Marketing a game is just as important as the creation, if not more. Games are made to make money, but if people don't buy the game, then no money can be made. To get a game's name out there, and to bring people in, a game needs to be marketed correctly.
Marketing a game means everything from the demographic of the game you're creating, making the game unique, and also making it visually stand out.
X-statements
An x-statement is a simple, short and snappy description of the game you're creating. It shouldn't be confusing, and should be based completely off of fact. All games have unique qualities to them, but those can sometimes be hard to describe in a single sentence. If it's necessary, references can be made to other media (a game, tv show, series, film) to convey a point of how the game plays, a core mechanic which is vital to the game, or in relation to another media form.
An x-statement should rely on simplicity, and shouldn't go into too much detail. It needs to be relatable for the intended audience, which will have an effect on how the x-statement for the game is written. For a casual gaming market, the x-statement should really only go over the main goal of the game and maybe a core mechanic. Not everything needs to be in an x-statement, just enough to explain the game.
A game can also be explained on a radar chart next to similar games, with them all scattered out where they fall on the diagram. In relation to other games, you can visually show people where your game is situated, which can help a lot when imagining a finished product. This will also give them a very strong idea about the type of play to expect in the game.
An x-statement should let people know why they'll want to play your game.
Audience
A game's audience should greatly affect the types of mechanics in a game as well as the genre. Games are also created for the players, so knowing in advance on how to market to the audience is key in selling a game.
Category enthusiasts
Category enthusiasts are players that are highly knowledgeable about a particular genre, and love games within the specific genre. There are a small part of the demographic, at 7%, so they are incredibly difficult to market to.
If a game in their genre comes out and they hear about it, they will play it, but marketing specifically towards them is pointless, as there are many genres and subgenres. They are highly opinionated, and want to experience a game for themselves to gain their opinion. So, while they aren't easy to market to, there will always be an opportunity for someone from this demographic to play your game.
'Not' a gamer gamers
This demographic is mostly female, and play casual games, like mobile apps. While they play games, they don't consider themselves gamers, as they don't play for hours at a time. This demographic is 17%, which is a more significant amount.
The types of games they play are quick, easy games that can picked up and put down easily. They like single player games with some sort of practise mode or tutorial to help them understand the game.
Improvers
Improvers play games to improve at them, and to enhance their knowledge or mental activity. This makes up 14%, and are mostly older people who want to prevent mental decline. Brain teaser games, card games and puzzle games are good thing demographic, and they're more likely to play with family and friends than strangers.
Prize finders
These people are playing games for the prizes and rewards they will earn. To draw them to your game, put in a daily reward feature, as that is something they like. However, this demographic is only 9%, which is less than previous groups.
This group shouldn't be the only one marketed to. Games that will draw them in are mobile apps, or casino games, which allow them to win prizes.
Imaginers
Imaginers use games to express themselves, and love to have the freedom to explore in open-world games. Games are a fun pastime for them, and they aren't really competitive. Games give them the control that they don't possess in real life.
To attract them, your game should have NPCs that can be interacted with, customisation and plenty of time for exploration. Games with these features are adventure games, and simulator games like the Sims.
Story tellers
Story tellers play games to fall in love with the story. They want an emotion connection to the characters and what happens to them throughout a game. They are attracted easily by artistic games.
For this demographic, the features should include an open-world, maybe with side-quests, a deep narrative, and consequences based on their actions. Gamers in this group are more likely to play action-adventure games and RPGs.
Party people
Although this group is only 7%, they use games differently than other groups. They use games as a way of meeting new people and making friends. This games they play are only used as a crutch until they make friends.
The types of games these people play are cooperative and allow socialisation. Games to them are a means to an end to make friends.
Score chasers
Score chasers are 13% and all about competitive games. They love to win games by themselves, which means they aren't likely to spend money for in-game items. The games they play are action games, or FPSs, as they aren't looking for a story or an emotional connection.
Stragetists
Strategists like being in charge, and leading a team to victory by creating a strategy. They also like outwitting their opponents, and take pride when they do. They tend to play games with performance tracking and voice chat. The genres they usually play are action games, shooters and FPSs.
Assets
Assets are what are used to sell a game. It doesn't matter if a game is complete and you've sorted out the target audience if no one sees any advertisement for it. This means creating trailers, and small GIFs to show people snippets of the game. The game also needs a description, which should essentially be a blurb for a game.
Much like the x-statement, it shouldn't be too in-depth, but it should go into more detail about the functions, mechanics, features, or story of the game. This should also state the appeal of the game, for example, if the graphics are a key feature, talk about the graphics.
To advertise a game, key art needs to be created. Key art is what people will see online in adverts, on the app store or other shops. This means it needs to reflect and infer the true nature of the game. It needs to convey what the game is really about with only pictures. When creating this art, you need to consider how it will look on different devices, as the dimensions may be different.
This is the art that will be associated with your game, so it has to be intriguing and eye-catching. It should also contain relevant information about the game. If you want to put something in the key art that isn't a major part of the game, then consider how to link this to the bigger picture of the game, and ask yourself why this is relevant to have in the image.
It can be a struggle to convey what you want an artist to create, so moodboards are an option. These can contain anything that conveys the ideas you're trying to get across. Key art is essentially a movie poster for a game, so it has to be memorable and impactful, as well as informative about the nature of the game.
With all of this in mind, marketing a game can be made far easier. When I pitched for the Synoptic Project, I didn't really pay much attention to the demographic I was aiming for other than that the game was for casual gamers. If I could pitch again, I would definitely take into account which groups specifically I'd market towards.