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[PompiPompi]

I guess I don't really know what I am doing. My game Labyrinthica: The quest of Lima(www.pompipompi.net), got 84% at a bytten review: http://www.bytten.com/gamereview.php?id=378
The few people who played the demo and gave feedback, said they enjoyed it(most of them).
I don't seem to be able to get too much coverage, and even if I get coverage and suddenly 300 people visit my website in one day, they don't seem to be that interested in my game.
So I would like to hear from you, am I doing something wrong? Is my game not interesting enough?
I am not sure.

[Alex May]

I followed the link to your web site and then immediately departed because I couldn't see any screenshots!

That reminds me, I must fix the screenshots on the Eufloria site...

Post back detailing what you've tried in marketing/advertising your game.

• Have you uploaded any youtube footage of it?
• Have you contacted other review sites offering copies of your game for review?
• Have you set up a blog, and facebook and twitter accounts to publicise your game?
• Are you actively participating in other social aspects relating to indie games (e.g. this forum)?
• Have you followed any indie marketing guides? 1 2 3 4 search

[Charcoal]

Damn you Alex May!

* Charcoal shakes fist

How much of this have you done?

As for conversion rates to people buying your game, if you're expecting every 10 or so people to buy it, then you're going to be sorely mistaken.
Your site and game both look good and there's a bit of info, so I'm guessing that isn't the problem.

I would be putting my money on you not sending the word out to as much media as you can.
Something I'm sure many of us have failed to do at times.

[Hajo]

I saw someone advertising it just yesterday in another place. So you have some followers who spread the word, that is good already

[bateleur]

Well, here's one data point for you: this is the first I've heard of this game.

Also, it's possible your site undersells your game a bit. Looking at the site (and having watched the demo video) I see something which I might possibly download if I was very bored, but it doesn't look like something I'd pay for.

The reasons why are all superficial, though: it doesn't look or sound particularly good and the gameplay doesn't look interesting on the video clip. If that's true then maybe it's the reason it isn't selling. But if the gameplay's actually good then what you need to do is find better ways to communicate that to potential buyers.

A few site redesign tips:

* Get rid of the in-your-face flashing "buy" stuff. Focus on the demo and let the demo itself tell you how to buy the full version. Right now you just give the impression of wanting my money no matter what.

* Move the large, bland font that's filling the middle of the page and replace it with a large screenshot which shows something interesting happening.

* Make a video that doesn't start with yawn-worthy animated intro and instead shows gameplay, gameplay, gameplay. Pick interesting-looking bits that show off the game's best aspects (or at least the subset that can be captured visually). The first two fights your current video shows both lack impact. In the first one, some guy with a ball and chain seems to be beating up the player whilst they make no effort to play well. Then there's that screen with all the green things bimbling around randomly. Perhaps both these sections lead to great gameplay, but it doesn't look like it the way the video conveys it.

* Your list of bullet points are a good idea, but the content isn't well chosen. It reads like "I liked Diablo, so I made a small version". Try to capture the reasons why someone might care about your game. If there are only one or two then don't use bullet points.

* Take some of the figures from your animated intro and make a page layout that uses some of these figures around the background and so on. (Look up "cascading style sheets" if you don't know how to do this.) The art you have is pretty good, so use it!

Sorry if this sounds negative - I haven't played your actual game, though, so it's not a criticism of that at all! Good luck generating some more interest!

[jrjellybeans]

The bottom link of your "DOWNLOAD DEMO" doesn't work.  It's just an image.

In addition, that's a RIDICULOUSLY large file to download for such a simple seeming game.

Like everyone said, you probably haven't done enough marketing. 

I'd also agree that the site is a little much.  There's just too much going on.

I would also suggest NOT making your website compatible with 1024 width.  Go with 800 so that everyone can see it without scrolling horizontally.  Check out this page for more info:

browsersize.googlelabs.com/

[brog]

In addition, that's a RIDICULOUSLY large file to download for such a simple seeming game.

This is probably very significant.  It doesn't look like the kind of game I'd be interested in, but even if it were, you've got to do a lot more to convince me to download >100mb.  It really makes me wonder what's pushing up the filesize - the screenshots and video don't seem to show anything that needs to be this big.  I'm much more likely to download a 10mb demo and try it out.

