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[Fenrir]

Any specific reason for contacting press/Youtubers on Friday/Saturday/Sunday? Isn't it best to wait for the start of the week?

[Franklin's Ghost]

Constantly impressed with how open you've been with your whole process and looking forward to seeing your future posts on the release.

Is there many fixes, polishes, tweaking needed after all the feedback you received from the demo?

[oldblood]

Any specific reason for contacting press/Youtubers on Friday/Saturday/Sunday? Isn't it best to wait for the start of the week?

This is mostly a timing issue on my part. I have several hundred emails I will need to send (I believe around 300 between sites and YouTubers) and I personalize each email to the recipient so it will take me... well, you do the math. Hours and hours and hours to send that many personalized emails. If I can send one personal email every 2 minutes that's about 10 hours without breaks or stopping... There are faster ways to email but I just prefer it to be personalized.

So TL;DR it's a personal timing thing for me.

I primarily want to get keys in hand at least 1 week prior to release (or close to it) so that if they do want to cover it or make a video, they will have time to put it together. Side note, I've personally found it makes almost no difference what day of the week I email on. I still dont get much coverage haha. My hope is that getting it on the weekend means its one of the first emails they see on Monday but who knows...

Constantly impressed with how open you've been with your whole process and looking forward to seeing your future posts on the release.

Is there many fixes, polishes, tweaking needed after all the feedback you received from the demo?

Thanks, I definitely try to remain as transparent as possible. Hopefully it helps someone.

Regarding the amount of fixes, I had a list of probably a hundred items over the course of the last week or two of feedback. Some were fairly serious bugs, lots were tweaks and changes and polish. An issue with art here, this part was too confusing, grammatical issues etc. So it was pretty diverse feedback and a good size list of items. Down to the last 5-6 items this week but they're bigger items or things that are hard to reproduce so I imagine they will take the next few days... Sometimes fixing one bug created another so the list kind of organically grew...

It's also challenging when reactions are mixed to you work in determining which feedback you have to take seriously and which you have to set aside to keep following your own vision... QA work is no fun...

[oldblood]

DEVLOG 80.

...Holy shit...

One week to launch. Don't know if that makes me relieved or scared. ...Mostly relieved. Been a dark game to work on, will be good to move on...

Making a few more updates/tweaks today and then I will start sending out "press copies" tonight. I wanted to write a devlog to vent about press releases... and to ask for your feedback. Of all the things I've ever written, I seem to have the least amount of luck with press releases. I've tried short press releases, long press releases, "official" press releases that follow traditional formatting, personalized emails that are very non-official formatting...

I get it. Getting press is hard regardless of the quality of your press release but what I find so challenging with press releases is that because the translation to articles is so small, it's very challenging to know whats working or not working in your press release. As such, I need some feedback on different ways to approach the emails that will be going out tonight and this weekend:

OPTION #1

[Insert Name Here],

There is a certain fascination that comes with our abhorrence of violence. We are disgusted by its appearance in society, yet, we can't shake its allure. This fascination seems almost innate to our very genetic code. Secret desires, buried resentment, deep-seeded anger... all tinted in dreams of violence. Dreams that we (of course) do not speak of to others. But one can only truly absolve their darkest impulse via their exploration. Through this examination of these desires, we begin to understand their place in our existence. You see, violent tendencies may be a festering itch... yet, we're all inclined to scratch. So come, scratch... Let us see what flows when the scabs are removed?

Watch the Masochisia Trailer




Based on a true story, Masochisia is the enigmatic tale of a young man coming to grips with the fact that he will one day become a violent psychopath. Troubled by macabre visions, abusive parents, vicious monsters and unrelenting voices in your head, we must wonder: Can you survive these revelations? Can you embrace your fate? Or will you fight it? But then again-- can anyone really change their fate?

The psychological horror game will launch globally on Steam on Friday, October 9th, 2015. It will be available for Windows, Mac and Linux for $7.99 (£5.59, 7,99€) with 10% Launch Discount for the first week. Developed by Jon Oldblood, a lone developer battling his own demons and struggles with violence, the game is designed to make the player feel uncomfortable with their progressively-darker choices as the player explores their more irrational impulses.

Review Key (Steam)
[Insert Key Here]

Developers Note: Masochisia is an experimental take on horror games as a narrative. Individuals struggling with depression, abuse or mental illness may be uncomfortable with some of the themes. If possible, please refrain from posting reviews or videos of game-play until the game is available on Friday, October 9th, 2015.

