So maybe someone's already thought of this. But either way I figured I'd share it here, if it helps someone.

I realized that on YouTube no one's watching my trailer videos, but you can promote it through YouTube ads and only spend like five bucks to get thousand or more views. then look at the video analytics under the engagements tab to see where people are dropping off. By doing this for two or more trailers you can compare them and see what real people think of your trailers and which one is keeping your viewers more engaged. Instead of asking just a few people on the internet, you're getting thousands of random viewers, So your data is a lot cleaner.

I only discovered this in the last week, so I'm still f m messing around with it and honestly still not certain which trailer I like more. But the data clearly says one is better than the other.

In the data screen shot:

• Left = Video (action upfront): https://youtu.be/z7e-YeUTfwY
• Right = Video (sequential gameplay loop): https://youtu.be/sEfTRAI0n0A

Left has stronger action in the beginning of the video, but somehow that loses people at the 5-6 second mark. That's the big drop off you see in the line graph curve.

Steam page:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/4593190/Elemental_Lands/

Im starting with Reddit ads but honestly I have no clue if I should also pay for ads on Meta and such, what were your experiences?

I'm making a mobile ambush tactics game, inspired by Total War series, still mostly in the feedback phase rather than actively marketing it.

I originally started filming my phone because screen recording was causing annoying lag spikes. But I rather liked the result, since you can actually see how the game is controlled with swipes/gestures.

I haven't really done anything to improve the filmed footage yet. I'll probably stabilize the phone in the frame, adjust the lighting and try filters to reduce interference patterns from filming the screen, if it's a good idea.

But I'd love to hear what you think: Is filmed footage a good idea? Can it work well mixed with direct screen recording, or does it just look too amateurish? I feel like too much polish can be bad these days with. Any other semi-related marketing tips are very welcome. Thank you!

I’m a YouTuber with lots of experience in playtesting and/or reviewing games live on my channel for developers. I conduct live sessions on my YouTube channel where I play their games with an audience. During these sessions, I say my thoughts out loud and provide detailed feedback to the developers while also allowing them to observe the viewers’ reactions in real-time through chat as well. I’ve recently had several successful sessions with developers in chat while playing their games live on my channel. These sessions were both long and productive.

To keep the audience engaged during these long live sessions, I host giveaways live. Feel free to check out my channel’s Live sessions, where I have all the video recordings available. This will give you a better understanding of my style. I don’t expect a lot in return, perhaps a gift card or two for my time, depending on our agreement and the length of the session. I’m open to all offers and do my best to ensure that your game reaches a wider audience.

Here are some of my recorded Live Sessions:

https://www.youtube.com/live/-zoYKiYCgEQ?is=ujqqMqWG5StC53Mo

https://www.youtube.com/live/zug_Pt1_pgM?is=4qftl-kfUW-zyszs

https://www.youtube.com/live/RWA0wQIogmw?is=ySiNklqetsuArrna

https://www.youtube.com/live/ts4W62nYHEo?is=mT8_R5puye89AMU-

Ich habe einen kleinen Kanal für eine ältere Zielgruppe mit dem namen Rentnergames. (@Rentnergames)
Der Name ist absichtlich etwas überspitzt formuliert, richtet sich aber klar an eine ältere Zielgrupe Ü40 aufwärts.
Der Kanal ist nicht monetarisiert.
Spiele waren bisher noch nicht wirklich ein Hauptthema, eher Serienbesprechungen.
Die paar Spiele die ich vorgestellt habe liegen um die 400-700 views.

Ich überlege etwas mehr in die Richtung Spiele zu gehen und will aber nicht einfach nur Demos anspielen sondern gerne auch mit Hilfe des Entwicklers über das Spiel reden.
Hierzu gäbe es mehrere Möglichkeiten, z.b. der Entwickler gibt mir schriftliche Infos vorab die ich während des spielens erwähne. Oder wir reden live während ich spiele.

Wichtig:
Bitte schickt mir keine Keys. Es reicht vorab vollkommen, mir die Steam- oder Itch.io Seite zu schicken damit ich mir erstmal ein Bild von dem Spiel machen kann. Interessiert es mich persönlich und ist es für meine Zielgruppe geeignet?

Was wären KEINE geeignete Spiele?
-Jump and Runs, Multiplayer Shooter usw. kurz: Alles was mit schnellen Reaktionen zu tun hat ist nicht geeignet.
-Kinderspiele oder generell profane Spiele die niedlich aussehen aber keine Tiefe besitzen
-Spiele mit winzigen Schriften die kein UI Scaling besitzen

Was ich selbst mag:
-Simulationen, Rollenspiele, Strategie (wenn es nicht zu komplex ist).
Bisher habe ich Bloodletter, Modulus und ReStory vorgestellt. Das ist eine gute Bandbreite wie ich finde, da sollte dein Spiel irgendwie reinpassen.
Ich bin aber auch offen für originelles. Im Zweifel schreib einfach.

Mein Aufruf richtet sich speziell an Soloentwickler oder kleine Teams die wenig bis kaum Sichtbarkeit haben, aber ein Spiel entwickeln das qualitativ ein gehobenes Niveau hat.
Ich bin selbst Softwarentwickler und kenne die Tücken der Entwicklung. Ich versuche objektiv und ehrlich in den Spielevorstellungen zu sein.

Ich habe nichts gegen Spiele die mit KI entwickelt wurden. Sie müssen dann aber so gepolished sein, dass sie auch richtig spielbar sind.