[PompiPompi]

Thank you for the replies, and thank you for the links guys.
I guess the website doesn't show what the game is about unless you scroll down and start looking more carefully. Maybe redesigning it could help.
One of the problems is that the screenshots don't look too impressive, because it seems like it's just a 2D game while the characters are actually 3D and look good in motion.
Or, the screenshots just don't look that impressive period.
Basically I understand I need to work on the website more.
Regarding the file size, well, it contains the directX installation. It's a bit of pain to try to convince people they need to install directX on their own. Though there is the option of linking to the web installer. Not sure which is better.
I think without the DirectX file it the installer would be about 90Mbs instead of 175Mb. Not sure though.
To be honest, I didn't think 175 MB is a lot nowadays. I don't have such a good connection but easily download demos of above 1GB, even if it's not the most highly anticipated game.
I need to check how much each things takes, but the demo contains lossless compressed images, lossless compressed wave files and 3D models. That probably adds up to the file size.

Regarding the PR, I read part of the articles, I will read them all. But I am working on it.
Thank you for the help guys.

Edit: Also, what I understand from you is that most people will look only a few seconds at my website before they decide to investigate more or to close the window and look for something else? Or is it exagerration?

[kometbomb]

I think without the DirectX file it the installer would be about 90Mbs instead of 175Mb. Not sure though.

I have a 10 Mbps connection but I still think about file sizes like I did back when I had a 28 Kbps modem. The less the better. There's also the factor that many people think: bloat = laziness = crap game. I think you can forget realism when it comes to selling and just keep in mind people generally are very lazy and quite stupid (and love to hear they're not stupid).

[Triplefox]

I think the overall presentation of the site is acceptable now, but here are some thoughts for iteration:

-Usage of graphic design. The first thing I noticed was that on my monitor, there's almost nothing describing the game "above the fold" (the first page before scrolling) because of the amount of space taken by two enormous banners and the download and buy links(very prominent, good job). I don't think it's your highest priority at this point, but keep researching website user experience techniques.

-Description of gameplay. It reads like an designer's internal pitch document, describing specific features and assets to implement. But the player isn't likely to care a great deal about descriptions of "20 levels total" or "a game with a special melee combat system" unless you have a really impressive gimmick to sell. The copy fits better when it sells the surface aspects of the experience and the most core features - "A heroic quest," "an action-packed adventure," "a single-player action game," etc. Use a few of those lines and make them big and prominent. You can use video and screenshots to convey the general thrust of the gameplay, and either remove all the stats or bury them at the bottom or in a sub-link for those people who are holding off as long as possible to play the demo or buy the game.

Your bottom download link doesn't work.

I only just now noticed that it's on sale, and I've been looking at the page for something like 10 minutes at this point. Ouch!

My honest admission is that the game itself isn't impressing me on looks, but I've taken enough time looking at the page that I started downloading it anyway. The main thing turning me off is the lack of detail or variation in the environments - they're all extremely repetitive tiles. Larger tiles, more organic-looking structures, and some variations on the ground texture would do wonders.

The installer downloaded with the HTML MIME type, which led to it having the extension ".exe.html", and I had to rename it to get it to run.

I couldn't run the game (unsurprisingly, given that this is Intel video) because "graphics card does not have a sufficient pixel shader version". Very unfortunate since cheapo integrated graphics are still a massive part of the overall computer market. But it brings up another good point: system requirements should be on the web site in as much detail as possible. Separating the DirectX download is another possibility I would support since most of the people that can run the game have probably already installed DX for another game or with their video card drivers.

Looking at the .rsc file in a hexeditor, it seems to contain a lot of uncompressed data. At this point I'm speculating, but if you can do it, shipping your textures in a lossy format and then uncompressing them again during the install is a good way to dramatically cut filesize without affecting runtime performance. Likewise, you can ship sounds and music that were compressed with Vorbis/MP3/AAC/etc. and then decompress them again at install time. In most cases, you won't have to make any significant quality tradeoff.

I hope that was helpful feedback.

[PompiPompi]

I believe the problems with downloading are due to the fact I am using a joomla plugin that handles the downloads.
I know someone else tried to download the file with firefox and he had the same problem with the .html, but he didn't have this problem with IE.
I will try a direct link into my webhost instead of using the plugin.
Edit: Although, this way I won't know how many people download this file? But I guess I can use google analytics for this?

[Oddball]

Your trailer goes for over a minute before showing any gameplay, and I only know this because I skipped ahead after 30 seconds of nothing. The trailer in it's entirety should only be one minute long maximum. Get into the action quickly or viewers will be pressing the back button before seeing anything of the gameplay. You can intersperse the extraneous info into the action if you must, but always keep that stuff short and to the point. Remember, the viewer is watching the video, because they either don't want to read all that info. or they've read the info. and now want to see how the game plays.

