itch.io

H!

We’re looking back at this post again: https://itch.io/t/577034/marketing-we-analyzed-the-lists-of-websites-and-the-result-was-disappointing

In addition to the list of websites, there is also a list of YouTubers with their contacts and preferred genres

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1MVrNBLVkL-VzKe4pFHHVx0bfCdInB3G2FVJbc9V4CUk/edit?ref=dtf.ru#gid=0

There are a total of 275 channels on this list. The first 146 of them have their preferred genres and contacts listed in the table, but the remaining 129 (actually 127) a listed under a common header: "The following YouTubers haven't submitted any info to VideoGameCaster regarding systems, contact info, liked/disliked genres"

We analyzed these remaining channels and left comments and contacts for each of them: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Rbf0-c2MLRfAhEMSrwsj9qNeaPwk03AyTAOGlvKQmNY/edit?usp=sharing

Dear colleagues!

This is an addition of my recent post on website list analysis: https://itch.io/t/577034/marketing-we-analyzed-the-lists-of-websites-and-the-result-was-disappointing

I would like to share with you another list of 137 websites based in different countries.

Website list: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/169NW5Ez5jW-hTVTcljEqjyyXu_cfT1DowUXFhBwBZqA/edit#gid=247042466

P.S. There is some overlapping with the lists from my previous post.

:-)

It all started when I came across this post: https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/cmp2cx/contacting_press_youtubers_and_...

Wow, I thought, what a luck, very useful information, now I won’t have any problems with marketing, or rather self-promotion, there are so many sites, and most of them are active...

We downloaded the lists and it began to prepare to work with them. But, to our disappointment, the lists turned out to be not quite as we had hoped. :-(

In general, my colleague took it upon himself to analyze these lists. He left a comment on each of the websites and updated the contacts. I must admit that the result is not very pleasant compared to what had been “promised”.

1. List of sites covering indie games.

Original list: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1liBG5RRHvp8DPBPxIauPMWlsxjOjXewa1LBCjEPv...

In it, 38 websites were marked as Active. After we checked and analyzed them, there were only 11 websites left, and in my opinion, only 5 or 6 of them were actually useful. The rest have not been updated for a long time, are completely abandoned or simply offline :-(

Our version of the list with comments for each site: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mqMxOvR2l--y-vuAZBr0uj-6eeekGqNf8LTPqbjf...

2. The same thing, but about video games in general.

Original list: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1R6UsXU_VeE4zhms4t0b1vwbbn7Fv5Z1TRlYsrfLg...

In this list, 146 sites were marked Active. After we checked every website and analyzed them, the situation changed a little :-(

Our version of the list with comments for each website: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1OGhW_yN6jttpPV7UdFt7QcpsDX2jDu_X1JAuOQic...

The websites that were recurrent from the first file are highlighted in red.

3. Sites dedicated to games of certain genres.

Original list: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14CtirCVVpQrMkq_WvdPmvfMhjCk4vENdZLFTeGy4...

We didn’t analyze this list. The reason is simple, the genre that interested us was only represented by only 5 websites, the rest of the sites were, unfortunately, of little interest to us.

Here is such a story, colleagues. Thanks for your attention!

We hope that the work we did will be useful to someone, or at least save a lot of time for analysis, etc.

Greetings to everyone reading this message!

First, let us introduce ourselves, as well as the essence of the matter.

We are a small but extremely ambitious development team, Mikola Zaporozhsky Games.

For almost a year now we have been working on a project called Highly Likely. Is a surreal 2D Adventure about a funny and somewhat naive character called Mikola who is trying to do all he can to save his homestead. This is the first part of the trilogy, the release of which is scheduled for the end of 2019.

With the upcoming release we are very seriously confronted with the problem of localizing the game into English, and specifically choosing the narrator’s voiceover.

Why did we decide to ask your advice?

The reason is that our game has a fascinating, rich storyline, it features a storyteller who throughout the game narrates all the events behind the scenes, conveys the thoughts of the characters, and conducts dialogs on behalf of the characters so that players can fully enjoy the game, get into its spirit, and also could emotionally empathize with the main character.

