Before you set up shop on Facebook you should think about if it’s actually worthwhile. Facebook might not be right for you at this time, and here are some reasons why:

It takes time and effort

Building a fan base on Facebook takes a lot of both. You need to reach new players, give them a reason to become a fan, and then give them enough quality content to retain their interest. It can be a hard slog, sf you have barely any time to spare you could be better off spending it elsewhere.

There’s no purpose

Lots of people have Facebook pages for the sake of it. They get set up with lovely profile and header images, a chirpy first post, then… nothing. There needs to be a reason to have a Facebook page for it to be worthwhile – both for you and your potential fans.

It’s not all about pages

There’s more to Facebook than profiles. You can still use Facebook to your advantage without building a page of active, loyal fans. Take yourself for instance, how many brands do you like on Facebook and how many of them are little indie studios? For example, you can still use paid ads to promote your game to new players without one.

It can drain motivation

Your game is most likely a labour of love and so a large part of its success will depend on your passion and willingness to make it happen. Doing Facebook badly feels will most likely be an unsuccessful venture and, in turn, will probably be quite demotivating.

It usually needs budget

At the time of writing, Facebook’s algorithm had made it increasingly difficult to get new fans through posting great content alone. More than ever, paid Facebook ads are needed to attract those new crowds and this requires money.

So in conclusion…

It’s not to say that indie developers shouldn’t consider using Facebook, but it certainly shouldn’t be done without good reason and method. Managing a good Facebook page can be a full time job (in fact for some people, it is). Just make sure it’s worth your time, effort and (possibly) money before you dive in.

If you are still keen to make one, check out our guides on how to set one up and what content to put on it.

Making a game is an exciting and potentially rewarding thing to do, but it requires a huge amount of time and effort. It’s an emotional roller coaster ranging from addictive highs (“Everyone loved the first build!”) to soul destroying lows (“I’m going to have to redo all of that code!”). And that’s just the development which, as we know, is just half the battle.

Just releasing my first Indie Game and wasn’t sure if I should bother friends and family too much.

Not wanting to spam friends and family is a common issue, especially when it comes to launching a first game.

It is a difficult balance to strike, but we strongly believe that they can be one of your strongest assets when trying to get the word out about your game. In the early days every single player counts.

Also consider, if you are struggling to talk to your friends and family about your game, those who know you and are likely to have a lot in common with you, then how are you going to fare when it comes to complete strangers?

Remember, the real benefit of telling your friends and family is not just that they’ll play your game, but that they might tell their friends and family too.

That said, no one wants to annoy people, let alone your friends and family. So we’ve put together a few thoughts that should help Andy and you out.

Be polite

It shouldn’t really need saying, but countless times I’ve seen people almost demanding people play their games. Whether it’s thrusting it in front of them in the pub, or simply telling people on Facebook to download it, people won’t like it if they feel pressured. Always ask them rather than tell them.

Be selective

Everyone has a few friends that they’re closer to than others. People that are genuinely interested in what you are up to. Take the time and effort to talk to them individually (at the minimum a seperate email / facebook message). They’ll be more inclined to play your game and much less likely to see further public posts / conversations as spam because they’ll know what you’re trying to do and how important it is to you.

Be self restrained

Lastly, and probably the most important – don’t bombard people. If you’ve already told someone about your game, don’t keep telling them again and again.

This should be all pretty much common sense, but understandably when it comes to friends and family you really don’t want to irritate them. So below we’ve included the steps we’d take

For example, a handful of public updates (I.e to all friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter) is unlikely to irritate anyone. But a daily request to play your game likely would.

Step 1

Write (by email, private Facebook message etc) to close friends and family (or tell them in person) that you have been working on a game and that you’ve finished it. Explain that it would mean a great deal to you if they would play the game and let you know what they think. Let them know that it would be a massive help if they liked the game to tell other people about it.

Step 2

Post to your Facebook/Twitter/social network of choice a few times. Spread it out over a couple weeks (this is really subjective, if you normally post a lot, you can feel comfortable posting more than once a week). Try to make the post interesting, not just linking to the game.

Step three

Publicly say thank to all the people that have played your game (and privately too).

You shouldn’t underestimate the good will people have for start ups and indie studios (we are constantly surprised at how often people are willing to help out with our projects!). Doing your own thing brings a slightly heroic status which people often enjoy supporting. You have to ask though, so take advantage of it.

It’s certainly a reasonable question. Development factors aside, there can indeed be a large difference between platforms. Perhaps the most obvious of these are the number of users (potential customers), the number of games already there (potential competitors) and the platform’s growth prospects (be a big fish before the pond gets big). Kept to this level, its an important question to address and one that should be addressed on a case-by-case basis. The problem, however, comes when game makers rely on their platform to do their advertising for them.

Promoting indie games is something that some of the big digital distributers do very badly. For example, the iTunes app store is notoriously bad for helping users to find new great games, and (at the time of writing) the most recent Xbox Live dashboard update has pushed indie games further away from the average gamer’s attention. It is important to not think of these digital platforms as anything more than distributors for your game. Don’t expect them to do your marketing and advertising for you. Their role in your business is to simply enable people to acquire your game.

