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Discoverability
Content Creators Meet Indies with Games to Launch
How do you find and engage the best content creators for your game in 2024?
It's long established that working with content creators is one of the most impactful ways to promote your indie game. But as an indie dev, you may not have the knowledge, time or resources to get to grips with the whole streaming scene and put your game in the right people’s hands.
How do you find the best people to approach for your particular game? How can you package what you’ve got to make it really streamable and exciting to them? What challenges are streamers facing that you might not know about? What kinds of campaigns are there that might work for a game like yours? And what can you do if you have absolutely no marketing budget?
Seasoned creators Hannah Rutherford aka Lomadia and Shaz Shanghari will join Hannah Flynn of Failbetter Games for a panel discussion touching on all of the current best practices for working with streamers and content creators.
Session Takeaway
- How to approach streamers to work on your launch
- Different types of campaign beyond 'please play my game'!
- Best practice for game features that make streamers' lives easy
Cracking Early Access – From Design to Development – Lessons From the Front Line
Do Early Access the right way. Is Early Access right for you? How finished should your game be? How will it impact your games development and future roadmap? How will anyone ever find you?
Russ Clarke CEO and Co-Founder of Payload Studios will answer these questions and many more in this session aimed at studios looking to launch a game into Early Access on Steam.
London-based Payload Studios is launching TerraTech Worlds into Early Access, coming off the back of a top-ten Steam Next Fest performance (#9 out of 1100 demos ranked by followers gained) and building on the legacy of TerraTech, an Early Access success which still sells strongly and maintains a keen community in its 10th year since launch.
Community driven development is in Payload Studios’ DNA and this approach has allowed the studio to sustainably grow to 50+ developers, attract investment and continue to grow its player base and revenue. Clarke will explain why Early Access is a mindset and a methodology which starts long before launch.
Topics:
- What is community driven development and is it right for you?
- Managing community feedback – how do you strike the right balance
- The risk and reward of a detailed public roadmap
- Managing hyper engaged players and what happens if something needs to change
- How to establish your credentials and build momentum as you approach EA
- Using Discord and closed playtests to engage your community
- Steam Next Fest, building wish lists & working with content creators
- What next – the development roadmap after Early Access
Session Takeaway
- How to decide if Early Access is right for your game and studio
- How to embed a true community driven development model
- How to prepare for Early Access to give your game the greatest chance of success
- What next – the development roadmap post Early Access
Dissecting the Marketing Magic Behind Balatro’s Successful Launch
Join Playstack for an insight-packed session delving into the pre-launch marketing strategy that propelled Balatro to commercial success and widely reviewed with critical acclaim.
As an experienced publisher, Playstack understands the importance of working in partnership with developers to execute an impactful launch that gives a game the greatest possible chance for success. In this talk, we’ll unravel the marketing strategies and tactics that led to Balatro becoming the fastest-selling title in our portfolio, doubling its Steam wishlist numbers in the month leading up to release.
By dissecting the anatomy of the successful launch of Balatro, attendees will gain practical insights and actionable strategies to enhance their own marketing efforts. Whether you're a seasoned publisher or an aspiring developer, join us as we unlock the secrets behind a triumphant game launch.
Session Takeaway
- Explore exactly how to utilise influencer marketing to grow your community before launching your game
- Learn critical strategies to increase your Steam wishlisting and conversions
- Discover how to analyse your marketing data and optimise your campaigns for success
- Hear the challenges and learnings from a real-life case study from the launch of Balatro, Playstack’s fastest-selling game to date
Game On: Navigating Crisis with Creative Video Game Marketing Strategies
In this talk, Patty Toledo will dive into the unique world of video game marketing during times of crisis. Discover how to craft compelling marketing campaigns that captivate gamers' hearts and minds, even when the going gets tough and budgets are limited. Patty Toledo will explore innovative approaches to storytelling, community engagement, and digital experiences that can help your game stand out in a saturated market. Learn how to leverage social media, influencer partnerships, and immersive events to build anticipation and loyalty, all while thinking outside the box and maintaining sensitivity to the challenges your audience faces. This presentation will provide game marketers with the insights and inspiration needed to adapt and thrive, turning crisis situations into opportunities for growth and connection.
Session Takeaway
- Adaptability is Key: Emphasis on the importance of being flexible and creative with marketing strategies, especially during crises.
- Community and Storytelling Drive Engagement: Highlight how building a strong community and using compelling storytelling can significantly enhance loyalty and interest in your game.
- Leverage Digital Innovations and Influencer Partnerships: Stress the effectiveness of digital experiences and influencer collaborations in extending the reach and impact of marketing campaigns.
Improved Storefront Visibility - Finding The Right Audience For Your Game
When it comes to storefront optimization everybody plays by their own rules, particularly with indie games. If you look at the store pages for three different indie publishers, you will often see drastic differences in their storefront decision making. How can you find the right path for your game with so many different options at your disposal?
Hooded Horse currently publish 11 of the top 200 most-wishlisted games on Steam. In this session we will dig into what made that possible and discuss how to use the platform tools and partnerships available to optimize the store experience for your games.
Session Takeaway
- Optimize store page design, providing an experience that will best appeal to your target audience.
- Learn to work with your partner managers to amplify your own marketing activities and drive store page visits.
- Improve cross-promotion between your titles to increase your incremental store page visits and wishlists.
TikTok for Discoverability: Content Do’s and Don’ts
TikTok has somehow gotten itself the reputation as the 'scary' app that we, as devs, would prefer not to deal with. However, TikTok is an ever growing social media behemoth that we can no longer skirt around in video game marketing and brand discoverability. Whether you're an indie dev trying to figure it out on your own or a marketer with a team beside you, this talk is designed to show you just how simple and approachable (and dare I say…fun?) TikTok can be. I've made an easy to follow list of the things you need to be doing when creating your content, and some things that you may want to avoid in order to get the most out of TikTok as a marketing and community tool.
Session Takeaway
- How to get the most out of TikTok as a marketing tool
- How to make the right kind of content for TikTok and what kind to avoid
- What tools you’ll need to create professional looking TikTok content
What Games Marketing Actually Works in 2024?
Led by experienced marketers from various marketing disciplines in games, this panel discussion is a chance for us to come together and discuss the state of play for discoverability and other marketing matters. We’ll be debating the challenges facing us in 2024, and how they can be overcome, to create an effective online presence for your games.
- Working with creators: when to pay for coverage
- Which social networks are still worth investing in?
- The challenge of multitasking as a marketer
- The job landscape for games marketers
- Creating an effective online presence for games
Whether you work in games marketing currently, or are just interested in it, you’ll be welcome as we reflect on the state of the industry, with regards to PR, social media, and more.
Host: Taya Beleanina, Etch Play
Session Takeaway
- A holistic sense of how the wider marketing industry is reacting to the latest industry trends
- How to create truly effective touchpoints online for greater discoverability
- Advice from peers about specific challenges facing games marketing departments and marketers in 2024