By the way, there is a lot of text in the game, for example, in the Russian version of the game, the total time of the voiceover was 1 hour and 53 minutes (56933 characters or 10613 words). This time is calculated based on the assumption that all the text goes as a stream, without pauses. In the game itself, the text will be natural, with pauses, somewhere more, somewhere fever.

We work on the project putting a lot of ourselves into it and approach every decision with great responsibility. We really want you, the players, to enjoy the game and appreciate it. That is why we decided not to make this decision before consulting with the players, so we ask you: Whose voice would you like to hear as the narrator?

Now we have a video backstory in which we used the voice of an actor we found on a freelance website. But we would like to offer you the best possible experience!

For example, for the role of the Russian narrator we invited the master of the Russian voice-acting Andrei Yaroslavtsev. He is very famous in the Russian-speaking community, he is the voice of Optimus Prime (Transformers), Zoltan Chivay (The Witcher 3), Gimli (The Lord of the Rings), the narrator in Valiant Hearts, etc. In our opinion, the participation of Andrei Yaroslavtsev certainly enriched the game and gave it a peculiar style and fairy tale charm.

Here is a video of the backstory of the game narrated by him.

We would like to achieve exactly the same effect for the English version, so that the narration would fascinate the player from the first seconds and make the story feel like a good fairy tale.

If you have any ideas, please write in the comments which actors (maybe not among the most famous ones) would you recommend us to invite to the project for the role of the narrator.

More about the game: https://highly-likely.itch.io/highly-likely

Thank you for being with us!

Sincirely, 
Mikola Zaporozhsky Games team

Greetings to everyone who stumbled upon this topic!

We are a small but extremely ambitious development team, Mikola Zaporozhsky Games.

Our team consists of only 9 people, each representative for their own direction. Almost all of us have some experience in game development, but unfortunately we don’t have any released full-fledged projects, this is our first, and we really hope that not our last. We work from our homes!

For almost a year now we have been working on a project called Highly Likely. Is a surreal 2D Adventure about a funny and somewhat naive character called Mikola who is trying to do all he can to save his homestead. This is the first part of the trilogy, the release of which is scheduled for the end of 2019.

Link to the game page: https://highly-likely.itch.io/highly-likely

If we were to describe our game in a few words, they would be Ukraine, Oil, freebies and stereotypes!

Yes, these are the definitions given by people who see our game for the first time. We don’t deny it, it's true! The game is built on these stereotypes, in the best sense, and therefore is interesting and exciting! 

The first part of the trilogy, Highly Likely, is a surreal 2D Adventure about a funny and somewhat naive character called Mikola who is trying to do all he can to save his homestead.

The story unfolds in a most ordinary Ukrainian farmstead near the Polish border, where the main character, Mikola, lives with his wife. In pursuit of his dream, he lands in tough circumstances and finds himself facing the threat of total ruin. It would seem that it's over, and there’s no hope. However, fate gives our hero a chance, albeit a very dangerous one, in the form of an “abandoned” oil pipeline. Realizing that he has nothing left to lose, Mikola, without thinking twice, decides to use it and, using various improvised devices, starts a risky venture that involves him in incredibly amusing, sometimes dangerous and unpredictable adventures.

Game Features:

5+ hours of gameplay.

A tragicomic plot in 6 acts.

A variety of quests.

Picturesque landscapes in 23 night and day locations.

50 characters.

56 items for action and interaction.

13 types of vehicles: from a bicycle to a steam locomotive.

130 unique animations of the main character.

Multiple movement paths that help to avoid obstacles and perform other maneuvers.

Original soundtrack recorded with live instruments.

A narrator! First of all, our game is a story with a fascinating and rich plot. We really wanted the players to be able to fully enjoy the game process, so that they can fully appreciate its idea, and be able to emotionally empathize with the main character. For this reason, we employed a storyteller, who throughout the game narrates off-screen events, voices the thoughts of the characters, and conducts dialogs on behalf of the characters.