Thank you for your time,

Jon Oldblood
[email protected]
[REDACTED]
www.masochisia.com
https://twitter.com/jonoldblood
Press Kit: http://www.masochisia.com/press/sheet.php?p=masochisia

***

OPTION #2

FORT WORTH, TX - October 2nd, 2015 - "Did you run away again?" Yes, you know how father can be... "Yes child, we do know." He deserves what's coming...

Watch the Masochisia Trailer




Based on a true story, Masochisia is the enigmatic tale of a young man coming to grips with the fact that he will one day become a violent psychopath. Troubled by macabre visions, abusive parents, vicious monsters and unrelenting voices in your head, we must wonder: Can you survive these revelations? Can you embrace your fate? Or will you fight it? But then again-- can anyone really change their fate?

Launch Date (Global): October 9th, 2015
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
Price: $7.99, £5.59, 7,99€
Launch Discount: 10%
Press Kit: http://www.masochisia.com/press/sheet.php?p=masochisia
Steam Key (Review): [INSERT STEAM KEY]
Review Embargo: Please hold any reviews or videos until release on October 9th, 2015
Developers Note: Masochisia is an experimental take on horror games as a narrative. Individuals struggling with depression, abuse or mental illness may be uncomfortable with some of the themes.

---
Jon Oldblood
[email protected]
[REDACTED]
www.masochisia.com
https://twitter.com/jonoldblood

***

Don't like either? Have a better idea? I'm all ears.

Press releases don't seem to get talked about much on the devlogs so figured this would be a good time to start...

[Fenrir]

I must admit that I prefer option 2, but I'm a strong believer that emails should never be longer than 5 lines, so I'm totally for the one with shorter texts and facts.

[Zorg]

I prefer the fact list over long sentences, i also like that you are evoking interest and point at the trailer more directly in #2. All detailed information are in the press kit.

[{VeTeR}]

I prefer option #2. I have details what game is about, trailer and also release information. what I dont see (maybe it is not necessary) - what do you expect from person having this mail.

[Zorg]

One thing i noticed about your press kit: If you click 'press kit' on the masochisia press kit page, you are directed to the oldblood press kit page (index.php), which offers almost the same information. Additionally the press kit link is replaced with 'masochisia.com' which leads to the Steam page. It's okay that masochisia.com points at the Steam page, but i would expect an additional link to return to the masochisia press kit. It's a bit confusing.

I don't know if presskit() supports this, but the non-confusing solution (imho) would be a main navigation like this:


OR

Include the oldblood press kit information in the masochisia press kit, remove the 'press kit' link and use
--------
Jon Oldblood
masochisia.com
--------
instead.
 

[Osteel]

I like the narrative of option#1, but agree with the others that #2 is faster and more to the point which is probably the more important thing when sending these out.

Congrats on your near release. :D

[nnyei]

I much prefer #2 as well. Press people and youtubers usually get swamped with these kinds of emails so I think most of them would prefer a brief and concise introduction over a wall of text.

Totalbiscuit recently made a video about why he

and ignored others. The video is a bit long and a lot of it is probably not that pertinent to you at the moment, but he also talks about what he or his PR guy like to see in emails when people send him games to look at, which games made a good first impression etc.

He shows some concrete examples that might make for good reference, even if he isn't your target audience specifically.

[Franklin's Ghost]

Don't have any idea on how to approach press either, but I'd have to say I prefer option #2 also. Like the way the information is presented and think it works well in peaking the readers interest to check out the trailer.

[slarti88]

Have to say I'm learning a lot from this devlog, your posts and people's comments.

Shorter mails are better usually I think, though Option 1 is a very good  read if you have the time. One question though... what are you keeping as the subject? Is it wise to do something interesting with that? or keep it as simple as possible?

P.S - I couldn't get to Beta testing the game on time , really sorry about that. Hoping to release my game end of this month so I'm finding very little time to do anything else.

[oldblood]

So much awesome feedback, you guys are all great. Consensus was definitely for the shorter style and you all provided some great points. Thanks everyone.

