A Public Video

[Fawz]

It's great that you guys want the focus to be on making the game and not marketing it. I understand the idea and do agree that it will most probably result in a better game. A very niche game, but still a great one.

However this does not mean that every single form of 'advertising' should be dismissed. Doing very basic stuff like having the news you post on the forums and show through the videos also be posted in other places like twitter, youtube, the kickstarter updates and the main website would help more people discover the game.

Having more people interested in the game can make it better. On top of the obvious extra funding there's stuff like more activity on the forums where ideas, suggestions and feedback takes place. It'll also help the game be subject to a bigger pool of testers during the Alpha and BETA stages which would directly influence the quality of the finished product.

Your ideology of focusing on making the game as opposed to marketing it is very commendable, but please don't fully neglect all aspects of marketing the game past the forums here. A lot of good things can come of it.

 

[Madoc]

We're not opposed to marketing, we just don't like some forms / channels. We don't have the resources or time to put into marketing and we're not going to make it a priority. Marketing is a lot of work, we can't just throw stuff out there without being very careful about what we say and show. It's also particularly difficult at this early stage in development where everything is, to say the least, incomplete and we have very little content.

As for a large pool of alpha testers, that is not necessarily desirable, supporting it would likely prove to be a lot of work. Alpha versions are not usually public for a reason, the game will still be hugely incomplete.

 

[walltar]

I think that best marketing for indie game is to go thru enthusiast press ... but game has to be at certain stage so you can give copies to people like TB so they can play it and make impession videos. This game is quite some time from being finished so i don't think there is need to make hype. Id say wait a year let the team work on game and then there will be lots of info.

One question ... why did you deleted videos from youtube? I wanted to make post about SG on one forum, but i dont have any footage to show people.

 

[Rod_Lightning]

One question ... why did you deleted videos from youtube? I wanted to make post about SG on one forum, but i dont have any footage to show people.

I don't know what your internet is smoking but I can still watch them...

 

[walltar]

I don't know what your internet is smoking but I can still watch them...

Oh ... it is good now. When i clicked on vids on site i got "this video is private" and on theirs channel there was no videos.

 

[Komuflage]

we can't just throw stuff out there without being very careful about what we say and show. It's also particularly difficult at this early stage in development where everything is, to say the least, incomplete and we have very little content.

As for a large pool of alpha testers, that is not necessarily desirable, supporting it would likely prove to be a lot of work. Alpha versions are not usually public for a reason, the game will still be hugely incomplete.

That really depends on the target audience; if you want to get the old school rpgs fans to get interested in the game, then the videos you've now is really good (need to spread them though) looking at the feedback on the videos here at the forum, everyone seem to praise them, even if the game is in a early alpha stage, most likely because they look at the potential of the full game.

However, the casual crowd would most likely hate on the game a lot, it's because they don't know what a alpha/beta is, and if something or doesn't work (1 year before release) they'll get angry.
Also to most of the mainstream players, graphic is everything, it need to look over-flashy, which SG don't.
(Arma3 - BF4 is a perfect example of this. BF4 have really flashy light effects etc, and people praise the über graphics, while a lot of people hate on Arma's more realistic looks)

 

[Orisoll]

I haven't looked at this game since summer last year. Not because I wasn't enthusiastic about the game, but because there was no real reason to come back day after day and check for non-existent updates. I'm fine with then idea of having to support the game to watch all the dev videos, but by releasing every 5th one or so to the public you get a pretty cheap marketing method.
However (as was mentioned before) it's probably too early to start that, but by alpha you'll want to start building up the community so you can actually make a profit and allow more individuals to enjoy the game.

 

[Dorag]

We're not opposed to marketing, we just don't like some forms / channels. We don't have the resources or time to put into marketing and we're not going to make it a priority. Marketing is a lot of work, we can't just throw stuff out there without being very careful about what we say and show. It's also particularly difficult at this early stage in development where everything is, to say the least, incomplete and we have very little content.

As for a large pool of alpha testers, that is not necessarily desirable, supporting it would likely prove to be a lot of work. Alpha versions are not usually public for a reason, the game will still be hugely incomplete.

