Why Your Indie Game Marketing Content Is Boring And Not Interesting To Players -- And What To Do About It

Inside this article you're going to get a framework that will show you how you can turn boring marketing content that players ignore into attention-getting content that motivates players to take action. Action like wishlisting your game, and buying your game.

Because if you don't understand how to organize our game's marketing content in a way that is compelling, then all your efforts will be wasted. It's why a lot of game devs hate marketing because sometimes the "juice isn't worth the squeeze".

And remember, your ability to "sell" your game is just as important as developing a fun, high-quality, indie game.

So here's what you need to know, and what to do...

What Makes Marketing Content Boring... And How Do You Fix It?

Let me show you an example of how this marketing framework works.

Ok, here's a concept:

"hidden sugars in food is bad"

This concept (hidden sugars in food), isn't interesting because, yeah, we all know this! It doesn't sound NEW. It's a concept that a lot of people hear all the time. And because people hear this concept all the time, it doesn't really motivate them to take any action.

But there is a way you can take this boring, simple concept, and turn it into valuable info that motivates people. How? Let me show you...

Here's a video that breaks down how much sugar is in Nutella.

This video took a very simple concept (hidden sugars in food), and made it interesting. And why is it interesting?

Well, if I just show you that this food has 11g of sugar for each teaspoon, it's not interesting because it's really hard for your brain to IMAGINE 11g of sugar per teaspoon. This info means nothing to the person because the person can't connect that info to their own personal life.

But this video makes it easy for you to picture what a lot of sugar looks like. And this is interesting now because now that you can picture what a lot of sugar looks like, it's easier to relate it to your life.

For example, a parent might watch this video and now think twice about giving their kid this food everyday.

My point is, by breaking down boring, simple concepts... and SHOWING people how it works... is more attention-grabbing because people can IMAGINE how it relates to their own life.

And if a person can IMAGINE how this info relates to them in their own life, it makes it easy for them to take action in some way.

But if a person has to do mental gymnastics and try to figure out how some random info relates to them and their life, then you've lost their interest -- because it has nothing to do with them.

So how does all of this have to do with you and your indie game? How can you use this insight to make your own content more interesting and attention-grabbing -- in a way that motivates players to take action?

Let's work on that next...

"Make It Easy For Me To Imagine Me Playing Your Game"

If you want your indie game marketing content to motivate players so they wishlist and buy your game, then we have to organize your content in a way that players don't have to do any mental gymnastics to understand what your game is and what it does.

For example, say you're making a puzzle platformer. And you have a cool feature where you get random items to help you solve the puzzle.

This concept: "use random items to help you solve the puzzle" sounds boring, and isn't motivating. Again, that's because:

• It's a concept a lot of games use, and players seen this before
• It's hard for your brain to "connect the dots" between "random items" and "solve puzzles"
• And because it's hard for the player to picture themselves using random items to solve puzzles, you've lost their interest

It's like me saying "11g of sugar in 1 tablespoon". It's hard to imagine if that's a lot of sugar or not. But if I show you what that looks like in many different and creative ways, then it's easy for your brain to "connect the dots" because now you have more context.

It's the same with your game features. If you can clearly show what your feature is, and how it works, then it makes the player easily imagine themselves doing it.... because now they have more context.

Let me show you exactly how this works using an indie game...

Mosa Lina is a very abstract puzzle game. But on their Steam page, they do a great job breaking down concepts that sound boring and not unique, and explaining them in a way so that the player can imagine them and understand them.

For example, their first "concept" is...

• A Hostile Interpretation of immersive sim design

Wha? What does that mean?

However, they break this concept down and flesh it out so that it's easy for the player to understand... and easy for the player to picture this concept working in their head.

Perfect example of making a concept easy to understand...

What I mean is, if you're a gamer that is tired of playing "lock-and-key" puzzle games like Cocoon then you read:

• "The game continually spits out randomised problems. It's up to YOU to solve them..."

Then they have an animated gif showing how you can solve puzzles in many different and creative ways.

The way this content is organized is attention-grabbing and motivating because it makes it easy for the player to imagine them playing a puzzle game where they use different random tools to solve a puzzle.

You see, players need features and concepts presented in a way that makes it easy for their brain to understand what it is, and how it works. And this works because once they understand what a feature is and how it works, then they can easily relate it back to their own life, their own wants and needs.

Again, it's like the sugar in your food. If your brain can tangibly see how much sugar is in foods, then it motivates you to take action because now you clearly understand how this can relate back to your life, and your own wants and needs.

It's the same when you fully explain and flesh out the features and concepts in your game: if a player can see what your feature is and how it works, it helps them picture themselves doing it and playing. This helps them decide to take action or not.

But if we don't explain and flesh out our features, then we put the burden on the player to try to figure out what your game is and how it works. And players will not give you that much time.

You have maybe 3 seconds to "sell" your game. So it's up to you to make sure all the dots are connected, so that it's easy for the player to understand what your features are and how they work.... so that they can imagine themselves using those features and playing your game.

Ok, great. So how do you do this exactly? How do you take your simple game concepts, and make them more interesting?

Let's work on that next.