Of course, this isn’t to say that many game makers haven’t benefitted from a distributer’s promotions. iTunes do ‘apps of the week’, Microsoft do the ‘Summer of Arcade’ and other things. You might get lucky and get in a featured list, but this should only be viewed as a bonus and certainly not to be relied upon in your marketing plan.

In summary, it’s wise to consider which platforms will be best for your game(s), but make sure that you don’t have unrealistic expectations of how much that company is going to promote you. If you don’t handle your own marketing you run the big risk of getting lost in the crowd.

When making a decision about your game there are broadly speaking 3 things you should consider:

1. Is it true to my creative idea?
2. Will other people like it?
3. Will it make any money?

Different people value certain areas above others. For many their game is their creative vision, their piece of art, and they don’t want to worry about what other people think. Others want to make games that are played by millions of people. And, let’s be honest, a lot of people are primarily focussed on the money. And there isn’t necessarily a problem with that.

Most people however tend to want to tick all the boxes to some extent: a popular game that remains true to their creative idea that makes them a little bit of cash.

It is however important to know what you are trying to achieve, which is most important to you? Are you more interested in paying the bills, or do you have an artistic vision that you don’t want to compromise? If you had to compromise somewhere where would it be?

Of course, the ideal situation would be to have your cake and eat it; to create a game that is a ground breaking innovation in creativity, people flock to it in their millions and pay handsomely for it. But when you know where you are willing to compromise, and therefore what you truly want out of the game it’s a lot easier to focus and make decisions.

So, why are you making your game, what’s most important to you? Let us know in the comments.

Sense of belonging

Humans are social animals. They want to join groups of people that are similar to themselves. The fact that they all play your game gives these people something in common, something to talk about. You need to find ways to help people feel like they belong in your community.

Feeling of significance

Within these groups people want to feel valued, feel significant. They want to be the ones telling other people how to beat levels and get past bosses. Your community needs to help people feel significant, both in the community, and if possible (if your game mechanics allow for it) in the game too.

Knowledge and support

A significant motivation for joining a group is to gain access to information. Many people join forums for a particular game because they have a question or are looking for some help. Others will join to get help more generally, such as tips and advice.

Influence and innovation

People like to make a difference; they want to know that they are being listened to. By joining a community an individual can have a greater influence than they could alone. Creating a community for your indie game can be a great way to let your players give you feedback, for members to help influence the future of the game that they are playing.

These four motivations are why people will join your community. Is your community providing one of these? Is it providing all four?

Plugins don’t equal social

A lot of businesses are thinking around social networks in the wrong way. They see the plugins that the various platforms have and they think that is the way to make their product/website social. The reality is this couldn’t be further from the truth. As Paul Adams says this is just a way to “bolt on” social but isn’t truly social. It takes advantage of a small part of these new mediums and although can result in some good results it often is not enough.

Think differently

The web is being rebuilt around each and everyone of us in a natural evolution for it to reflect our offline world. Whether you like it or not that is what is happening and it is going to be largely based around the social networks that hold the most information about us.

There is a necessity to begin to understand human behaviour because of this. It is no longer a case of “build it and they will come” as content is not the be all and end all of the web. By having the knowledge of what makes humans tick, understanding fundamental human social behaviour you will be one step ahead of your competition when it comes to implementing the social networks out there into your game.

Examples

A prime example of a company who looked at human behaviour, took the data available to them through, in this case, Facebook and are currently reaping the rewards is Zynga. Although we are yet to see how they will do on the stock market it is safe to say that they will be a force to be reckoned with in the near future. By implementing the simple basic idea of playing alongside your friends and taking advantage of the Facebook platform, they have created a company that has more players in one game than the total who bought Call of Duty: Black Ops. The games don’t look as pretty and don’t have anywhere near as many features but people are compelled to keep playing and to join their friends online.

A slightly different example, but a great one showing how to customise around an individual, is the online craft shop Etsy. They use the data available from your Facebook account to pull in all your friends likes to be able to accurately predict gifts which they’ll most likely be interested in. This simple but effective mechanic immediately makes the shopping for a gift experience more enjoyable and effective.

Be creative

Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Linkedin, Instagram, Foursquare, YouTube and even Soundcloud offer a wealth of data that you can use to make your game more relevant to an individual. By making an experience that directly engages with a person makes them more likely to want to come back for more and share that experience with those they are closest to.

Don’t over step the mark

When looking into what piece of information you want to pull into the experience make sure that what you choose isn’t going to freak people out. Do you really need to known “Relationship status”? If you do then fine but make it 100% clear.

Finally don’t store people’s profiles. It scares people and is a PR headache.

I highly recommend you watch the below video to get a better understanding of what I am talking about. Hopefully you will begin to see new and exciting ways to build games around people rather than trying to shoe horn social into your game.

