Questions and Danswers #2
The other day I was sent an email by Wojciech Żukowski, who saw my interview with Olexa. Wojciech had a few follow-up questions for their own upcoming indie game, and we agreed that I could publish my answers here.
Q: When do you think is a good time to publish the game on Steam? For example, in my game most of the core systems are done, the game has a full loop and it's just lacking a bit of content. I'm really struggling to decide when to publish the game to get some feedback about it (of course I have my group of friends which actively are helping me to improve the game, but I'm meaning a bit wider range). I'm a bit scared that without the content in-game, some people might just don't like the game and won't come back to it later, as they get bored.
A: Having a store page where people can learn about your game - and importantly, wishlist it - is vital as you're preparing to release your game. If you're worried about a lack of content but the game loop is present, that sounds like a perfect candidate for an Early Access release. Getting more eyes on your game will also uncover bugs that you didn't realize were present. If you go the Early Access route, being able to fix the bugs before your full release can be very helpful. In other words, I'd recommend setting up your store page ASAP and releasing the game in Early Access once you've built up some wishlists.
Q: On the interview with Olexa, you said that you've send some emails with the game to indie YouTubers - how does that work? Do most of them charge money for the promotion or is it more like a barter?
A: I did not pay any content creators for coverage, if I did, you would see "#ad" or "#sponsored" somewhere in their coverage of my game. I believe this is a legal obligation, but it's also good for integrity's sake. A lot of devs pay YouTubers and Twitch Streamers for coverage these days, but it's not something I could afford at the time, so I've never really considered it. I know a few tricks to writing a good email that worked well for me.
Q: Are there any marketing options you found really successful with Luck be a Landlord besides the indie YouTubers?
A: How convenient! Now I can talk about how I write emails to content creators to try and get them to cover my game. I have the title of the game and the quick pitch in the subject line. For example, I might send an email with the subject line of "🎰 Luck be a Landlord 🎰 Slot Machine Roguelike Deckbuilder 🔑 STEAM KEY INSIDE 🔑" to a content creator. I always include a Steam Key with the email and have "STEAM KEY INSIDE" at the end of the subject line. This a way to stop someone from skimming over your email, and also makes them more likely to click on it. I also use the slot machine emoji in the subject line to be eye-catching. The actual content of the email should have a bit more information about your game, relevant links, and the Steam Key. Also, use GIFs in your email to stand out more. MailMerge is a plugin I use to send multiple emails with similar content. Gotta be careful not to send too many emails too fast, though. I've gotten my email address flagged for spam for doing that, which is the opposite of what we want.
Q: Is it worth it to localize the game? How much it actually impacted the sales of your game?
A: Extremely worth it. More than half of my lifetime sales come from countries where English is not a primary language. About 15% of all my sales come from China, so localizing into Simplified Chinese is a must as well.
Q: Do you localize the prize [sic] of the game depending on the country? If so, what are the most important countries to localize the price in your opinion?
A: Steam automatically handles all of that for me, and it's worked out well so far.
Thanks for the questions, Wojciech!
If you have questions you'd like me to answer, you can always send me an email.