We’re considering entering a few of our games in the Independent Games Festival, igf.com/ which requires that every game include a video trailer.
This is a lot easier for other games that have graphics. You can just demo your game, and that’s that. But demoing our text-only games could be kinda dull. So maybe we should use fancy graphics or live actors instead? But that can get really expensive really fast, (for possibly no return!) and I’m afraid that viewers will be tricked (or at least feel tricked) when they find out that the game is nothing but text.
I think if you do a video, you avoid the “tricked” thing by not tricking anyone. You can include graphics, actors, and anything else you can afford … just make sure all the graphics and actors ultimately underline that it’s a text game (and that it is THEREFORE MORE AWESOME)
Nope. You need to find someone who has skill with After Effects, or contact a design company and get a quote. This will cost you more than a few pennies.
Tin Man Games does a pretty good job of making video trailers for what are at heart static gamebooks. Heavy on illustrations and simulations of rolling dice, but the territory isn’t too far removed from your own.
Do it like a classic board game…have a family gathered around the screen pointing and laughing. Perhaps do a voice over extolling the features of the game like an infomercial.