P.s. One day soon I hope we can just talk about the web rather than saying social every five words.

But if they have a bad experience they could very well relegate your game to the land of the obscure unknown, unplayed indie title, where indie games go to die.

We’ve written lots of posts that will be worth revisiting, but in the interests of brevity and not repeating myself too much, here are some quick thoughts

Discounted cost of game

If you are having a beta launch, you might consider giving the beta testers a discounted, or even free copy of the game as a way of saying thank you

In game rewards at launch

In a similar fashion, if you have had a beta stage, you could give away in game rewards to your early players. Not only is it a reward in itself, but it helps distinguish them from other players, and makes them feel special.

Listening to their feedback

Players are people, and people like to be listened to. If someone has gone out of their way, the least you can do it listen to it. You may not have to take it on board, but acknowledging their point of view is a nice start.

Creating a community out of your users

Generally there are only a few players at the launch of a game, which can be quite off-putting – especially if it is designed to be a multiplayer. If you try to create a community around these players, you will give them a reason to keep playing, as well as make it look more enticing to new players.

Keeping them involved with progress

They’ve started playing your game, they’re investing time in you and your product Keeping them up to date with developments is a simple thing, but helps them feel like that time is warranted.

Being a human person they can connect with

A lot of people try to focus on creating a big brand from the game, but one of the most appealing things about indie games is that they’re not made by faceless companies, they’re made by real people.

Above all else, early players should feel special. Because they are.

Learning

It may seem obvious, but learning is one of the best reasons to get out there and network. No matter what your level of experience is, there is always more for you to learn from others. Sharing your experiences and listening to other people’s is a great way to stumble across great tips, tricks and resources. E.g. “You want to do X? You should check out Y.”

It’s not (just) what you know

A lot of interesting people attend events, and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t go out there and introduce yourself. This isn’t to say you should go out purely to climb the social ladder. In fact, simply trying to meet the most influential people massively limits your potential. You never know where great opportunities could come from, so be just as prepared to give other people a helping hand.

People are social creatures

Talking to people on social networks, forums etc. is all well and good, but nothing can match the effect of talking to someone face to face. Talking to someone in person will have more of an impact for the other person and they will be much more likely to give you their full attention. Making connections is an important part of life so try to make them as meaningful as you can.

Broaden your mind

Meeting new people encourages you to think about new things, or the same things from a new angle. A lot of creativity is about unusual combinations, so adding some new perspectives can help a lot. You may find that a conversation with someone new can lead to a eureka moment!

Avoid going mad!

Development can be a very solitary activity. Spending hour after hour looking at a screen can get a little tedious, especially if you work alone. After a while, those four walls can start to feel like they are closing in. Going out and meeting people can be a great way to have a break and refresh your mind.

Summary

Networking might seem unattractive at first, but after going to a few events and meeting some nice and interesting people you’ll wonder why you hadn’t been doing it earlier. In an upcoming post, we’ll also give you some tips on how to break the ice!

But that doesn’t mean you playing through it once or twice and being happy if you don’t find any bugs. It means stepping back from the game. You are far too close. You have developer blinkers. You’ve been working on it for weeks, months, maybe years.

It means letting others play it, test it, and break it.

I’ve spoken to a lot of developers, and it seems the last thing they wanted to do was to show anyone an unfinished bit of work. But, many of these guys were the same guys who had been working on their games for years. I have a suspicion that for these guys, their game will never been finished. I’ve mentioned before that I think one of the biggest hurdles for indie developers in promoting their game is actually just talking about it. I reckon the second on that list is probably asking people to play it.

The main benefits to asking other people bug test your game for you should be obvious. You essentially have a much more rigorous testing stage. Whereas before you might just have yourself (and perhaps a dozen or so of your friends) testing the game, you can potentially have hundreds. Not only finding bugs, but playing the game in ways you couldn’t possibly imagine. Giving you feedback you weren’t expecting and suggesting improvements you couldn’t have anticipated. You will be playing your game with your developer hat on – you will know things that other players won’t and you’ll be seeing the game through your developer blinkers. It also allows you to get the word out about your game earlier, and allows you to incorporate a beta testing stage as part of your marketing efforts.

In later posts I will go on to explain how to undertake different types of beta tests, as well as how to use beta tests as part of a marketing launch campaign. But for now, here are some things that you will need to think about when you decide to beta test your game.

Considerations

• You have to explain to users that the game is in beta, what this entails what you want from them. The last thing you want is people thinking they are playing a finished game. Also undesirable, but quite as bad, are players that find bugs but don’t tell you.
• Provide a way to give quick and easy feedback. Whether that’s a screen capture tool within the game, or just a detailed contact form that users can submit.
• How long will the beta last? Will you make updates and bug fixes to the game during the beta?
• How many people do you want in the beta? You can easily cap this at a simple maximum number. Or allow users a certain number of invites each.
• What do the users get in return for testing your game?

So, have you asked other people to play your game? Or have you kept it to yourself? Let us know in the comments.