We are going to first release the game on Steam, and later on other platforms: Google Play, App Store, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, PlayStation.

Currently the game is 60-70% ready. There are only a few months left before the planned release, there is still a lot of work, and we keep doing our best :-)

Currently, we have only published screenshots of the game environment, without the acting characters, equipment and other interactive objects. The same is the case with the video. Of course, we understand that all these ambiguities and hints do not immerse too well into the atmosphere of the game itself, but, on the other hand, allow us to create some intrigue. In the very near future we will publish new screenshots and videos with a more expanded assortment of items, equipment, characters and animals that will allow you to get to know the game much better.

Thank you for being with us!

Sincirely,  

Mikola Zaporozhsky Games team

P.S. We invite you to watch a video that tells the backstory of the game.

Greetings to everyone who stumbled upon this topic!

We are a small but extremely ambitious development team, Mikola Zaporozhsky Games.

Our team consists of only 9 people, each representative for their own direction. Almost all of us have some experience in game development, but unfortunately we don’t have any released full-fledged projects, this is our first, and we really hope that not our last. We work from our homes!

For almost a year now we have been working on a project called Highly Likely. Is a surreal 2D Adventure about a funny and somewhat naive character called Mikola who is trying to do all he can to save his homestead. This is the first part of the trilogy, the release of which is scheduled for the end of 2019.

If we were to describe our game in a few words, they would be Ukraine, Oil, freebies and stereotypes!

Yes, these are the definitions given by people who see our game for the first time. We don’t deny it, it's true! The game is built on these stereotypes, in the best sense, and therefore is interesting and exciting! 

The first part of the trilogy, Highly Likely, is a surreal 2D Adventure about a funny and somewhat naive character called Mikola who is trying to do all he can to save his homestead.

The story unfolds in a most ordinary Ukrainian farmstead near the Polish border, where the main character, Mikola, lives with his wife. In pursuit of his dream, he lands in tough circumstances and finds himself facing the threat of total ruin. It would seem that it's over, and there’s no hope. However, fate gives our hero a chance, albeit a very dangerous one, in the form of an “abandoned” oil pipeline. Realizing that he has nothing left to lose, Mikola, without thinking twice, decides to use it and, using various improvised devices, starts a risky venture that involves him in incredibly amusing, sometimes dangerous and unpredictable adventures.

Game Features:

5+ hours of gameplay.

A tragicomic plot in 6 acts.

A variety of quests.

Picturesque landscapes in 23 night and day locations.

50 characters.

56 items for action and interaction.

13 types of vehicles: from a bicycle to a steam locomotive.

130 unique animations of the main character.

Multiple movement paths that help to avoid obstacles and perform other maneuvers.

Original soundtrack recorded with live instruments.

A narrator! First of all, our game is a story with a fascinating and rich plot. We really wanted the players to be able to fully enjoy the game process, so that they can fully appreciate its idea, and be able to emotionally empathize with the main character. For this reason, we employed a storyteller, who throughout the game narrates off-screen events, voices the thoughts of the characters, and conducts dialogs on behalf of the characters.

We are going to first release the game on Steam, and later on other platforms: Google Play, App Store, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, PlayStation.

Currently the game is +-70% ready. There are only a few months left before the planned release, there is still a lot of work, and we keep doing our best :-)

We will periodically post about the development process, and will be glad to answer any questions you may have, both about the project itself and plans for the future, as well as about our team, etc.

Link to the game page: https://highly-likely.itch.io/highly-likely

Thank you for being with us!

Sincirely, 

Mikola Zaporozhsky Games team

Currently, we have only published screenshots of the game environment, without the acting characters, equipment and other interactive objects. The same is the case with the video. Of course, we understand that all these ambiguities and hints do not immerse too well into the atmosphere of the game itself, but, on the other hand, allow us to create some intrigue. In the very near future we will publish new screenshots and videos with a more expanded assortment of items, equipment, characters and animals that will allow you to get to know the game much better.

P.S. We invite you to watch a video that tells the backstory of the game.

This is the long version, you might call it a director's cut