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[B6ka]

I contacted at least a dozen of indie game reviewers to have a look at my game, and none of them replied. What's going on? Do they expect to get payed or is my game that bad? IDK, I am really frustrated with that. The game is no masterpiece, but they could have put in weekly top 10 or some sort of mix of new games.

Does anyone know a good place where one could get decent coverage? Thx

Aqet Gamoushi
Game developer, cat-gun designer, alligator farmer

[Shine Klevit]

here.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

there are too many indie games released each day for any site to keep up with. chances are they got over 100 emails that day and that your game just didn't stand out to them compared to those other 100. i'd suggest you keep trying, or improve your screenshots and trailer. also, try to use correct english when you contact reviewers, "payed" isn't a word, it's "paid"

another big thing is being friends with journalists; having a great game isn't as important as connections when it comes to coverage

[eclectocrat]

I'm terrible at marketing, but I think I've learned one lesson in the last year.

Keep updating, posting images, videos, downloads, etc. If your game is any good at all, you'll slowly gain some momentum. This day and age a press release isn't worth very much, a release day trailer isn't worth very much (unless you can afford really high production values?). What an indie dev can do is keep developing and updating his game while being public about it. Use reddit, use your blog, use twitter, facebook, youtube, be consistent and persistent. This isn't an invitation to spam by the way.

I'll let you know how it works out
Seriously though, I get e-mails almost every week from a fan of my game that has never heard about it before, thinks it's great, doesn't understand why more people don't know about it </self_promotion>. I just released an update and the comments on my blog are exactly of this nature. My game has been in development for almost 2 years! The only way I can reach these people is to keep a steady flow of material coming out of me. Once in a while an obscure blog covers it and 2 more people know about my game.

another big thing is being friends with journalists; having a great game isn't as important as connections when it comes to coverage

Unfortunately true, and to prove this point, how many unquestionably poorly designed games have you seen getting major game news coverage?

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

yeah it's good to build up an audience in ways *outside* of reviews. don't expect reviews to get you players, go out there and get those players by posting your game to forums, etc. -- once you have a large player base it becomes more difficult for journalists to ignore you

minecraft had about 10,000 sales before it got its first review on tigsource, for example

[petertos]

Should we see some art or footage to know what kind of game are you pitching?

---->>>> Blog coverage is getting less and less useful these days. Once we are all connected, and talking to each other, the cycle will be completed and blogs will be useless. Try to make a fan base out of real connections like friends or 'friends' you make on forums and other stuff to promote yourself

I ran out of ideas.

[B6ka]

Thanks for suggestions. I am just afraid to cross the line when you just become a spammer. Also it feels like that too many new games are coming out these days.

Should we see some art or footage to know what kind of game are you pitching?

I already posted my game in feedback section but here is a link for convenience: http://bit.ly/WynEUE

[B6ka]

there are too many indie games released each day for any site to keep up with. chances are they got over 100 emails that day and that your game just didn't stand out to them compared to those other 100. i'd suggest you keep trying, or improve your screenshots and trailer. also, try to use correct english when you contact reviewers, "payed" isn't a word, it's "paid"

Agreed Her General

[moi]

the problem is that reviewers get thousands of email (I assume) each day with requests to test games and most of these games are boring cashgrabs.
Also reviewers are dumb and tend to repeat  news they've heard on other channels, also: they're sometimes sensible to bribery or social pressure, or there are other politics at work, that explain why always the same games get hyped.
Also: in the game industry, "indie" is a buzzword and mostly a lie used by certain parts of the industry to raise money/lure consumers. small devs don't get coverage without patronage/money

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

okay i played the game -- i think the reason it's not covered is that it's a flash game about sports (with some elements from pong). and with pretty average graphics too

there are very few indie flash sports games that are reviewed in indie game blogs, i can't think of any offhand. indie game blogs like to review flash game sometimes, but usually it's ones that are either 1) art games / bizarre games / games that "push boundaries", 2) games developed by a prominent indie game developer already famous for other games, or 3) platformers

if someone sent me that game to review in an email i'd probably just delete the email too. it's nothing against the game, it's just that it's not particularly interesting, it's just a pong variant. the flash games that do get reviewed tend to be the exceptional ones, like frog fractions. so unless your pong-style game is better than plasma pong the chances of it getting reviewed in indie game blogs is slim

[B6ka]

okay i played the game.

