Why It Is Important for Video Game Developers to Clearly Define Their Games

When developing a video game, it is quite likely that you will have a target audience in mind for your game. You'll start to think about who your game is really for, and how you are going to present your game to your target audience. However, sometimes it is easy for video game developers to fall into the trap of thinking that their game is a game for everybody.

Whilst it is of course true that a lot of games can be enjoyed by people of all demographics, there will still always be one or two specific groups that will bring you the best results when marketing your game, and a huge part of the process of defining your target audience actually starts with defining your game. In this article, we will be discussing how important it is for video game developers to define their games clearly, and the impact that this can have on your video game marketing campaign.

When it comes to defining a video game there are a few very important things to consider, however, one of the most important things to consider is that not everyone is a video game developer. What we mean by this is that whilst you, as a game developer, might know exactly what you mean when you are defining your game, not everyone will, and you must look at things from the standpoint of 'if I was reading this for the first time would it make sense?'. That is why when it comes to defining the genre of your game when thinking about how you would describe your game in a couple of sentences, it is important to keep it relatively simple.

When thinking about your game genre it is important to consider how this will impact the perception of your game, and how this might change your target audience. The clarity in the definition of your game is not only key for potential players but also in other areas of your video game marketing campaign too. It is important for the purposes of press releases to be able to consolidate the definition of your game into a few short sentences, or even better, a one-sentence description.

This will be the leasing headline of any announcement press releases you send out. Often, when viewing a press release for a new game, publications will make their decision on whether to cover an item based on the first few sentences they read. If the definition of your game is confusing or jumbled, then the likelihood is they will not want to cover your title. However, if you have a clear, strong definition of your game that makes sense and hits all the right notes they will.

The same goes when you are looking at video game influencer marketing. Not only will defining your game clearly and correctly dictate the type of influencer that you might reach out and want to work with, but also a clear definition of your game will assist in presenting your game to them.

Whilst innovation is key to the progression of the video game industry, clarity and conciseness are key factors to marketing your video game. For example, if you have developed a game that you believe stands in a brand-new genre that you have created, this can be a very exciting thing, however, this can act as a hindrance when it comes to marketing your game, if not done correctly. It is important to find that balance between innovation and clarity when defining your game.

Talking about your game in terms of well-known genres (or if you are coming up with a new genre, comparing your game to existing genres) can be a very good way to raise levels of familiarity with your game amongst potential players. Players are more likely to engage with a game that is of a similar genre to a game they already play than they are to seek out a brand-new genre. For this reason, it can be paramount to your marketing campaign to define your game in a way that is not just easy to understand but also encapsulates your game in the best way.

All of this is not to say that creating a new genre or coming up with innovative ideas within your game is a bad thing, because of course these are both incredibly important things for the progression of the video game industry, and without this sort of innovation we'd all still be playing games like Pong! Innovation will always be the thing that helps the video game industry to strive forward, but without defining this in ways that will be palatable for potential players, innovative and revolutionary gaming ideas may never get to see the heights that they deserve.

To put things simply, being able to define your game concisely can only be a beneficial thing for your game marketing campaign. Finding a way to summarise new and exciting ideas in a way that makes total sense for potential players, press publications, influencers etc. will be highly important to the success of your video game marketing campaign, and will be the driving force behind leading your game to the perfect target audience. It is important to find the balance between presenting something entirely new and alien and presenting something that people have seen before. If you can find the right spot that brings familiar elements of video games and brand-new ideas, you can give your game the best chance at success in the video game market.

Want to hear how The Game Marketer can help you with your video game marketing campaign? Drop us a message below to see how we can help!