I ended up going with the concise version but I made some changes:
     ● Make it even more concise & swapped a few things around.
     ● Embed a small but clean image (doesnt need to be opened and doesnt take up much space)

As you can see, for the subject, I just used the game name (genre) & specified that I included a review code. Hopefully the name will catch their eye, they instantly see if its a genre of interest and they know there's a review code in the email. My hope is that this will lead to a higher open rate.

The good news is now you will all get to see if this format helped get coverage or not. I feel like the press release is pretty clean and catchy but-- I also realize its a game for a more niche' audience so I'm not holding out expecting a lot of coverage.

Now, I'm off to start sending out keys to YouTubers...

[Greipur]

Looking good!

Regarding contacting people during weekends I find it to be very fruitful if you target let's players that are hobbyists (which to my limited understanding would generally be people that have less than 20K subs, or doesn't have a healthy Patreon). I've gotten a lot of replies just by sending out things on weekends, even with websites. Though, if one tries to have some free days of the week when you try to forget work that could of course be very detrimental. If you target bigger names that lives on making this I think they might have a more strict work ethic since it's not a hobby anymore. But yeah, they will get a lot of email anyway so it might not matter.

[oldblood]

Thanks Greipur. Those are great points on the size of the YouTuber impacting if/when they read it.

DEVLOG 81.

Warning: This will be a long read about my thoughts on press, sales, launch and some general observations.

So we're down to the final 72 hours leading up to release. I'm in the odd position of wanting to tweak and squeeze in last minute features and updates, but at the same time- not wanting to break anything... It's an odd sensation to be down to the final few days. The last 10 months of writing in this devlog have been a great mental escape for me.

Just want to take a quick moment before its all over to say thank you to everyone who has frequented the devlog, left me encouragement, feedback, ideas and suggestions. All of the people who've tested (and re-tested) the game through multiple iterations... I'm sure a lot of the experience was lost in the midst of all my bugs but I can't thank you enough for your support. This devlog definitely kept me motivated and active and I hope that its transparency will in some way help other indies on the forum with identifying traits that either positively or negatively impacted the game and it's development.

So-- thank you for reading...

***

It's hard to gauge if the results of emailing over the weekend were advantageous or put me in a disadvantage as I can't really compare it against any other data. In total, I sent just a little under 300 press releases last weekend. Around 120 to various press websites & blogs and around 160-170 to YouTubers of varying sizes (Big Fish, Large, Medium & Small). I tried only contacting relevant YouTubers with the exception of the bigger fish simply because its worth sending to them regardless on the off-chance they do cover the game...

Not including todays activations, I've had 31 new Steam activations since sending out the keys so about 10% of the keys sent out so far have been redeemed. I dont really have a target "installation rate" so I'm not sure if that is good or bad at this point. I do hope that the number will grow over these last few days. But I don't really know what my target is? I feel like a 100 people installing would be good but I really don't know what the realistic conversion is here. A few points on this:
   
     ● I don't have a way of identifying press copy vs. lets play copy
     ● Redeeming the key doesn't mean they will play/cover the game
     ● For all I know the 31 smallest YouTubers and blogs I contacted are the only ones activating

I did include around 10 YouTubers who played Masochisia in the early alpha stages who said they will definitely play the final game. Their channels have grown into some nice mid-sized accounts since the alpha and so I know a few decent size channels (75k - 200k subscribers) will play the game so thats at least something. This reiterates the importance of being able to share work with press & youtubers who are already familiar with you or your work...

I did put an embargo on reviews and videos to be held till the 9th. These are not ideal, but I the idea is that what little coverage I do get would be released when the game is to maximize whatever press has been mustered.

***

Now the fun part... The final days before release are interesting because they give you both: 1. The fear that your work is about to fail both critically and financially and 2. There is a chance your work becomes a wild success and your fortunes are changed forever. It's sort of the best and worst parts of game development. You know you likely wont strike it rich, but there is that intoxicating small chance it will. But at the same time, you're buried in fears that your work is about to fail in the most public way imaginable...

I get asked a lot about what my expectations are for sales. The honest truth is that I really have no clear idea what to expect. Because of the content and experimental style of the game, it would seem that there are only really two ways that it could go. Very good or very bad. I don't imagine there will be a lot of middle-ground.

In total, I spent around $9k developing the game. This went towards paying some bills, licensing fees, music, sound effects, buying software, procuring fonts, upgrading computer parts etc. So for all intents and purposes, the game was made on a shoe-string budget. I pay my bills outside of games so I don't really have to factor too much into my cost of living.