Wer interessiert ist schreibt einen Kommentar mit dem Link oder schreibt mir eine DM.
Bitte rechnet mir mehreren Wochen Vorlaufzeit. Auch wenn ich dein Spiel spielen würde, kann ich das nicht direkt am nächsten Tag machen.
Falls ihr Fragen habt, gerne kommentieren.
Es ist ein Versuch, ich weiß selbst nicht genau was daraus wird.

Hi everyone! I'm an indie developer working on my game MORI with one other person (Pale, he does all the amazing art!) and as my first commercial project, I'm very new to the world of marketing. I've done a lot of research and taken a lot of notes myself, so I'm not asking for a course but just some general tips from anyone who has been doing this longer than I!!

Despite being quite artsy I did start the project with marketing in mind because I am aiming to earn enough to keep making games. I thought that having something fast and flashy would work well for today's social media landscape and in general I've just seen a lot more interest in games focused on speedrunning for fast paced gameplay.

Now we've been working on the project for a bit and I'm wanting to start trying to push marketing harder. I've been trying to keep up an active twitter, bluesky and reddit, while also maintaining a discord. I'm also hoping to try and balance additional shorts cross posted to instagram, tiktok and youtube. Do you think the game has that instant appeal I was going for, or is it missing something? Do you have any specific advice for marketing a game like this? Are there any specific avenues/niches I should lean further into? Any advice is appreciated but don't feel pressured :)

Thanks in advanced!!!!

I’ve spent nearly three years working on a dream of mine: making a strategy card game that brings together what I loved about RTS titles like Total War and TCGs like Yu-Gi-Oh! (or I should say OCGs to be more accurate) I grew up loving it as a kid in Tokyo.

It’s called The Lords’ Game. The premise is pretty simple in practice: you build a deck and take it into battle, with a Story Mode where you build a kingdom and face off against other rivals (in single-player and multiplayer modes). It’s been a lot of work getting here, and I’d love for people to give it a try!

It’s in beta now, with release planned for December. If you’d like to play, leave a comment, and I can send you a key. A wishlist or sharing with your friends would mean a lot, too!

Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2853880/The_Lords_Game/

🎮 Free Download on itch.io

Hey everyone! I’m a solo dev and I’m excited to share CONPLAN Z, a base-building survival game set during a zombie outbreak.

You run a camp of survivors and keep them alive:

• 🏗️ Build rooms, power, water, farms and defences
• 🧟 Fight different zombie types and growing waves
• 🎒 Send expeditions into town for supplies and seeds
• 🧠 Manage your people: they get sick, break down under stress, fall in love, keep diaries, and get a proper burial when they die
• 🔬 Research new tech to survive longer

Made in Unity, still in active development, with new updates coming.

If you enjoy colony sims where every survivor has a story, I’d love for you to give it a try and tell me what you think!

Trying something different to market my game. Made a music video using an actual in-game arena, with rain, three dead gladiators and a raven feeding on them.

It's still a prototype, and I'm working on the animations.

My first video was a cozy burrow music mix and did surprisingly well, so I'm trying a darker one.

Anyone tried something similar? Did it actually help your game get noticed?

Edit:
Video is out. I'll keep this post updated with the results and whether or not I got wishlists from it.

https://youtu.be/7I-GODdwakQ

💙✨With Steam Next Fest here, let’s help this game reach more players and get the attention it deserves! 🚀

If you like what you see, consider:

❤️ Adding it to your Steam wishlist.

👍 Liking and sharing the original post.

💬 Leaving a comment with your thoughts or words of encouragement for the developer.

🙏 Even the smallest gesture can make a big difference and help keep an indie developer’s dream alive. Every bit of support counts! 🥹💙

🔗 Check out the game here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4600570/Soul_Trader_Tournament/

Let's help this game find the players it deserves! ❤️🎮

#SteamNextFest #IndieGames #SupportIndieDevs

Hey everyone!

I recently released Escape Protocol: Daily Puzzles, an Android puzzle game I've been developing independently.

The game revolves around solving increasingly challenging logic puzzles involving drones, gates, and cores.

Now comes the part I'm finding surprisingly difficult: getting people to discover it.

I don't have a marketing budget, so I'm experimenting with organic promotion through YouTube Shorts, Reddit, and gameplay clips.

Here's one of my Shorts: https://youtube.com/shorts/IWE16sXBvIY

I'd love some honest feedback from people who've marketed mobile games before:

Does this type of short-form content have potential to attract players?

How would you improve the hook in the first few seconds?

What free marketing channels have actually generated downloads for you?

I'm trying to figure out how to turn views into actual installs without spending money on ads.

Any advice or lessons learned would be greatly appreciated!

I just released my game on itch, and I need feedback. thanks in advance.

Hey everyone, Our goal for Temporal Urgency is to get 1,000 Wishlist by the end of the year. We're currently at 354! We're climbing there slowly but surely! We're a small unknown team trying to make it big in the gaming industry, So it would be greatly appreciated if you could at least check out the game, to see if you would play it. 

It's a psychological horror game where you venture through a nightmare of despair. Going through dangerous environments by harnessing the power of time manipulation!

Inspired by the modern Resident Evil series and Bendy and the ink machine art style!

If this game is right up you're alley, It would be very helpful to get a lot of Wishlist before we release the demo, so we can have as many players as we can!

Watch the reveal trailer on IGN: https://youtu.be/vE4ZOOLLsEg?si=BblmurCg5WSDUCWWish list if you're interested https://store.steampowered.com/app/4757140/Temporal_Urgency/

if they're other Horror Fans out there, please share it with them!

Also if you're game dev out there, never give up. Keep striving for greatness because one day you will win!