I Asked Gamers If They Play Demos, Here's What They Said...

In this article, you're going to get 3 insights I learned when talking to players and why they play game demos.

And I'll share with you an action plan to help your game demo be more marketable -- and help you get more wishlists.

So what I did was, I went on r/gaming, and randomly DM'd people asking them this question:

"Hey, can I get your opinion on game demos? Do you ever play them? If not, how come?"

And after looking at the answers, I came up with 3 common reasons why gamers play demos.

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

Insight #1: Players Want Demos From Studios They're Not Familiar With

The common thread in my research is summed up with this answer one person gave me:

"I'm more likely to play a demo of a game that I'm not familiar with."

And this makes sense. For example, when Bethesda or Rockstar or Supergiant Games release a new game, players probably won't go and download the demo. That's because there's already an established relationship between a game studio and the player.

And more importantly, players have played previous games from these studios. So they know what to expect. So playing a demo of a new game from a studio they're familiar with is too much of a commitment.

But with small, niche indie game studios, there is NO relationship yet. And players have never played any games from these small indie studios. So because players don't know what to expect, they use game demos as a way to get familiar with that game studio.

Ok, next...

Insight #2: Players Use Demos As A Way To Explore New Genres and New Innovative Games

Another common thread in my research was, players told me that demos are a risk-free way to branch out and experiment with new, innovative games... and explore genres they never play.

But here's the paradox...

You'll often hear that players want new, innovative, and creative games. But in reality, players will often buy games that they are familiar with and rarely try something new. That's because people are reluctant to fork over money to play new, innovative games because it's too much of a risk.

Basically, players don't want to risk time and money on something new they might hate. So players will use demos as a way to explore new genres and new unique games without taking any risks.

Ok, next...

Insight #3: Watching Other People Play Is NOT The Same As Actually Playing It...

Another common theme players told me in my research was, they would watch a YouTuber play a game and the controls look incredibly smooth and intuitive. But once the player got their hands on the game, the game didn't FEEL like it looked like on the screen.

Also, players told me that often trailers are good at hiding problems. For instance, they'd watch a trailer, and the game looked high-quality, and polished. But when they finally played the game, the game was in an awful state, or broken, or didn't feel and look like it did in the trailer.

The main insight here is that it seems players use demos because watching YouTubers or trailers is not the same thing as actually playing the game.

And again, players are not going to risk time and money on a new, niche indie game they're not familiar with. And watching YouTubers and trailers isn't enough for them to decide on a game made by a studio they're not familiar with. So a game demo is a risk-free option for them to test out the quality of the game.

Ok, next...

Key Points To Remember If You Want Your Demo To Be More Marketable

So what do I mean when I say "a demo that is more marketable"? Well, if you want to connect with new players, if you want them to become fans and wishlist your game, a demo is one of your best "marketing assets".

So if you want your demo to motivate a player to buy your game when it's released, then remember these key points:

• Players don't want to risk time and money playing games they're not familiar with
• So players will seek demos from a dev they're not familiar with
• Players want to check the state of the game: is it broken, are they hiding anything?
• Players want to test out what the controls feel like, and play the game for themselves to judge
• Players want to experiment with new, innovative games they would not normally try -- but without cost or too much commitment
• The quality of the game demo is huge deciding factor for the player if they will buy the game or not

And one more very key point...

Buying a game from a small indie game studio is too big of a risk and too big of a commitment. It's very hard for a player to "pull the trigger" and pay for an unknown game from an unknown studio.

But a game demo is a risk-free, safe option for players to get to know you and get familiar with your game. And your demo is your best marketing asset because a demo is the first step into building a relationship with new players.

Ok, so what do you do with all these "insights"? That's next...

Your One Step Action Plan: A Strategy To Develop A Marketable Game Demo

Before you go, I want these key insights not only to sink in, but also to help you make a demo so that you are one step closer to finding players for your game.

So let's plan a strategy for your game demo, and make it more marketable. To make your game more marketable, it seems your demo has to demonstrate three key things:

1. The quality of your game
2. How the controls and gameplay loop feels like
3. What new, innovative features your game brings to your genre

Again, I don't want you to just "know" these key insights... I want you to USE these insights to make a better game demo so that players wishlist or buy your game.

So, do this right now. It'll only take you 10 minutes. Open a Google doc, and answer these three questions:

Question 1: Where are 3 game systems where you can improve the quality?

I know this isn't an easy question. But by clearly identifying 3 areas where your game can improve on, then you now have a direction. And as long as you meet your own standards, then that's the best you can do. Remember, you're a small team. You don't have all the resources. But that doesn't mean you can't take the resources you DO have and try to develop a high-quality demo.

So, if you need some help with this, then here's some areas to think about:

• Gameplay Loop
• Combat System
• Progression System
• Economy System
• Quest/Objective System
• Dialogue System
• Inventory System
• Enemey AI
• Physics
• UI/UX
• Audio
• Graphics/Rendering
• Animation

Which of these systems needs more polishing?

Question 2: What's one new innovative feature you're adding to your genre?

The goal here is to clearly understand what makes your game different from all the thousands of other games in your genre.

The thing is, this might be obvious to you. But to a player, a new, innovative feature won't stick out, and be so obvious to them.

So it's your job to clearly define your new, innovative features so that you can make it easy for the player to understand what's going on.

In other words, when a player sees a unique feature, they're not going to spend 30 minutes trying to figure out what's going on. It's your job to clearly communicate that right away, so that it only takes the player 30 seconds to go "ooooh cool".

Ok, start there. I will have another article where I'll show you how to market your game demo and get it in front of as many people as you can.

But for now, do the action step so that you use the key insights you just learned to make your demo more marketable.

Stuck? Need Help Marketing Your Game?

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