Mek promotional campaign

[cdxbow]

I will do anything to promote Mek games!
We have an end of high school exam called the VCE, which determines your university entrance score. Often photos are used, such as this one in the subject of the Russian Revolution:

Look closely at the left back.

There are a couple of articles about it http://www.theage.com.au/national/education/vce-authorities-apologise-for-phantom-robot-20121119-29lbl.html and one with the original photo here: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/error-discovered-in-vce-exam-for-history-revolutions-subject/story-e6frf7kx-1226516928743

One student, at least of battletech history commented very wisely:

The Marauder wouldn't have been a great choice in the Battle of Stalingrad. Its autocannon and twin particle projector cannons are devastating at long range, but unwieldy in close quarters, and its armour is relatively light for its size. It also lacks the mobility that jump jets would provide.

While it's still a menace, all of those factors would put it at a big disadvantage in the close-range, house-to-house fighting that characterised Stalingrad. Stalin would've done better to go with something with more close-range firepower, mobility, and/or protection.

There is a serious question here, how do you promote your game most effectively? I think RE has not been promoted as much as effectively as it could be. How can it be done better? What is the best media? I am interested in your thoughts.

[Evropi]

Make a great video.

This is how most indie games succeed. Great video made, (somehow) goes semi-viral (50k hits or so), posted on a gaming blog like Kotaku and BAM, your servers collapse, but you get to keep some people interested.

Examples of games I can think of off the top of my head that have succeeded due to this? Transformice (video link) and Minecraft, which consisted of videos videos by popular people on Machinima, particularly JX23, but also trailers by Vareide which are regularly featured on the MC homepage but especially other websites.

You need to make something kickass, probably a video, that will go super viral. Don't be afraid to be cheesy (e.g. 'this is a mech game, this is a mech game on CRACK') because that sells. That's my advice.

PS: That news story made me LOL hard, this is why Australia is the best country in the world.

[John_III]

I agree with Evropi. A killer promotional video/trailer would really help to put it out there.

[wowie]

posted on a gaming blog like Kotaku and BAM, your servers collapse, but you get to keep some people interested.

This made me lol because it's true.

[cdxbow]

Yes, I agree, video gives more bang for buck, but how do you capture that magical viral quality? Something funny/stupid. Doesn't have to even have to do much with the game, more about getting the 'brand' seen.

[Ulukai]

Good luck with the video, hope you'll have more success than the RE 1.3 promo video that never saw the light....

But I agree that it is the right thing to do. Maybe the Humble Bundle promo videos can serve as a source of inspiration here too. Sometimes the're really funny, and sometimes they are so stupid that they become hilarious You'll want a lot of action, destruction, nice graphics and exciting music. And it's always nice to end with a BOOM

And then the video should be posted on as many sites as possible of course. Maybe some matching wallpapers or LOLTANKZ can be of help here too.

[raiden]

A video was also the first thing that came in my mind. Kotaku or a site on indy/modDb would also be an option. I'm personally not a fan of the big social networks, but if you think different here, this could also help to support the project.
With a model of an alien race for examble, it could be possible to make a small funny introduction, before the huge metal monsters come into play in a video. A short scene like the cutscenes in the older game 'Giants' or like a machinima yes. This would need a score/musictrack, which becomes more intense, when the gameplay is shown in the second part of the trailer. Somebody may speak the voice/s for the introduction scene.
(I imagine a peacefull start with tiny figures (1) which talk a bit maybe. (2)Mad battle action with huge looking mechs (2). Different angles for the camera could support such an effect. I target for the contrast between tiny and peacefull, big and explosive action on the other hand. Perhaps one of the peacefull creatures comes under the feet of a mech ...?)
While looking at the brand thing: it may be not necessary to show too much of the big action. Only a short cut or more than one, only for some seconds could be enough, together with fiting music.
Sorry for in a way chaotic style, I hope it is possible to follow .

[quintux_v]

Before you start making videos or doing anything, I'd make sure you can identify ways that MekArcade is NOT Red Eclipse or Sauerbraten or another mod; tell people why it's different and why they want to play it instead of other games (so they can't use the excuse "oh, it's just a recolored RE, I could play that instead"). As mentioned, your videos should also be able to capture attention in both visual and audio aspects. Personally, the music in the trailers for Xonotic and Sauerbraten (this trailer) were the things that I always noticed first, and then I would see the graphics. As you may notice, the graphics are maxed out; your best maps should be used.

In addition to the quirks of quality, you can also have multiple videos like Sauerbraten does. Each video can focus on a different theme and might build upon another. One might be a "meet the characters" edition, while you have your standard battle show-off videos. If you have a campaign/story set to this, there's another idea. As raiden and ulukai have brought up, humor can also be used; maybe a video could be of bloopers and such, leading into issues you have personally had while developing the game, while a developer's interview could come even later.

To expand on Ulukai's idea, you could have promotional artwork packs that are released every so often to some kind of fanbase. Your fanbase could be tied to your site, which, quite frankly, could use some work. There's also the various other sites where you can 'recruit' people, and from there redirect them to your fansite.