Let's be honest, making our game known to people is a job we didn't signed up for when we decided to become the awesome indie developer/artist we are. Make that good game, code, level design or just release your awesome music or that art that is really beautiful and deserves to be appreciated is our bread and butter, and we are good at that, very. Yet the wall of anonymity stands there before us and is hard to climb. Enter the social platform to let our creation known.. can be an overwhelming feat a times. And the more you are committed to your game or art, the more it becomes heavy.
With a Kickstarter campaign ongoing https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thestarknight/the-starknight ( <--- see, still trying to climb the wall ) I had few choices. So I decided to take a different approach to the problem. Being a creative mind, crafting ingame scenes and events is what I do best and I said to myself, why you don't try to turn those skills you already have into a small comedy video.
And I did that. I made 4 short videos, with the game engine and characters but based outside the game world, for the people to view and enjoy to help the game be know to the world. As a developer and "sort of artist" myself I love to learn new things but still.. this is an extra, and it takes time and efforts and it must be done well or it might backfire.
Sometimes it feels to me like chasing a deaf dog with a giant bone.
Because you know your bone must be gigantic to gather the deaf dog attention. So now the videos are out and I am waiting the fruits of my work. Patiently looking and what happens, to draw my conclusions and learn more, yet... I want to go back to code the Weirdwoods but until the kickstarter campaign ends I must become my own promoter, video maker, editor and tyrant.
Did you know you could share a playlist from youtube ? Such a simple thing yet, I didn't ! Why ? Because I never needed to do it! I just click links, I am indie dev not a sharing professional! Until now.
Now I know you can share a youtube playlist.
look https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbJMTEMOr20bE4-OvsrtT4z-dIRom5WNq see ?!
Another success ! :D
So if you feel like me at times, and you see that giant wall of anonymity before you, you have all my sympathy. Using your own work in ways you wasn't prepared for, to make it know the to world is hard but it might reward in the end... and can be a funny experience on his own... if you have time.
Oh one last thing before I end this post: credits are never optional, even if the artist says so, you will be the indie gentleman and put his name there, on the wall of fame inside your game, because the same you feel for your game they do for their awesome art, and it might be even harder for some of them to be known. I mean, you remember the game, the author, may be the musician... but.. the graphic artist? I bet you don't. Is up to us devs for those who's art we loved and put in our creations to make them shine with us. You'll be the indie gentleman and do the right thing.
I am using the music of Tim Beek for example and I love his work so much I put him on the front page in the intro credits, he is my musician of choice! But I don't forget the CC0 artists that made their assets public domain and if their nicknames are not NSFW is on the credits.
And this is all I wanted to share for this post, now I go grab a coffee and then follow that new compulsory attitude of "refreshing youtube page" and checking Kickstarter analytics, but what I desire is going back to munching code and draw storyboards and animations.
What am I become ?
My games defines me but, yes, until you pass the "trial of firefox" (metaphoric for internet, social platform. The meaning of suffering a great deal to make your work known on the social platforms ) you are not a true 3thousand indie I guess..
Have a nice day you all and like subscribe and share! ... sorry, I really have been editing too many videos lately :D
Have a nice day-
Denis