[Imagineergames]

I did see your game either in a forum post or on youtube, I can't quite Remember. I did comment something about it.

I am with the previous poster on the trailer. Make it so it is desirable! Something faster. Something that tells you the features. Cut to one and other scene, show a lot of content, in very little time.

I am guilty of this myself, The trailer for Shades of Violet is the game opening. and it's LOOOONG. I really should cut a good one.

Your website could be more commercial too! This is going to sound weird... But have you tried commissioning a professional artist to do you a website splash image/title image/poster for the game? something more in line with casual portals? Might help to sell it. I know this sounds like "Catch them with a pretty image that has nothing to do with the game" so take my advice with  some salt. But then again, Many game covers (specially for old and casual games) do this.

[Hajo]

I think without the DirectX file it the installer would be about 90Mbs instead of 175Mb. Not sure though.
To be honest, I didn't think 175 MB is a lot nowadays. I don't have such a good connection but easily download demos of above 1GB, even if it's not the most highly anticipated game.

I might be a bit old school there, but 90mb (or even 175mb) will raise doubts if I really want this game. Very often such is just bloatware - I admit I may have bad prejudice there. I have seen very good indy games in less than 10mb. I always wonder what people pack in there if their download is ten times of this size, while the feature list doesn't tell something special.

I can download such large files - but I need good incentive to do so.

[Smithy]

Edit: Also, what I understand from you is that most people will look only a few seconds at my website before they decide to investigate more or to close the window and look for something else? Or is it exagerration?

That's probably the best way to look at things when promoting anything online. (anything.) Not an exaggeration.

[PompiPompi]

I tried to change the front page's design a bit.
I got rid of that big game banner, and changed the game's description. I don't know if the game description is less informative and sound more stupid now.
Regarding download size, are you sure you are saying this stuff from a gamer's perspective or from a developer's perspective?
I don't know, personally I don't mind what is the game's size, both as a gamer and a developer. This is something I don't judge games by. But I can understand this kind of criticism. I tend to look differently at 3D games' graphics as a developer than I used to as a gamer.

[Aik]

I won't consider downloading anything that size. I have a strict cap due to living in an assbackwards country when it comes to internet (that's Australia, in case you were wondering) - 170mb is a significant amount. I don't think there's any good reason to package it with DirectX - anyone who plays games has it already and this game as far as I can tell isn't aimed at non-gamers.

90mb is still too much for me to download, mind you. 10mb and I can justify downloading on a whim, 90 is in 'I know this is superawesome and I must have it' territory, which is not what the front page of your website gives me.

I'm not very clear on what the game is about either, mind you. I didn't watch the video (and you shouldn't expect that people will) - is there a story or is it pure hack and slash, because I get mixed messages. Whichever one it is ... why is that awesome? The description of the combat doesn't really tell me that, although I think it's trying to. It's not a very exciting pitch, and I'm not sure what the games with similar control schemes you're referring to are.

[Christian Knudsen]

The text describing the game seems kinda messy and uninformative to me. Let's break it down:

It was just another ordinary day for Lima. Though unexpectedly, the routine chore of picking apples, will send Lima into a dangerous journey.

This doesn't really tell me much about the game for one main reason: it's very vague. A "dangerous journey" doesn't conjure up images in the mind of the reader because there aren't any specifics. Where does this dangerous journey take place? In dark dungeons? Forbidden forests? Why is it dangerous? Because of the enemies? Because of the hostile environment? Also, you don't mention what Lima's motivation is. The game is called Lima's Quest, but what is this quest about? Getting back to her normal world? Finding the five crystals that will bring peace to the land? I don't know from that description.

Labyrinthica: The quest of Lima, is a single player, melee focused action game. You use both your weapon and shield to battle, though using a sword is not always the only way to harm enemies! Unlike similar control scheme games, Lima does not have a dominant projectile weapon. That makes most battles focus on melee combat, better be nimble or Lima will not prevail.

The last paragraph was very vague and general, but then you suddenly jump into very specific game mechanics. It's like there's a paragraph missing between these two to bridge the very general and the very specific information.

There are random factors in Labyrinthica, the mazes or each potion type's color change randomly in every new game. Try not not to make Lima drink that poison potion, or try not to throw a healing potion on an enemy.

Again, this is almost too specifically describing game mechanics, since we have no context for these mechanics.

The boss battles will require you to use both your wits and your reflexes. Let's see if you can make it through them.

