Feedback on my "Game Preview" video

The video's content makes the game look pretty *tough* to play. Especially when you have those Norse Gods to worry about (for those of us that are "God-fearing")! ;)

I guess you can't get too attached to any particular person - since the odds are they won't be around long. Same goes for your own character!

The video is sufficiently explanatory to demonstrate how the game is played. Not at a turn-based level but more generally. The only thing is that there might need to be more *positive* outlooks, to keep the player's motivated.

Like if Bubba dies, does the Farmer get his "shotgun"??? (Who really cares about Bubba, it's his gear we are all interested in!) :P

I also like the ending, very good: "See you in 6 months ... maybe!"

So how do you LOSE the game. Is it when you as a player, die too many times???

Nothing in there about "cannibalism". I thought we might have reserves because Bubba dies and everyone else gets some free meat for the next turn! ;)

But THUMBS WAY UP. The video is clear...

Update: Maybe you should have a "Nature Calling" phase, where animals also go to town and maybe you can get killed by a Grizzly Bear OR, just maybe (I said maybe), you gain a fur coat for winter and enough meat for a month?! Same could go for deer - NOT raindeer silly! The regular type of deer... Since they too would be looking for more food. Other animals fox, you could definitely make a HAT out of a FOX! :P I'm sure there are other... This could be a natural boost phase, unless somebody gets eaten by the grizzle bear!... :)

I do understand the idea of showing off a round of play, but to be honest, there's nothing that screams unique to me other than the "Allpocolypse" where there's multiple threats in a post apocalyptic environment...and even that's not really unique.

You're not selling the game, you're selling the turn order. The game sounds like a Dead of Winter or Kingdom Death: Monster clone. The aforementioned games at least look and feel professional...this game feels like a first year art student did it.

What's explained in the video is that decisions have consequences. ALL good games have decisions that have consequences (see: Euro Games). What's going to make me buy THIS game as opposed to any other post-apolcalyptic game that has either aliens, monsters, plagues, and hostile environments or any combination of the above?

There's nothing in the video that tells me I want to buy this game.

So what does this mean? It doesn't mean the game is bad in any way, it just means that the focus of the video needs to change. Sell what makes this game DIFFERENT. You got environments? Lots of games have environments that change the landscape of the game. You have multiple threats? What makes having zombies and aliens in your game different than "smashing up" aliens and zombies in Smash Up?

If it's clean gameplay then present the video like it's got clean gameplay. Make a 3d render of the box, show off miniatures (if it has any), display nice art. Fantasy Flight does an amazing job at this with their preview videos.

Try something different. What if this apocalypse happened during the Industrial Revolution? What would be different? What if this happened in South Africa during apartheid? How would that affect the decisions? Even something like that would set you apart.

It's really simple marketing. Madden video game commercials never tell you that you can play as your favorite team, imitate 4 downs, and mimic crucial plays. They tell you all the new things...the sweat that comes off of the helmets, the new rendering techniques on the rain-soaked jerseys, the new physics engine that makes dodging more realistic.

I hope this doesn't come off as me being negative. It's not. I'm very blunt to my students about the way they market each other and their products. It's only to make the product better.

Every video should be a marketing video in some shape...ultimately you want to sell the game, right? If you look at the Scythe video...it's selling the game to you.

While the Scythe video is certainly shown an as an influence, the video starts with what makes the game unique...starting with the pedigree of the developers. The setting is also unique, not a typical "post-apocalyptic" setting, but a time that hasn't been explored...and this is done within the first 30 seconds of the film. It draws you in.

You have to hook the people in quick.

Suggestions:

-Front-end the pedigree of the developers. Your team may not have large selling titles behind your back, but maybe some of your team worked on video games. Maybe you guys have already released games; just saying you released games says you know the process...say which games you released. Maybe some of your team has been playing games for decades. You have to convince the audience you have some kind of clout.

-Create a unique setting. I'm sorry, but post-apoc games are saturating all forms of entertainment. You need to stick out...especially if you're a startup company. Consider this: If you release a post-apoc game, what makes you think people will buy your game as opposed to a bigger company with a better reputation (coughPlaidHatGamescough) that releases a game about surviving in post-apoc world inhabited by an incredible threat (coughDeadofWintercough)? More threats? I'm sorry, that's not unique enough.

-Don't discourage the viewer before explaining the turn order. Right after you talk about the mechanics of the game, the video immediately says you'll have characters that will die...a lot. It doesn't even sound funny when it's mentioned. That's not very encouraging and kinda turned me off to the game. Yes, you will have to survive, but is there something special you could have to make it easier? In Scythe, it's mecha. When I saw the Scythe video, it says "alternate history"...I was intrigued. it talks about building resources, then it says. "mechanized battle units", then I was like, "I'm in". Note that even though he says "Depression Era", it's not saying that you yourself will be depressed by playing the game. Watch that video...it doesn't really say anything about you losing units...it only talks about everything you can DO.

Why would I want to play your game when all I do is lose stuff/people?

There's so much more that goes into making a game than just releasing a video that talks about the gameplay. It's like saying, "If you build it, they will come". This is NOT TRUE of the gaming industry. Maybe if you have a strong reputation in the industry, this can happen, but it takes a lot of work, which starts with selling the game at every juncture you can.

To be honest, I don't even consider my feedback to be negative. If it produces a better product for you, then it's really positive feedback in the end.