So obviously, my "worst case" is that the game doesn't even make back the amount I spent making the game. Regardless of your budget and goals, making back what you spent is always good. Failing to make it back can lead to a nasty downward spiral. Because of the lower budget, break-even is selling somewhere around 1,100 - 1,400 copies of the game. This is probably a realistic scenario. Breaking even means the game needs to sell around 250-300 copies the first week and around 500-600 the first month.

I think some people may see these super low estimates and think these are ridiculously low. But its hard to appreciate how many games are on Steam and how little front page coverage you get. A successful launch is very reliant on press coverage and YouTube coverage to sustain the views outside of the first 24-48 hours of release. With no proper backing (PR Firm or Publisher), I will be dealing with getting more minimal coverage (if any) which means you're forced to rely almost entirely on Steams organic views.

There is the chance the game could get post-release coverage from YouTubers picking up the game, but given the content of the game- not sure that this is to be expected. Particularly from the very large YouTubers who need to entertain a much broader audience vs. smaller niche' channels. Of course it will be very embarrassing if even these modest estimates are missed.

I do think I would like to eventually work on something more geared towards a broader audience. More traditional gameplay and less experimentation. There are advantages to the experimental game development in terms of the creative freedom you have to bend expectations and gameplay elements but-- in the end, they're very hard to sell.

Agree with the numbers? Disagree? I'm curious what others think...

Next devlog will be a follow-up to the Steam storefront organic data now that we're into the final days...

[Zizka]

I'm keeping a close eye to your steam page.

This thread contains a wealth of information for indie developpers for sure.

Once you're done with this one, you'll be starting a new game anyway, won't you?

Looking forward to the reception big time.

[Sharif]

The transparency on this has been great.

I don't think the numbers are reaching that badly but more promotion is probably a good thing.  With Halloween this month showcasing it a bit isn't a bad idea as it is pretty good timing.

I often feel the same way as far as experimentation as it is tougher to educate consumers on exactly what the game is without giving away too much.  I have the same issue with my game being an exploration game as I don't want to show off all the cool features but its required because people don't know me and I have to earn trust one consumer at a time.

Anyway keep up the great work and will keep an eye out for the game.

[returnONE]

It's really cool to see this kind of information. Thanks a lot for sharing oldblood.

After reading what you've got I'd suggest an image or two on the email, but seems like you already got that.
Other thing that I've noticed, coming from somebody that was not close to your devlog, is that I have no idea what your game is gameplay wise from reading the emails content. You've just talked about the game story.

[oldblood]

Once you're done with this one, you'll be starting a new game anyway, won't you?

Thanks Zizka. Yes, at some point I will definitely move onto another game. I just don't fully know what yet (few rough ideas but nothing clear) and I don't know when I will start. Regardless of how good or bad Masochisia does, I will be taking some time.

I don't think the numbers are reaching that badly but more promotion is probably a good thing.  With Halloween this month showcasing it a bit isn't a bad idea as it is pretty good timing.

Yes, launching a horror game in October has some benefits as "Scary" games are getting a bit more coverage for the holiday but it's also an ideal time for horror games to be released so you're also dealing with a lot more scary games coming out so increased "competition".

I agree on the whole "more promotion is a good thing", but easier said than done. My current situation with marketing is not ideal, it's never a great idea to attempt to start promoting the game in the final month of its development. Ideally, its been ongoing since work began but that's also easier said than done...

It's really cool to see this kind of information. Thanks a lot for sharing oldblood.

After reading what you've got I'd suggest an image or two on the email, but seems like you already got that.
Other thing that I've noticed, coming from somebody that was not close to your devlog, is that I have no idea what your game is gameplay wise from reading the emails content. You've just talked about the game story.

Thanks for reading. Glad to hear its helpful, I've debated not sharing some of the details but really- I have the information- why not?

[Sunburned Games]

I can imagine that! Our slowly approaching Kickstarter increases my anxiety levels daily. But I limit my panic attacks to 4-5 am in the morning, can't scare the folks at the studio. 

The press list is my nemesis and I have spent days looking at Youtubers. There is still a lot more work waiting for me until I have reached the 300 email addresses or so you sent your press release to. I envy you, Jon!

Your launch date is a good choice, you should get some of the Halloween traffic. Personally I think your game is one of a kind and should to do well in its segment.

Good Luck!
Joachim