So basically what's being said here is that the public isn't getting videos because you have to be careful about what you say&show and because nothing's certain and you can't deal with any more interviews and articles about the game?

If that's the case, you said it yourself, quoting, "we can't just throw stuff out there without being very careful about what we say and show."
You don't have to put out videos of new content or commentate your videos, you can be careful as said above, and just put another one of those pre-alpha combat videos - you have the hair system now so you can make it even cooler, that'd be enough to keep the public interested because some marketing is important as you said, even though It's early, you must release even the most generic combat video to show your presence.

 

[fluffydino2000]

Maybe not even a video of actual gameplay and just a demonstration of the engine. That way, nobody can feel it is falsely advertising the game and nobody will bother you with interviews as, let's be honest, engine demonstrations aren't exactly interview topic material.

 

[NinjaTigers]

I think the best bet would be having showcase videos of finished features rather than the Insider videos of features in development and extended commentary on features, you wouldn't even need to have any voiceover, simply title a video something like "Hair physics" and then have a character do the L'Oreal hair flip or something.

Minimal effort (So they don't get distracted from the small task of making a game) with a fairly tangible reward of keeping people's interest.



I'm considering it.

I also am definitely planning on doing a Let's Play on Sui Generis, if the devs are okay with it . Unfortunately, I won't be getting it early, so I have to wait a bit longer than some people which gives me a bit of a disadvantage in the Youtube market.

 

[Dorag]

It's been 64 days since the last update, this saddens me.

 

[Parco]

yea, but its 8 days since the last insider update, and its an awesome one too. so i let you know they havent stopped working

 

[Dorag]

yea, but its 8 days since the last insider update, and its an awesome one too. so i let you know they havent stopped working

I'm really glad to hear they're still making updates on the insider forums but as a regular member, and I think I speak for all of us when I say It's a bit dull checking on the forums every morning just to see a new post in "
Will this game be coming to Steam? Would go FAR!"


:/

 

[Cooper Holt]

I hope we get another update/video soon. I love those.

 

[Tom]

I agree that non-insiders are pretty much left in the dark - heck, I'm an insider and sometimes I feel like I know little to nothing on the game's development.

Here's an idea to the developers: how about making weekly written updates on the game? There's no need for pictures (unless they're key to the news) - just a brief summary of how things are. This would be for all tiers, as a way to keep non-insiders in the loop. Otherwise, the General forum will remain barren.

 

[Parco]

*this week ive been writing and rewriting 300 lines of codes in the physics engine*
Doesnt take long to write but also an uninteresting update for most (98%) of the community i think, i think most of us agree it is better to wait untill they are done with something before posting it out here. Remember they are a very small team and this is a conplicated game so thing takes time.

 

[Dorag]

*this week ive been writing and rewriting 300 lines of codes in the physics engine*
Doesnt take long to write but also an uninteresting update for most (98%) of the community i think, i think most of us agree it is better to wait untill they are done with something before posting it out here. Remember they are a very small team and this is a conplicated game so thing takes time.

Or they could just do as suggested and make a monthly video even if it is the most generic one It'd be all we need with minimal effort.

 

[Cooper Holt]

I don't care what the quality of the update is. I'd be happy even if it was just some concept art, and a "current game status update".

 

[I am Cuda]

yea, but its 8 days since the last insider update, and its an awesome one too. so i let you know they havent stopped working

Honestly, I thought this game had been abandoned due to lack of any updates. I'm glad to hear it's still going. I really wish that there would be posts like "Don't worry guys, we are still working on this game " just so I wouldn't be totally left in the dark without digging through every post in the forums for scraps of info.

 

[Madoc]

I really wish that there would be posts like "Don't worry guys, we are still working on this game "

Don't worry guys, we are still working on this game

Seriously though, the only reason why we haven't released a new update yet is because we spend every minute of our time working on the actual game. Making a good update is surprisingly time consuming and updates for kickstarter are a permanent public record so we really don't want to show something misrepresentative or say something we might regret later.

We are working on a large cumulative public update and it's almost complete, there's just a few bits here and there to polish up for presentation and a fair amount of text to write. These things can put some pretty serious hitches in our hectic workflow, everyone would much rather just get on with actual work and there's a whole lot of that to be done.