How To Create Compelling Content: 3 Step System

I call this action plan my "Compelling Content Framework". It's designed to give you the building blocks to help you create content that grabs your target player's attention, and motivates them to take action (like wishlist or buy your game).

So it doesn't matter if you're making a 16 second YouTube short, or writing a Long Description in your Steam page... use this "Compelling Content Framework" to help you market your game.

So, let's get to work. Here's a step-by-step guide on how this framework works...

Step 1: What Are Your 5 "Magic Bullet" Systems In Your Game

The first step is to organize your game into "concepts" that you can easily communicate. To do that, I want you to break your game down into five of the most important systems or features in your game -- your "magic bullet" systems.

For example, Mosa Lina's 5 "magic bullet" systems are...

1. A Hostile Interpretation of immersive sim design
2. True Random
3. Physics-driven-Puzzle-platforming
4. Local & Online Multiplayer
5. Level Editor & Steam Workshop

And don't worry right now if your systems sound boring, or they're not innovative, or new. If you look at the above systems, they all sound kinda boring, right? But that's ok. Your first step is to clearly define your game into 5 major parts. Then in the next steps, you'll learn how to turn these systems into interesting content.

So let's keep going...

Step 2: How Does Each System Work?

Again, you don't want your player to mentally jump through hurdles. Make it easy for them to imagine themselves using these systems. To do that, let's take each of your 5 systems, and break them down even further.

So in this step, I want you to explain how each system works.

How?

Well, to help you figure out how each of your 5 systems work, answer these questions:

1. What problem is this system solving?
2. Why would this system be fun for the player?

This is important because this is the core of motivation:

People will use mental and physical energy to move away from frustration, and go towards pleasure. If there is a problem, they're motivated to solve it. If there's something they really love, they'll work to get it.

So the idea with the two questions above is, you're showing how your game solves a frustration (moving away from a problem). And the second question shows the player what they get (toward pleasure).

For example, in Mosa Lina, their first system is "immersive sim design in a puzzle game". The frustration or problem they're solving is some people don't like puzzles that only have one solution. Their game helps solve that problem by offering a player different ways to figure out a puzzle. And why is this fun? Because it allows the player to be creative and experiment with the game instead of being guided and rail-roaded. This shows the player how they're going toward pleasure.

Go check it out: Mosa Lina Steam page

Again, what you're doing here is breaking it all down so that the player can quickly understand what they get when they play your game. The moment the player is confused, their interest is gone.

And imagine how hard this is for you to do. It's hard to clearly define what your game is, and why it's fun. Now if that's hard for YOU to do, then imagine how hard it is for a player to do.

So it's important to do this work because your player will never put all this work to figure out why your game is fun and why they should buy it.

Ok, next...

Step 3: Show Me Don't Tell Me

Now here's where it all comes together. To make it easier for the player to imagine themselves using that system and having fun, you need to SHOW them.

So create a video, or animated gif / mov that shows that system in action.

If you look at my example, Mosa Lisa, under each system, they show a short video that shows off how each system works.

Again, the idea is to make it easy for your players to imagine themselves playing your game. So explaining your systems AND showing them how each system works does all the mental work for the player.

Key Takeaway: "Compelling Content Framework"

Whatever content you post (social media, vlogs, videos, Steam page marketing), it's important that a player can easily imagine themselves using and playing your game.

Think back to the sugar content in Nutella. It's hard for a person to imagine what "11g of sugar per tablespoon" looks like. But if you show them what that looks like in different, and creative ways, it's easier for them to get motivated and take action.

That's because the brain needs a lot of context before it understands something. And if you can show a person what something means in different and creative ways, then it's easy for them to make a decision: do I want this or not?

It's the same with your game. If a player can picture themselves using a system in your game, then that will increase the chance of them taking action like wishlisting or buying your game. But if a player has to mentally work to get to the point of imagining themselves playing your game, then you've lost their interest.

Again, this is how you "sell" your game. By clearly describing what your game is, and how it works, you're making it easy for the player to convince themselves they want to play your game. Marketing isn't about being pushy, or convincing, or manipulating. It's showing your game in front of people, and letting them convince themselves that they want to play it. But to do that, you need to organize your content in a way so that it's easy for a player to understand what your game is and how it works.

Your Action Step Right Now.

Do this right now. Open a Google doc. And write down ONE of your "magic bullet" game systems. Then explain how it works. To help you, ask yourself.

1. How does this system solve a problem?
2. Why is this system fun?

Then create a video that shows how this system works.

Then post it. Go make a YouTube short. Test it out yourself. What's important is that you take action and use what you just learned. Marketing takes practice. And sitting here learning isn't going to help you sell more game copies. So go right now and take 40 minutes. Use the 3 steps above. And create compelling content. Post it on YouTube or Twitter or wherever. Just take action and I promise that you'll start seeing results like more people finding your game.

And tell me how it went. I'd really like to know. Below is my contact info. Send me a message.

Dariusz Konrad
Email: dariusz at mainquestmarketing dot com
Discord Username: dariuszkonrad
LinkedIn: My entrepreneurial successes
Work: Game devs I've helped so far