for all games, thus eliminating the annoying duel system. This new process will be managed in the UK by The Video Standards Council (VSC/PEGI Article)

As a small independent developer looking to self-publish some of our titles we welcome our new PEGI overlords. Anything that simplifies the age rating process is a good thing for us.

A busy week at Strawdog central. Everyone is busting a gut to get to the next milestone on Space Ark as well as finalising an update for our iPhone title Turbo Duck (iTunes link).

We are going to be launching a free Lite version of the game so that people can try it out, as well as adding some updates to the main app. More details on what is coming and when as soon as it is nailed down.

As well as our recently announced Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/StrawdogStudios) you can now also keep up to date with the dogs via our new Facebook page. Check out http://www.facebook.com/pages/Strawdog-Studios-Ltd/79843542837

We will also be posting a Space Ark development blog in the next couple of weeks as well as Space Ark videos on our Youtube channel (http://www.youtube.com/strawdogstudios).

The unofficial finally becomes official with the announcement that our newest original game Space Ark will be coming to Xbox Live Arcade in Q3 2009.

Space Ark, which was formerly known under the working title of Bounce, is a fun homage to the bright and bouncy arcade games of the late 80s such as Rainbow Island and Arkanoid, with an added mix of Pinball.

A wandering black hole has passed through the galaxy destroying planets and leaving others damaged and desolate in its wake. The Arkonauts – a team of space traveling animals – have been dispatched in their Space Ark on a mission to terraform the damaged worlds, and bring life back to the shattered worlds. You must aid the Arkonauts in their quest by bouncing them into the air to collect DNA (which helps to heal the planets) whilst also collecting bonuses and power-ups.

The game features 180 levels, split across 5 worlds, of ‘Arkonaut’ bouncing entertainment with 24 selectable Arkonauts, five mini games, bonus levels and a host of powerups.

For more info and screen shots check out our games pages – Space Ark game page

Space Ark – Let’s bounce!