Thanks for playing. I do not say that it is really exceptional and I did not say that it should get spotlight coverage, just I suppose, it could have been included in some sort of weekly top or some sort of mixtape of games. That is all I am saying. I also just asked for advice how to improve chances.

And what's wrong with flash, should I make it an .exe file to get it noticed? (rhetorical question)

[kurtkz]

I actually quite enjoyed that Cute game. I think you should spend some time polishing it as far as possible. Redo the graphics and then resubmit it.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

yeah if you want to improve chances, improve graphics. graphics matter more than anything else (besides being friends with reviewers) when it comes to getting reviews

[SterlingDee]

okay i played the game.

Thanks for playing. I do not say that it is really exceptional and I did not say that it should get spotlight coverage, just I suppose, it could have been included in some sort of weekly top or some sort of mixtape of games. That is all I am saying. I also just asked for advice how to improve chances.

Well, do the reviewers you are approaching even have features like "weekly top" or "mixtape"? Make sure you understand the blogs/sites you're submitting to and understand what kind of of content they have.

Might help if you post what you're emailing these sites. Is it just a press release? Is it personalized? How are you pitching yourself/your product?

[petertos]

Hey I played the game it's not bad...

Graphics are cute and the twist over pong is interesting. But perhaps people still want to identify themselves with super-duper graphics. And today flash is not very well accepted by the gaming community; people prefer to cover the latest mega mobile production...

It's difficult to stand out of the crew, I know.

[nikki]

I think your doing something right.

this is the second time I found your game. (both on this forum though)

I think you could make a little world outside of your game, you have nice characters and funny little details.

maybe make a sweet website with many little details and those cool little square guys in the same graphical style as the game and embed the game in that.

I suppose  that your perceived value would get higher by doing that. (if the website is decently designed). And if you would have some more background story about aligators cats and fireballs it would become a story.

and game reviewers are probably lazy bastards that love to rechew the good stories you tell them.

[B6ka]

Thanks, guys (unisex coverage) for helpful comments, really appreciate them. Wish I had found this forum earlier.

[Muz]

Used to be an indie game reviewer back before it was cool. If you mail your marketing pitch to me, I could help and fix it.

Anyway, there's usually a few big factors in making games stand out:
- graphics -- gameplay isn't visible through email and blog articles. If they're skimming, graphics are decided before the cut. Tons of games with no gameplay but nice graphics get promoted very well.

- community reputation -- i.e. if someone's heard of you. If they've heard of your game on another site, it helps a lot.

- trends -- if plants vs zombies are the hit, every game about zombies will be considered. If procedural games are the trend, then every procedural game is considered. And so on.

- bribes -- offering them a full 'review version' of your game helps a lot

[B6ka]

Used to be an indie game reviewer back before it was cool. If you mail your marketing pitch to me, I could help and fix it.

Thank you for the suggestion and advice, I guess I will leave them alone for a while .

[WonderlandGames]

Yeah, I am an indie game reviewer that isn't paid and I do it as a hobby. I get about 8 emails a day and I have time to do 1 article a week, give or take, so doing the math, yeah. And of course, there are some that I just write an article about cause I thought they were cool even if I didn't get the email. I do try to email back and reply though, as I am also a developer and it sucks to be completely ignored.

A few things:

1.) I recommend you polish your email up as "plz playz ma gamez11!!!1!" doesn't make me want to.

2.) Present your game in the best light - pick good screenshots.

3.) Provide review copies because if you game is 25 bucks to download and you give it to them for free, that entices them.