Further Considerations

3.2, 7.1, 7.2

Now that my trailer and concept art has all been completely finished, you might think that's the end of it. I would, however, like to consider how I would take this game going forwards, if I had more time. This game is, of course, a massive feat, and I have only managed to complete a small amount of progress in the three months I've spent on it. If I were to develop this further into a playable video game, I would have to consider a multitude of new factors.

Target Audience

I discussed my game's target audience briefly in my market research section, before starting on any production. Now, however, with the hindsight I've gained from actually conceptualizing and designing this game, I would like to discuss it again. As it regards hypothetical considerations, identifying a clear-cut target audience is vital in deciding how I would go forward with creating and marketing Moonstruck as an indie game. Looking at the target audiences for the pieces of media I have studied for research is also vital in determining Moonstruck's ideal audience. Where is this audience likely to go for new games? What kind of tags are the looking for? What price would they expect to pay for an indie game like Moonstruck?

If you look at each of these pieces of media, you can see that they actually vary quite a lot in their target demographics; this isn't surprising when you consider how different they are from one another in format, intended message, and even time period. Subnautica's target audience is young gamers, specifically sci-fi fans. Cameron's Avatar targets all ages, but mostly film nerds who are interested in complex worldbuilding. Avatar: the Last Airbender is obviously a kids show, that introduces children to unique cultures in a fun, simple way. Tolkien's books are all written for fantasy geeks, and again people who will enjoy a complex and unique world. Lovecraft is for older adults, and those who are interested in unique horror. Based on all these different influences, it seems like it'll be a bit tricky to pin down a singular target audience for Moonstruck; however, I would like to analyse these different medias, pick apart where Moonstruck has been influenced by them, and create a target audience.

Given that this is going to be a video game and not a book or film, of course I will want to direct my marketing towards gamers rather than film nerds — the two groups are very distinct. Horror is no longer a particularly big aspect of the game, and so the primary genre will be sci-fi/fantasy, and of course indie (which is a genre all by itself). Of course, Moonstruck is also a very stylised game with painted backgrounds and dynamic lighting. I would really like to hone in on a target audience who values art style and aesthetics more than any kind of strategy or unique gameplay mechanics. The world of Moonstruck is designed to capture the imagination in the same way the landscape of Subnautica and Pandora do, and so the target audience for this game will end up being similar.

With these considerations, I would like to look into how similar games present and market themselves, and how I would do the same if I were publishing Moonstruck as a full game.

Game Distribution

The first thing to consider is where the best place would be to put my game if I were to publish and sell it.

Origin

Origin is the home to all EA games, such as The Sims, FIFA, and Battlefield. Of course, in order to publish a game on Origin, I would need to get a contract with EA; while this would certainly skyrocket my finding, it is a great way to make sure my game has the life sucked out of it. Marketing an indie game can be fun and rewarding, while marketing a triple-A game is a lot harder and more demanding. Plus, the style of Moonstruck doesn't fit with any other EA games.

Epic Games

Epic Games is another triple-A game company that produces its own games; most famously, it has produced Fortnite and Rocket League. It does also distribute other triple-A games such as GTA, Cyberpunk, and Red Dead Redemption. Similar to Origin, I would probably have to sign a contract in order to publish a game under them; this might actually be a slightly better option than Origin, as I would get free access to Unreal Engine if I signed a contract with Epic Games, which is a game engine I'd probably benefit from using.

I would run into similar issues as I did with Origin, however — Epic Games is known for its ruthless marketing, and Moonstruck doesn't exactly aesthetically look like a widespread popular game.

Steam

Out of all the game distribution platforms, Steam is definitely the most obvious choice. Steam doesn't make games, unlike the other distributors which have games under them that they directly influence and create, and instead Steam is the hub for pretty much all games — whether that be triple-A or indie.

In order to publish a game to Steam, you must make an account with Steamworks, and then so long as it is approved it costs you $100 (or about £80) to publish. If your game makes over $1000 in revenue, then you get your money back for that initial fee. You don't get 100% of the revenue for your games, however; Steam will take a hefty 30% on every commission sale. This cost is worth it, however, for the basically free marketing you get by putting your game on Steam for people to download.

Looking at all of these options, I believe that Steam is the most readily available option not only based on initial price and the lack of a contract, but also given how Steam is already a hub for indie games — and while the 30% constant cut they take isn't ideal, it certainly makes a good start to put your game on Steam.

Layout

Looking at how other indie games present their pages on Steam is important to deciding how I would do it with Moonstruck — one of my favourite indie games at the moment is A Short Hike, a game created by Adam Robinson-Yu. This game is pretty much as “indie” as you get; created by one man alone, and completable in just a few hours.

This game is very calm and relaxed; it's meant to be played by people who want to see gorgeous, sweeping visuals and fun, chilled-out gameplay.

As you can see, the Steam page isn't particularly flashy, and contains an eye-catching logo and screenshots from the game. Because this game's target audience want to see gameplay, that's what the trailer shows, as well as snippets of dialogue and the game's environments.

A Short Hike is on Steam for £5.79, meaning the creator takes just over £4 home with each game purchased.

Consider a more popular indie game, Hades — this game was created by Supergiant Games, a small studio that debuted in 2011 with their game “Bastion”. Since then, they have grown a little bigger, and have just released the early access for Hades II.

This game has a rather cluttered aesthetic, and a lot of the game's popularity hinges on its unique and gorgeous art style. This means that the Steampage looks a little more busy than A Short Hike. Also, the trailer that plays as soon as you open the page is not actually of any gameplay, as is instead a stylised animation with then turns into gameplay in the second half. This is a strategy to hook their target audience (people who will want to see an engaging art style), and build interest immediately from the purchase page.

This game is sold on Steam for £20.99, meaning Supergiant Games gets around £14.50 per purchase.

Example Steampage:

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