Game Marketing in 2015 - The Game has Changed

Whilst scrolling through the holy pages of Gamasutra, I stumbled across a post by François Beaussier who has, like thousands before him, taken statistics from the app stores for face value, scaring himself into a world of self-doubt. He seemed to believe that although he had an unconditional love for his developing game, it was sailing straight to failure, as it would never be able to survive the battling waves of games that swim through the app stores each and every day. Francois appeared to have admitted defeat, proclaiming "Do not start writing indie games in 2015, it's too late!"

Although I love to see a passionate developer, it is very disheartening to witness that passion be doomed by a lack of faith. It is true to say that producing an indie game that will top the app store charts is rare, however, it is even truer to say that if you produce a game with no publishing preparation or marketing strategy, your game will surely fail.

Rather than leaving your nurtured creation to fly the nest completely alone, give your developing game a fighting chance! Start a social media campaign, make yourself known in the gaming community and produce a game development blog to create a fan base that will buzz with excitement for your game. Succeeding in the gaming industry is all about probability, ask lady luck to give you a helping hand by stacking the deck and bending the odds in your favour.

Francois made a very valid point by stating that reading all those tragic statistics will help him "focus on what matters: providing a fun and quality experience to players." Of course you should strive to make your game excite and ignite your players, but if you forget to forge your way through the app store and into the eye line of your target users, your amazing game will be left on the shelves, un-played.

Indie game developers around the world will all agree that it is getting harder to shine the limelight onto your game. Purse strings are becoming tighter and there are far too many players in the game to give everyone a fair chance. In order to get valuable backing along with a much needed cash injection, marketing your brand and your work is a necessity. Although we all love to dream, you shouldn't think of this process as a way to fame and fortune, strive to make connections in order to move your career one step further to success (and getting your bills paid on time). Making new friends with developers and the like, will connect you with an ever growing audience, and  maybe somewhere along the line, someone will throw you a bone, perhaps giving you a freelance opportunity or even offering to publish your game.

If I could give all of you just one piece of advice, keep hold of your passion of game developing, don't let statistics and figures fill your head with doubt. Give yourself a head start, put your all into making your game and develop an online presence to show internet surfers around the world exactly what you're made of.