Make it through them to do what? To just face another boss? To get closer to returning Lima to her home world? You need to mention the overarching goal of the game, or there is no context for these game mechanics. Plus, it's all very vague and general again. Boss battles "require me to use my wit and reflexes". Pretty much all boss battles do. That tells me nothing. Who are the bosses? What do they look like? Why am I fighting them? Why are they fighting me? How many are there?

And I have to agree about that trailer. It's slooooow. And who is your target audience here? 'Cause the first minute of that trailer seems to be aiming at very young children, definitely pre-teens and mostly girls, I'd think. That grandfatherly voice-over and the accompanying images give a very children's book like vibe. Which is fine if that's what you're going for. But just remember that most pre-teens aren't able to purchase a game online on their own, so you've got quite a hurdle there.

And the intro music cuts off abruptly when you start showing actual gameplay, which makes it seem very unprofessional. If you can afford it, I'd advise you to get a professional or someone with editing experience to do the trailer for you. A bad trailer is actually worse than no trailer at all, in my opinion.

Anyway, I hope this doesn't come off as to harsh. I think we'd all just like you to have better sales!


EDIT: I see it's actually called "The Quest of Lima" and not "Lima's Quest". Which brings me to another point: You need to capitalize "quest" in the game name and also "lima" in the webpage title. It may seem like minor details, but mistakes like these give the page an amateur vibe.

[Hajo]

Thank you for the replies, and thank you for the links guys.
I guess the website doesn't show what the game is about unless you scroll down and start looking more carefully. Maybe redesigning it could help.
[...]
Edit: Also, what I understand from you is that most people will look only a few seconds at my website before they decide to investigate more or to close the window and look for something else? Or is it exagerration?

There are a few rules of thumb:

- A website must catch a visitors attentions within 30 seconds, or 9 of 10 will leave again.
- People won't scroll. You must catch them on the first visible part of your website.
- A game must hook the player within 5 minutes. Only few give it a second try.

Competition is hard, and people usually are not willing to spend a lot of time on anything, unless they already have a big interest in it.

Edit: My website statistics say, 65% leave my site within the first 30 seconds again ... so I didn't manage to catch those. It's really that bad.

[PompiPompi]

Maybe I will try to describe my game in details here, and you could help me create a paragraph for my website? Just an idea, it's ok if you don't have time for this.

My game is almost entirely an action game. I don't call it hack and slash, because hack and slash implies it's all a matter of clicking enough rather than being required to have skill and not make dumb mistakes. It is true there isn't much of story elements beside the intro and the ending. It is a sort of like a sega master system game in that way. It was inspired by dragon crystal (and Ys) after all.
However, I think the story is kind of interesting, eventough it is very simple. But I don't want to reveal the full story here, if you don't mind.
What I can say about the story is that all you know is Lima was picking apples and then suddenly fell to the ground and appeared in a mysterious forest.

The game is viewed from top with a small angle, and it have the controls of moving at 8 directions, and aiming with the mouse(There is also gamepad support). You can attack with the left click of the mouse. You can hold your shield above your head with a right click. You can run(you can't attack while running), you can throw potions and you can drink potions. That's about all you can do regarding the controls. Besides of equipping different weapons, shields and armor.
The shield has special uses, for instance, some shields can deflect projectiles and make them bounce back and harm the enemies.
While it seems very simple, and other games might have similar control mechanics. It is also unique in the sense that projectile weapons are not used much by the player character and the melee attack and shield are mostly used.
This make the game designed around melee combat. I tweaked and play tested the game, and I think I created a fun experience overall. In the rough difficutly you also have to use the potions as much as possible, because it is pretty tough.
I tried to make the creatures pretty verstile in their abilities and AI, they are not just clones of the same basic type with different appearance.
The potion system is random. Every potion type has it's own color and in every new game, the colors are randomly assigned to each type.
When you begin to play, you only see the color of the potion, but once the effect of the potion is revealed, the color name is replaced by the effect name.
So if you are on max health, and you drink a health potion, you won't know what the potion is, because nothing happened. And the name of the potion will not change from color to it's effect.
There are some basic potions, like heal, poison, cure. For instance, you would want poison potions, because you can throw them on enemies and make enemies poisoned. There are also more interesting potions that give you melee combat abilities, such as the berserk potion. It makes you swirl with a flame and blow away any enemy that the flame hit.
The boss fights are interesting. 3 of the bosses cannot be harmed with your basic melee weapon, so you need to discover how to harm them.

Does this sound good or does it make the game sound like? Generic action game number 12323?
Edit: By the way, it's impossible to write a long post in the web text area, because it keeps jumping up and down. Maybe it's only in IE.